SUN.COM – Sustainable Networking through a Language Learning Community
The SuN.Com(munity) is an EU funded education project, coordinated by Action Synergy, for language educators and learners. It formed a methodology and developed a platform in order to promote language learning through informal language learning communities focusing mainly on less used European languages (Greek, Italian, Russian, Albanian, Slovenian, Latvian, Polish, Czech, and Romanian).
Role of the Language Communities
– Each community is devoted to a single language and specifically focuses on informal learning methodologies.
– The users of the platform participate in a language experience with no preset language outcomes but orientate their own language acquisition through heuristic language building, online socialization and enculturation and a playful practise in relation to widely used social media.
– They utilise peer informal teaching methods for all the languages offered.
Basic Concepts of the project methodology
– Learning happening as a result of online social interaction.
– No “teachers” and “students”: there are learners that are willing to learn a language, other learners and native speakers willing to support them in this learning process and moderators that coordinate the activities of the community.
– Users are able to share educational material with each other.
Project’s Basic outcomes
– A social network community of learning for users who wish to learn or help others learn.
– A platform that includes multimedia resources and language learning materials.
– A handbook proposing a model for online language learning in informal learning communities.
