The Language House

Main idea

Outline

The website
The Language House is a website on which you can find a house built out of Lego. This house consists out of 10 rooms. Each room has its own subject chosen by students from the Bachelor in Early Childhood Education in the academic year 2016-2017:

• Living room
  Structuring a text
• Bedroom
  Writing correct and attractive sentences
• Gym
  Direct and active writing
• Garden
  Linguistic expression
• Garage
  Reasoned writing
• Bathroom
  Verbs
• Lounge
  Relative pronouns
• Playroom
  Choosing the correct words
• Kid’s room
  Using structure signifiers
• Study
  Mail etiquette

In the academic year 2018-2019, an eleventh language room (the teahouse) was added to the Language House. This room focuses on English proficiency.

There are four items per room:

• Theoretical background
  This can be an inspiring video, a supporting PowerPoint, or an instructive table.
• Language related reflection questions
  These questions help the students to better understand and coach each other.
• Exercises
  The students can choose which exercises they go through and which they don’t.
• A self-evaluation assignment

The buddy programme
The project is funded by the Queen Mathilde Fund which ran from September 2016 to February 2017. A requirement to receive this funding, was that the project included a buddy system. Students also mentioned that they would be more motivated to use the Language House paired with (a few) other student(s).

The buddy programme allows students to decide autonomously where and when they coach each other and at what pace, but there are three fixed moments in which students and staff come together:

• the kick-off,
• a check-in,
• and the end.

The main goal of the kick-off is for every student to find their buddy or buddies. Students can choose their buddy based on closeness (e.g., they are already friends), based on complementary strengths and weaknesses, or based on the year they are in (e.g., a first-year student being mentored by a buddy who is in their second year). There’s an exercise at the start of the buddy programme to help students choose the right buddy for them.

During the check-in, the organizer gauges whether the students are happy with their buddies and how they are doing.

At the end of the year, students are encouraged to give feedback on the initiative, and they receive a certificate for peer mentoring.

Background information
There is a need for language support in many study programmes that don’t include language courses in the curriculum. Most study programmes try to meet this need by offering language classes in which the language deficit is the starting point, but a lecturer from the Bachelor in Early Childhood Education wanted to try something different.

Goals

The Language House has five objectives:

• Linguistic competence for everyone
  Students support students in developing their linguistic competence.
• Everyone can be a coach
  We support students to coach other students and to be coached themselves. Each team formulates their own objectives using the reflection questions.
• Support independent of time and place
  The Language House is a digital support tool because it allows students to work with each other independently of time and place.
• Sustainability
  We work on sustainable contact between people in the long term (people), we work digitally (planet), we aim for success for all involved in the short and long term (profit), and we utilize the energy of supporting teachers efficiently (profit).
• Appreciation
  We support an appreciative attitude during the coaching.

Obstacles targetted:

• Educational difficulties

Students involvement

In designing the Language House, there was a start meeting with students in which the topics were chosen, there were focus groups for feedback, and a final evaluation moment. The focus groups mapped out students’ experiences and critical success factors and lead to a final first design of the project. 

Students are involved in the delivery of this initiative as buddies.

Inspiration and evidence

• Self-Determination Theory (ABC Model)
• GROW Coaching Model

Success criteria

• This online tool is not linked to an evaluation. It’s completely optional whether and how students want to use it.
• It’s fully reciprocal. Students read texts written by their peers and receive feedback from peers on their own texts as well.
• They can decide autonomously where and when they coach each other and at what pace. This independence increases the success of long-term coaching processes.
• Students stay motivated because they feel accountable for another student’s progress as well as their own.
• The content of the Language House appeals to its target audience because it’s inextricably connected to their study programme.
• Some buddy groups become friends over the course of the year and keep supporting each other throughout their studies.

Points of attention

• It would be nice to add even more exercises and to work with real examples from students.
• The buddy programme is very time-consuming aspect of the Language House.
• It would be nice to link it more to AUAS’ study coaching, because students often struggle with more than just language (e.g., planning, study methods…).
• It’s hardly transferable because it’s inextricably connected to the study programme.

Do you feel you can effectively provide the support that students require?

Would you recommend this to other institutions?

strongly agree

Evaluation

The Language House is evaluated informally during the three fixed moments in which students and staff come together:

• the kick-off,
• the check-in,
• and the end.

The students are encouraged to talk about what they have learned, what they missed, what can be adapted, etc.

Results
The Language House is positively evaluated by students (e.g., the feedback they receive from their buddy helps them improve their writing).

Adaptations
The Language House is constantly adapted based on feedback from students, for example:

• There were time estimates added to the different rooms so that students could plan accordingly and so that they knew what was expected from them timewise.
• The English tearoom was added.
• Etc.

Communication

• The website can be found on AUAS’ online platform.
• The students learn about the Language House during the induction week.
• The Language House is linked to the course Research and Innovation, because students have a lot of written assignments during this course.
• Word of mouth advertising is very important for this initiative.

Timing

• The online tool is available 24/7.
• The buddy programme starts in October. The check-in takes place around January/February and the end of the buddy programme takes place in May. Students can decide autonomously where and when they coach each other and at what pace.

Resources

• Getting the online tool to where it is now, took a lot of time.
• The buddy programme is also a very time-consuming aspect of the Language House.
• It’s very important that staff believes in their students’ coaching skills and motivation. This mindset is a necessity for the success of the Language House.
• This initiative only works in a context which focusses on making language enjoyable instead of focussing on a language deficit.

Extra information

• The Language House

Transferability

We think it is hardly transferable to other contexts or groups.

Is it easily transferable to other contexts/groups?
A strength of the Language House is that it’s inextricably connected to the study programme, but this also makes it hardly transferable to other contexts or groups. The idea behind it, however, is easily transferable.

Context
The project is funded by the Queen Mathilde Fund. A requirement to receive this funding, was that the project included a buddy system.