10fold. Didactics Against Discrimination

Adult learners clearly prefer content and activities that relate to their lived realities. 10fold II therefore addressed the distinct lack of learning materials that take into account the specific...

Adult learners clearly prefer content and activities that relate to their lived realities. 10fold II therefore addressed the distinct lack of learning materials that take into account the specific circumstances of adults who are discriminated against on the basis of race, nationality, residence status, gender, educational disadvantage or disability. The aim of the project was therefore to develop high quality learning materials (such as an interactive language course) that would make learners feel represented. We wanted to use authentic texts and comics as teaching prompts to address inclusion and equality and to promote participation and the basic language skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. Daily life, work, family life, care work, and intergenerational conflict were used as starting points. The outcomes also promote digital literacy, as digital skills are a key factor in social participation. Another important factor in the design of the project was the development of trainers' skills. The language courses in English, French and German were designed to encourage and support teachers working with the target group to use innovative and creative materials, such as comics, as authentic learning material.

The main activities were aimed at developing, piloting and disseminating the core project outcome, the Interactive Language Course, in a co-creative process. Following a transnational project meeting in Bordeaux, two workshops for adult educators were planned as separate activities in both countries. These events were seen by the project consortium not only as skills training and dissemination, but also as an opportunity to provide feedback on the new learning materials being developed. To emphasise the creative approach, comic artists (Valerie Bruckbög and Maria-Paz Matthey) participated in the creation of the workshops, which were attended by a total of 21 professionals from 15 different French and Austrian adult education organisations. 17 adult learners took part in the piloting of the results, providing valuable feedback that was subsequently incorporated in order to adapt the result to the needs of adult learners and trainers. Towards the end of the project, two multiplier events reached more than 60 people. In Vienna, an interactive comic exhibition at the coordinator's premises gave visitors the opportunity to get to know and try out the material. 10fold II was implemented and supported by professional project management

The Interactive Language Course, available in English, French, and German, can be considered as 10foldII’s core tangible project result. It consists of 10 chapters, each based on the story of a protagonist published in the original comic zine and reading book. Each chapter is divided into several activities; a total of 60 exercises have been created, which are a mixture of reading and listening comprehension, writing tasks and speaking prompts. In order to make the 15 listening examples permanently accessible, they were disseminated on the widely used YouTube platform. In both Vienna and Bordeaux, one of the protagonists participated in this process with her original voice. With a click or a QR code, they can be easily accessed via the digital course book. 25 digital exercises have been created via the accessible Learning Apps platform, which makes it possible to combine language and digital skills. The exercises, which are clearly organised in the table of contents according to language requirements and content focus, include exercises for levels A1-B1 according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). Each version is about 100 pages long and includes a comprehensive answer booklet.