On 20 June 2018 the dissemination of the EU project »Language skills and intercultural issues in the hospitality industry: unity in diversity in the EU labour market« took place in the spa Terme 3000 in Moravske Toplice. I briefly informed the stakeholders about the project and project partners and then presented the Moodle e-platform as the most important outcome. I started with the language course A2/B1, available in 16 European languages and showed some tasks in English and German. Then I went on with the language course B2/C1 and the C1 modules – Intercultural in Country module. I finished the presentation with the language course A1, again available in 16 European languages. I emphasized that all modules come with audio and/or video material which contributes to a better development of listening and speaking skills. I also pointed out that the e-learning platform will be accessible free, without any payment, to anyone who wants to check or improve their knowledge of foreign languages or who wants to learn a new language. Considering the topics which I highlighted the learning platform could be extremely useful for employees in the tourism industry and all stakeholders agreed with me. Moreover, for students preparing to work in the tourism field it is also very useful. Before we finished the presentation I showed them how to register so that they can use the learning platform once it is available to the public. Then we moved to their business centre, where more computers were available so that the stakeholders could try and solve tasks of different modules on different language levels. They checked tasks in German, English, Italian and Czech – languages mainly spoken by the visitors of the spa. They also checked Slovenian tasks as they have many employees at the moment, especially in the restaurant, who come from former Yugoslav countries and do not speak Slovenian at all. They were impressed with all the material and came up with the suggestion to organise a workshop for all employees of the spa in the autumn.
Erna Vöröš
Project manager of Slovenian team
On 21 June 2018 I had the presentation and dissemination of the European project »Language skills and intercultural issues in the hospitality industry: unity in diversity in the EU labour market« at Srednja šola za gostinstvo in turizem Radenci, the secondary school for hospitality and tourism. I briefly informed the teachers about the project and project partners and then continued with the presentation of the Moodle e-learning platform. I started with the language course A2/B1, available 16 European languages and showed them tasks in English and German. Foreign language teachers and Slovenian teachers especially liked the interactive maps as they are very useful for developing speaking skills. Then I presented the B2/C1 language course and explained the idea of this higher level course. I also showed some material and tasks so that they could see the difference to A2/B1. I finished with the language course for A1, also available in 16 European languages. I emphasized that all modules additionally offer audio and/or video material which contributes to the development of listening and speaking skills. Moreover, I highlighted that the e-learning platform will be accessible without any payment to anyone who is interested in learning a new language, checking their foreign language skills or improving them. Furthermore, I stressed that the learning platform is added value for teachers as it could be used in class for checking vocabulary or topics or introducing new topics. Additionally, it is an advantage for students as they can do tasks on their own and they get feedback from the system that corrects the task. It is useful for teachers, students, employees in the tourism sector and the broader public. Before I finished I showed them how to register on the platform so that they can use it in the autumn when it becomes available to the public. They were also interested in a workshop in the autumn before school starts.
Erna Vöröš
Project manager of Slovenian team
On 28 June 2018 I prepared the dissemination of the European project »Language skills and intercultural issues in the hospitality industry: unity in diversity in the EU labour market« for the lecturers of the higher vocational college at Ekonomska šola Murska Sobota, Višja strokovna šola. I shortly presented the project, project partners, and then went on to presenting the Moodle e-learning platform as the most important outcome of the project. First, I presented the language course A2/B1, available in 16 European languages, showed them material, and tasks in English and German. I also prepared some solved tasks to show them how the system corrects and grades the tasks and gives feedback to the user. They especially liked the interactive maps with all the detailed information. Then I presented the B2/C1 language course and explained the idea of it by showing different material and tasks so they could see the difference to A2/B1. As we, among others, offer the module “accounting” for students at the college, the module “Financial management” on the platform seemed quite interesting and useful for those lecturers. In addition, other lecturers could find materials relating to their subjects. I finished with the language course A1, also available in 16 European languages. I stressed that all the modules come with audio and/or video material, which is important when developing listening and speaking skills. I also emphasized that the e-learning platform will be accessible free, without any payment, to anyone who is interested in learning, improving or just checking foreign language skills. The basic idea is, of course, teachers use it in class with classical methods but also individual use by students or people working in the tourism sector. Before we finished I showed them how to register on the platform so that the lecturers can use it once the platform will be available to the public.
Erna Vöröš
Project manager of Slovenian team
On 29 June 2018 we organised a dissemination and workshop for the European project »Language skills and intercultural issues in the hospitality industry: unity in diversity in the EU labour market« at Ekonomska šola Murska Sobota. The participants were teachers and employees of the school. I started with a short presentation of the project and project partners as all of the participants had taken part in some previous dissemination events and knew, in general, what the project is about. I showed them the language course A2/B1 with some material and tasks in Croatian, English and German. Then I continued with the language course B2/C1 in English and showed them some material and tasks so that they could see the difference to the A2/B1 course. I also presented the Intercultural in Country module with some videos and tasks to solve. I finished the presentation with the language course A1. I explained and showed that all the modules offer audio and/or video material that helps to develop listening and speaking skills. It also helps with pronunciation. I emphasized that the e-learning platform will be available to anyone who is interested in learning, improving or checking foreign language skills without any payment. The basic idea of the platform, however, is to use it in class by teachers and students individually at home. But as the system corrects and grades the tasks solved, students and any other users get important feedback. Before we finished the presentation and started with the workshop, I showed them how to register on the platform so that they can use the platform when it will be available to the public. During the workshop, the teachers had three hours to check their foreign language skills or to learn a new language. They mainly tried Croatian, English and German tasks on A1 and A2/B1 level. Some of them tried Czech and Hungarian as well. Those who had learned English as their first foreign language also tried tasks of B2/C1 level. We finished the workshop with new experiences and knowledge. They will spread the word about the learning platform to colleagues from other schools, friends, families and other people as they believe the platform is an excellent tool to check, revise, practise, improve or learn a foreign language.
Erna Vöröš
Project manager of Slovenian team
On Saturday, 21 July 2018, the participants of the EU project »Placements in Environmental, Archaeological and Traditional Skills – PEATS« took part in the presentation of the EU project »Unity in Diversity«. The students from Great Britain were on mobility, doing their work placement in the Prekmurje region in Slovenia within the above-mentioned project. First I introduced the previous project »Key Skills for Hotel Industry Staff« so that they could easier follow the presentation of the project »Unity in Diversity«. I presented the material for A2/B1 in different languages so that they could see the variety of languages and explained that the platform offers 16 language courses altogether. I also presented the material for the B2/C1 language level. Then I went on with the courses for A1 language level, also available in 16 languages. As they had been in Slovenia for only a few days at that time and they wanted to learn some Slovenian words and phrases, they found the platform very useful. They also liked the variety of different language levels – from A1 to C1. I also mentioned that the platform and all the material from the project will be accessible free for anyone who wants to learn a new language or improve their language skills as well as for students, teachers, people employed in the hotel industry or tourists as soon as the project finishes in autumn 2018. I also gave them leaflets about the project to find more information and contact data.
Erna Vöröš
Project manager of Slovenian team
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.