WHATtoDOif: Effective guidance for successful integration of foreign communities through language acquisition

Evidence shows that people from migrant communities and ethnic minority groups often face difficulties derived from information deficiency and a lack of knowledge about the system they are entering. Besides others, a lower level of knowledge of host-country language and information barrier in relation to the state system and environment that facilitates basic needs of inhabitants in the country can be a serious obstacle in the development and continuous effort of these persons in enhancing their chances and abilities with the aim to pursue a better life and be a valid part of the country they are living in. This project was combineing providing necessary information about tools and institutions in the country with developing necessary language skills to be able to get in contact and negotiate with these institutions.

Assisted newly incoming foreigners to acquire necessary language skills and information to be able to overcome basic obstacles of life in a new country improved their integration and social inclusion in the local society.

Aim

The goal of the WHATtoDOif project was to help newly-arrived foreigners, migrants and refugees to get oriented in the host-country economic, education, social and other systems, thus preventing their social exclusion or heavy dependency on their ethnic community.

Target groups

As a result of the project migrants improved their knowledge on the thematic areas selected by the consortium regarding the local system in partners’ countries. In addition, migrants were provided with useful glossary and video tutorials that support their communication and interaction with local employees when explaining their needs, and therefore the project have an impact on their language skills in the local language.

The project empowered migrants to be more confident on how to find solutions for specific problems they might face while trying to organise their life in a new country.

The WHATtoDOif outcomes  also supported language educators working with migrants by equipping them with new attractive methodologies and products.

The products that was created by the project is valuable support for all those organisations working for/with migrants (NGOs, volunteers, migrants’ associations, etc.) as they are equipped with a guide with useful information on how the local system is functioning in important areas for a migrant’s life.

Key target groups of the project :

1. Educational institutions providing specific training for social workers, volunteers working with migrants, etc.;
2. Organizations employing migrants;
3. Organizations facilitating migrants’ integration in hosting society;
4. Migrants themselves.

Results

In order to address this goal, the project delivered the following intellectual outputs:

• Output 1: Migrants Info & Glossary Compass – based on research made at the first months of the project with members of foreign communities in partner countries. It took a look at main life areas of foreigners (e.g. job market, schooling/education, visa, children care, health care, housing and realities, etc.).
• Output 2: Solutions map – on the basis of the identified most common problematic situations, basic “What To Do If” scenarios/appropriate solutions to each troublesome situation in each country will be defined.
• Output 3: WHATtoDOif Language Package – Each “appropriate solution” is accompanied with a language learning unit containing basic phrases and terminology related to the issue.
• Output 4: WHATtoDOif Video tutorials – Video materials describing the Solutions map. Each video were prepared in all partner languages as well as in all languages of selected migrant communities. These videos was filmed in partner languages as well as in languages of selected migrant groups.
• Output 5: WHATtoDOif Web Repository and Mobile application – This application connected to the web page of the project contain all outcomes from IO1, IO2, IO3 and IO4 in an easy-to-use structure, where each troublesome issue (IO1) linked to appropriate solution (IO2), related learning unit (IO3) and video tutorial in a related language (IO4). The application is also available on mobile phones, so the users are able to work with it on a daily basis and use it at the moment they need to find a proper phrase or term.

In what languages the results are available?

All materials were translated into the national languages of the project partner organizations (BG,CZ, EN, IT, CY, and PL) as well as 6 additional migrant languages: Arabic, Vietnamese, Ukrainian, Afrikaans, Romanian and Russian, which augment the project’s impact on the target group in the partners’ countries.

All project outputs will be free for download for all interested users.

Multiplier Events

In each partner country, multiplier events disseminating the developed results were organized.