LaProf is a Multilateral Project that aims to promote language awareness to immigrating workforces in two sectors: ICT and agriculture. The main goal is to provide access to language learning resources that will help familiarize candidate immigrants with the terminology and cultural issues in their sectors through developing and disseminating language learning exercises. The pilot user communities addressed are (a) ICT teachers living in Estonia (and the Baltics, in general) who want to move and work in Finland, and (b) agricultural professionals living in Romania who want to move and work in Greece.

The project’s focus encourages European citizens from Estonia and Romania to learn official European languages (such as English, French, Finnish, and Greek) to help them better understand the working environment and culture of the targeted countries (i.e. Finland and Greece). To achieve this, LaProf will raise the awareness of available language learning activities and develop and disseminate language learning materials. LaProf will develop and promote language learning methodologies and resources to motivate the language learners and enhance their capacity for language learning so that the targeted user groups have greater ease acquiring language and cultural familiarity, and to raise awareness for the targeted languages.

LaProf will develop a wide variety of language learning exercises for its defined user groups. These will focus specifically on learning the targeted languages, but will also attempt to reflect the cultural context belonging to the destination countries and professional sectors. In summary, LaProf will produce:

(a) A language learning framework that will outline the background, topics, working culture, and relevant terminology of the targeted sectors and destination countries;

(b) A variety of multilingual language learning exercises (at least 20 that will be translated and adapted to English, French, Romanian, Hungarian, Estonian, and Russian). These will be publicly available and accessible online;

(c) Supplemental learning resources such as a Learner’s Guide containing information about the proficiencies learners should have before taking the language learning exercises, culture-aware resources to facilitate their preparation for immigration in the destination countries, as well as pedagogical guidelines and tips for the language teachers;

(d) An online environment (the LaProf Web portal) where learners can search for and access all the above learning resources and methodologies.

LaProf is expected to encourage innovation in the development of effective and high quality language learning and teaching tools for the two targeted sectors: teachers’ education and professionals’ (vocational) education. Through the developed pedagogical approach and learning materials, LaProf assists targeted user groups by easing the transition to their destination countries.

The main results of the LaProf project are expected to be the following:

(a) A language learning framework defining options and methodologies for candidate learners to become familiarized with the terminology and culture of their sectors in their destination countries, based on a series of carefully designed language learning exercises (such as the ones that Miksike has also produced, e.g. http://lefo.net/en/gtests.html?start=1&test=324&path=Fun%2F+Beginners, http://lefo.net/en/lmtests.html?test=315&start=1). This contains a pedagogic strategy to embed language learning in the immigration preparation process;

(b) An easily searchable online environment (the LaProf Web portal) allowing users to identify, retrieve and use language learning exercises in a digital format. It will be developed according to relevant international standards of the learning technology domain;

(c) An online tool providing a place where producers of digital language learning resources for the targeted communities can upload their resources, describe them with appropriate metadata in English and in their languages, and to make them publicly available via the LaProf Web portal for all interested users to find;

(d) At least 20 learning exercises that will be translated into five EU languages (i.e. English, French, Romanian, Hungarian, Estonian) and in Russian, which will be made accessible online through the LaProf Web portal. All resources will be described and categorised with rich metadata describing their properties and characteristics (e.g. to which professions, regions or linguistic audiences they apply);

(e) A series of evaluation events (at least one for the learners of each participating region/country), where the developed language exercises will be assessed;

(f) An evaluation report that will include the conclusions from the evaluation seminars as well as recommendations for all interested stakeholders, together with a comprehensive White Paper presenting the project approach, results, and recommendations in a simple manner;

(g) A focused dissemination event (European Workshop) that will aim to bring together LaProf with other relevant initiatives, in order to exchange experiences and discuss their results;

(h) Finally, a network of interested people and/or institutions (such as language teachers, language institutes, professional associations, educational initiatives) will be formed through an appropriately designed Partner Affiliation Program, in order to create a structure that will further sustain and use the project results;