Some Intro

When focusing on the education of migrants and refugees in schools around Europe today, the nonverbal value of culture, which enables feelings and attitudes, comes in the spotlight in the field of education of the new coming citizens of Europe.

Teachers of formal education, as well as trainers of non-formal education have come to realise that people can convey a lot of information through body language, facial expressions, the volume and tone of the words we use, as well as through our overall image, clothing, behaviour. Even our lack of knowledge of what to say or do says a lot. Cultural and social aspects have proven much stronger and wider aspects of communication than grammar and vocabulary could ever be.

Non-verbal communication can not just support the acquisition of the host society’s language and the academic integration of the newcomers (children, teenagers, adults), but it can also facilitate cultural meaningful exchanges, and support intercultural communication.

Who is this course for

Teachers, trainers, educators, school administrators, etc.

• School principals & directors (primary & secondary)
• Teachers (primary & secondary)
• Academic staff (tertiary)
• Directors & personnel in International coordination offices (tertiary)
• Entrepreneurs & people involved in startups (education)
• Social entrepreneurs
• Directors/managers (companies/NGOs)
• Personnel/staff responsible for the business development strategy of their organisation
• Individuals involved in startups, networks of excellence & innovation
• Trainers (formal & non formal education)
• Individuals with interest in entrepreneurship in relationship to education
• Parents

Description

For all newcomers to Europe, whether they are migrants, refugees or expatriates, young children, teenagers or adults, communication in a teaching context is a brutal and toilsome experience, as most European languages are “foreign” to them.

This course aims to present a unique and innovative approach to this situation by suggesting a practical guide to nonverbal communication in order to facilitate a positive approach to the languages and culture of host countries, and assisting inclusion and tolerance in the modern multicultural classes of our times. The focus of the approach will be on the inclusion of performing arts, gamification and popular media to deliver nonverbal communication.

The methodology cultivated for the course aims to answer the low literacy problem of migrant groups of students whether they follow formal or non-formal education.

In other words, throughout this course the participants will come to grasp the power and the techniques of nonverbal communication, to understand that talking is not a priority to communicate and learn the social aspects of a new language!

Objectives

• To focus on the social aspect of learning a language
• To understand the inclusive potential of non-verbal communication
• To use the power of non-verbal communication in the linguistic education of new migrants and refugees
• To create environments of non-formal education where the training participants will develop their communication skills through performing arts and media
• To learn how to apply the practices of the course in their groups using a peer coaching method.
• To discover and develop new language learning practices developed in the line of the action-oriented approach.
• To understand non-formal education principles, within the context of nonverbal communication practices
• To familiarize with how to transfer non-formal education to formal contexts in order to foster key competences, participation and learning of students

Methodology

Regarding the theoretical part of the course, it involves the presentation of challenges for educators and trainers that work either with mixed groups of migrants and refugees (children or adults). Theories about using nonverbal communication in the language classroom will be followed by interactive workshops and hands-on activities.

Structured activities, step by step instructions and all necessary information will be provided to the participants as resources in a package at the beginning of the course. New activities and materials could be added according to the needs of the training group.

A toolbox has been created for the needs of the course and will be free for the participants to use with their learners, which adds special value to the course.

Agenda/Course schedule

5 days programme

Day 1

• Course introduction
• Team Building exercises
• Needs and expectations evaluation
• Nonverbal communication – what it is
• Exploring the value of words and the power of non-verbal communication
• Multicultural and diverse classes: new challenges in a changing and globalized society
• Sharing experiences and challenges in working with multicultural groups of learners

Day 2

• Basic concepts and principles about non- verbal communication
• The use of nonverbal communication in Language classrooms. Is there?
• Practical activities and hands-on experiences to improve cultural awareness and confront personal prejudices
• Games: Teaching grammar, vocabulary and phonemes with nonverbal communication
• Games: Using non-verbal communication to … talk in the multicultural classroom

Day 3

• How to foster students’ motivation, participation and creativity through non-formal, informal and experiential learning activities based on non-verbal communication
• Learning and practicing non-verbal communication and role-play games
• Creating a short play for your students using nonverbal text
• Workshop: Nonverbal communication activities ending to a short theatrical play

Day 4

• A tool box of ready-made hands-on activities to practice, evaluate and change differentiating them according to language level of the trainees involving: comics, music, cooking,
• Workshop: Emotional involvement – connect new language to oneself
• Games: Familiarising with the tones of a foreign language and playing with it even without understanding it.

Day 5

• Practicing, designing and delivering non-verbal activities and tools
• Workshop: shift from left to right brain activities
• Course roundup and final evaluation
• Validation of learning outcomes and certification ceremony
• Additional training session tailored to specific needs (optional)

19.06 - 23.06.2023 Athens                     

21.08 - 25.08.2923 Larissa         

11.09 - 15.09.2023 Thessaloniki