EnTecNet, Environmental Technology Communication in German
Lappeenranta University of Technology, Centre for Training and Development, Kaisa Nikku
Helsinki University of Technology, Language Centre, Pauli Kudel

Linkki esitysmateriaaliin

Introduction

European integration has brought the need to improve language skills in different countries and in many sectors. The European Union has taken action to improve and restore the state of the environment to assure the standard of living within the Union and to protect the natural resources and ecosystems. Responsibility of environment is an integral part of European economic life. Many sectors, such as forest industries and mechanical engineering, tourism, agriculture, etc. have to recognise the sustainable use of natural resources and be able to communicate and discuss environment related issues with their respective customers and colleagues.

English is the dominating company language, but as for these industries German-spoken countries are important markets, German language knowledge is very important. Environmental issues and technologies are gaining importance for products to be sold on the German and Austrian market for domestic buyers and consumers, and they insist on detailed environmental information.

Further, buyers of Environmental Technology products outside of Germany and Austria have to be able to inform themselves on the products. The decision-makers in research and development of novel Environmental Technology outside of these countries also need to keep themselves informed on the state of the art in Environmental Technology in one of the major global markets.

Aims and objectives

The aim of the Leonardo da Vinci Pilot project named “EnTEcNet” is to produce a multimedia / web-based blended language training course “German in Environment Issues and Environmental Engineering” for the primary target group, environmental protection officers, PR-officers of companies in various industrial sectors. Other important potential users are also students, teachers and researchers in language centres and environmental faculties.
With regard to language learning and training on a European level, there is an increasing need for more differenciated materials.

Due to the growing need for differenciation of specialised areas of language, language training materials for more general areas of interest (as for example Technical English) do not seem to be sufficient any more. Therefore there is an increasing demand for materials covering more specialised language training needs. These niche areas, such as environmental technology, will have to find a way of creating tailor-made materials which are fit to meet their purposes.

We will not only create language learning materials for the field of Environmental Technology, a domain in which German is widely needed and progressively relevant all over Europe, but we will also show how a process of continuous content production for niche areas can be enabled and supported.
We are going to promote teachers’ autonomy and flexibility by illustrating how to create customised extensions of the training packages made available through the project. This will enable teachers to adapt the project’s language learning packages to their respective learning needs and pedagogic scenarios.
In the future, our concept of customized material production can easily be transferred to other niche areas with specialised language training needs.

Specific aims

1. Work-embedded language learning: It is a particular strength of the software Telos Language Partner to develop language learning modules that are based on authentic materials (e.g. video, graphics/images, text) taken from the target work domain. This makes it possible to develop training packages that are immediately relevant for the learners’ communication needs.

2. Blended language learning: The rich learning and teaching potential of the new technologies (multimedia and Internet) can only be fully exploited if technology-enhanced ways of learning and teaching are combined with traditional ones. Since Telos Language Partner supports language training packages for both offline (CD-ROM) and online (Internet) use, it is particularly suitable for the implementation and evaluation of training scenarios that integrate classroom teaching with self-study phases using CD-ROM and e-learning.

3. Teacher “autonomy”: It is a major shortcoming that teachers are usually not able to take an active part in the production/adaptation of multimedia learning contents. Telos Language Partner offers intuitive and “visual” authoring facilities and can thus be used by teachers to create customised extensions of the training packages made available through the project. This will enable teachers to adapt the project’s language learning packages to their respective learning needs and pedagogic scenarios.

4. Pedagogical networking scenarios will enable learners from different partner countries to cooperate by working on specialised language tasks in the target language – not only communication in a professional context is practised in our networking tasks, but the participants from different countries will also have the opportunity to exchange professional views and opinions and gain an insight into the European dimension of Environmental Technology.

Expected results

German in Environmental Issues and Environmental Engineering

Due to the fact that we place special emphasis on communication-oriented, work-related language learning, the materials used for our language training package will be based on authentic materials directly taken from the field of Environmental Technology. The training package will have a modular structure containing video situations, dialogues and texts combined with various exercise formats involving a flexible combination of reading, writing, listening and speaking activities – as for example lexical exercises or written and oral comprehension and production exercises.

The structure has 12 modules in the two domains Environment and Environmental Technology, so it can be used flexibly by different interest groups, focused on either one of the modules or both together. The course covers the following topics:

Environment
· Air
· Water
· Soil
· Biocoenosis
· Urban Area
· Rural Area

Environmental technology
· Air treatment
· Waste water treatment
· Soil remediation
· Solid waste treatment
· Environmental biotechnology
· Renewable energy

The modules utilize as mixture of different multimedia elements; animations 3, videos 3, voice recordings 6. The format of the core text ranges from Interview, Report, Process description to Telephone conversation. All modules introduce and apply a professional terminology and language level. A glossary is provided with important terms in German. Thereby, learners and teachers have a reference and self-directed learning of students is supported. This language training package, both in form of offline (CD-ROM) and online (Internet) use, is particularly suitable for the implementation and evaluation of training scenarios that integrate classroom teaching with self-study phases using CD-ROM and e-learning.

Acknowledgement: The project is co-funded by the European Commission under the Leonardo da Vinci Program.