In 2013, the so-called Viducation project was launched at the Institute of Romance Studies at the University of Kiel4 (CAU) as a reaction to the new Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Arts degree programmes in order to improve students' learning skills and core competences by creating subject-related videos. Filmmaking by students is already widely…

In an increasingly interconnected world, intercultural competency has become an essential skill for many. It is important for students to learn this skill, but are teachers equipped to instill such knowledge not just adequately, but also objectively and without prejudice? In light of the recent explosion in telecommunications-assisted teaching and…

Different technologies have been used for decades to support adult education and learning. These include radio, television and audio and video cassettes. More recently digital ICTs such as computers, tablets, e-books, and mobile technology have spread at great speed and also found their way into the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy…

This paper presents the ERASMUS+ "DigiLing" project, which aims to teach and improve linguists' and translators' skills and knowledge of digitalisation to prepare them for today's job market. Against this background, it discusses the development of digital competencies and distinguishes them from traditional domain-specific and general…

This book was published to mark the tenth anniversary of Hamburg's award-winning Family Literacy project (FLY). It includes contributions from key stakeholders--academics, teachers, parents and children--participating in the conceptualization and implementation of FLY in the city of Hamburg. FLY mainly targets people from socially disadvantaged…

Non-formal education has been suggested as becoming more and more important in the last decades. As the aims of non-formal education are broad and diverse, a large variety of non-formal learning activities is available. One of the emerging fields in many countries, among them Finland and Germany, has been the establishment of non-formal laboratory…

Within a learning family, every member is a lifelong learner. A family literacy and learning approach is more likely to break the intergenerational cycle of low education and inadequate literacy skills, particularly among disadvantaged families and communities. The selection of case studies presented in this compilation show that for an…

This study is a comparative analysis of literary curricula in six European countries and is part of the project LiFT-2, funded by Comenius' Life Long Learning Programme of the European Commission. The result of this project, that involved almost 4,500 teachers, is a European literary framework for secondary education which can be described as a…

Background: REBOUND is a novel media-based life skills and risk education programme developed for 14- to 25-year olds in school, university or youth group settings. This paper outlines the programme's rationale, curriculum and implementation. It provides information of relevance to researchers, programme developers and policymakers. Methods/design…

Reading and understanding texts of all kinds form a basic competence for participating in social and cultural life and for being successful on a job. Although most European adolescents have adequate reading competences at their disposal by the end of school, about a quarter of them cannot meet the minimal standards. The urgency of this societal…

Recognizing the global role of information technology, this article describes a USDOE-funded transatlantic mobility program in the area of IT project management. The project enhances intercultural as well as German language skills and promotes a mutual understanding of EU and US cultures. The relationship between IT and German-language programs…

This article discusses a short-term study abroad program conducted in Berlin in English for college students. Guided by the academic goals of developing cultural competence, demonstrating cultural communication, and attaining a basic level of cultural literacy, this program, with its pre- and post-program academic components, offers an alternative…

This paper describes the theoretical framework and the main objectives of the European Comenius project MuViT -- Multiliteracy Virtual. The project engages primary pupils across the world in multilingual and audiovisual reading and writing processes through the use of information technology resources to enhance multi-literacies, plurilingual…

Inspired by the Salters Approach (UK) and ChemCom (USA), units for a new curriculum for chemistry teaching are being developed in Germany based on theories of scientific literacy, motivation, and situated learning. The curriculum follows a context-based approach. Rather than using the structure of the discipline, it generates basic chemical…

In recent years, some endeavours have been made to overcome the gap between theoretical and practical knowledge. In many countries projects have been conducted that aim to disseminate research-based knowledge in the practical field of education. This article presents an approach to the implementation of research results. This approach is referred…