Abstract:

In the era of fast-paced changes in technology, it is vital for anyone actively involved in foreign language learning and/or teaching to make use of new developments that have regularly been offered. The purpose of new technological tools which can be accessed by users is to facilitate and validate the educational process. One of such solutions is Lingu@network.

Lingu@network builds on the existing quality resource Lingu@net, which is a virtual language resource centre constantly developed by a consortium of language, information and technical experts.

The overriding aim of Lingu@net is to provide new attractive ways of foreign language learning and teaching through an extensive range of adequate virtual resources. Users are offered advice on language learning and access to self-evaluation tools and discussion groups. Great effort is taken to ensure Lingu@net as high quality as possible. Resources, whose number currently stands at 6,000, are regularly reviewed and expanded. Lingu@net is searchable in over 30 languages including all official EU languages, some regional languages and major world languages such as Chinese, Arabic and Hindi. Using Lingu@net is free of charge.

Lingu@network is a new project funded by European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme – Key activity 2 (Languages). It began on 1 January 2013 and will run for 2 years. The project is being monitored by the Languages Company and the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid. The new project brings the current solution into the age of interactivity and user involvement. It offers enhanced services, broadens the available content, involves users in the development of resources.

In our talk we will focus on the aims of the project, which is promoting learning foreign languages among adults by means of the Internet. We will also point out possible ways the project can be used by foreign language teachers.

Keywords:

Lingu@network, virtual resources, Lifelong Learning, adult learners.