If you are as passionate about language learning as we at Eurospeak are, you will know how important it is for language learning projects to be funded. Eurospeak has written and implemented many language learning projects through the Erasmus+ programme (mainly within the KA2 strand), so we have compiled some tips for proposal writers on how to write a solid application that has a good chance of approval.
- Narrow your focus
One mistake proposal writers may make is claiming that your project will be a ‘cure-all’ for the obstacles that learners or teachers may face. A lack of focus on one specific skill or aspect can take away from the innovation element of your project; instead, try and identify a gap in the existing materials and make your proposal specific to one aspect of language learning. For instance, you could write about pronunciation, reading comprehension, lesser-spoken languages with a lack of teaching materials, or language skills that are sector-specific (such as tourism or retail). Your project may be the first one to ever attempt to create an e-course on pronunciation in the Maltese language, for example, and this would be considered innovative.
- Provide sufficient research in your proposal
Of course, any good project proposal will include a needs analysis based on desk (and possibly field) research undertaken prior to writing it. This is also true for language learning projects, but we have the advantage of having copious amounts of linguistic research available to us including corpus data, books on teaching methodologies, academic studies in journals, and more. In the world of linguistics, current outlooks and trends are constantly changing, so be sure the research you are including is either recent (preferably less than 5 years old) or a landmark publication that had great influence in the field.
- Plan for real-life teachers to get involved in the development of educational materials
It may seem obvious, but embedding teachers’ experiences and feedback within the development of your educational materials is highly valuable. Including focus groups, interviews, feedback forms, and piloting sessions wherever appropriate during the project’s development is highly suggested. Not only could this get them more interested in the project, but their hands-on experience in the classroom is invaluable when creating materials that you want people to actually use. On the other hand, not including them in the process could leave you with materials that are perceived as difficult to use, irrelevant to their teaching context, inappropriate for the intended language level, and so on.
- Include initiatives and policies that currently exist in the EU to promote language learning
While writing your proposal, take advantage of the fact that the EU has policies and initiatives in place to ensure that languages are actively being learned. For example, the European Parliament’s language policy is a great source to refer to. The EU prides itself on multilingualism, and projects which work to support this goal are generally well-received.
We hope that these tips can provide you some insight and motivation while writing your Erasmus+ project proposal on language learning. Check out some of the projects Eurospeak wrote and is currently coordinating from our UK branch for inspiration: