Abstract:

www.eurocatering.org is an attractive and interactive web-based language learning tool designed for trainees, learners and workers in the Hospitality and Catering industry to improve their oral language competences.

EuroCatering helps the target groups acquire the basic specific vocabulary and the communicative competences to function efficiently in a kitchen, restaurant or at a reception abroad by providing learning materials and instructional support.
It is freely accessible online in 12 languages: English, French, Spanish, Dutch, Norwegian, Slovenian, Galician, German, Italian, Finnish, Polish and Irish.

The website provides realistic language training in virtual scenes in the kitchen, restaurant and at the reception, It is a pedagogical tool with interactions and exercises for reinforcement, a glossary of work-orientation facts for 12 countries, and a video of pertinent gestures.

It is based on the analysis of trainees’ needs and has been developed by a team of language teachers, trainers and administrators in the partner countries (BE, DE, ES, FR, IE, IT, NO, PL, SI and UK), supported by the Lifelong Learning Programme of the European Commission.

The kit has been used extensively over the last 4 years: 80,000 visitors, 15,000 committed learners. It has been integrated into curricula at national level and in different countries.
The whole package was completed by October 2013 and offers a follow-up system of the learners for the teachers/trainers.

The online language tool consists of three main parts: “The Cloche”, "Reception" and “The Tray”. The Cloche presents the language course via a flow chart with 34 units representing different scenes in the kitchen and restaurant areas. The Reception includes 20 scenes and The Tray provides supporting tools: a lexicon of professional vocabulary, supplementary exercises, individual evaluation systems (portfolio), a teachers' guideline, learning outcomes and a follow-up system of the learners by the teachers/trainers. The autonomous learner can also follow his progress and print a certificate of performance.

EuroCatering optimises learning time which is not possible in situ, It encourages a greater readiness to learn languages in an attractively packaged format and it promotes learner autonomy for those outside formal education.

www.eurocatering.org has been awarded the European Language Label by 7 National Agencies: Slovenia (2008), Norway (2009), Belgium (Flanders) (2009), Ireland (2010), Spain (2010), Belgium (Wallonia) (2011) and Italy (2013) and the European Language Label of the Labels (European Commission) September 2012. It also received the CALICO 2010 "Access to Language Education" Award (Texas, USA).

Keywords:

Vocational language, e-learning, free online language course, hospitality, catering.