What experience does VIVACE have of working with social care organisations?

Since 2002 partners in the VIVACE project and its predecessor, ALLEGRO, have worked with a wide range of different social care organisations and bodies in ten EU member states to bring the experience of learning another language to their clients.  As a result the VIVACE project has a wealth of expertise to offer social care organisations who are interested in including language learning in the range of activities provided for those persons in their care.

Examples of organisations VIVACE and ALLEGRO have worked with include:

What other benefits are there for our clients?  

• The VIVACE and ALLEGRO experience shows that there are many benefits for the learners.  Learning a language means making connections with the real world; it helps to overcome feelings of isolation and marginalisation and this is a powerful boost to morale for many learners who suffer from low self-esteem.
• For some clients inclusion in VIVACE or ALLEGRO has  helped them to look outside the narrow confines of their own world and their own concerns, which often overwhelm them, through contact with teachers from other countries and learning something about cultures and ways of life very different from their own. 
• The process of language learning also assists in the development of other skills, especially those of communication, social interaction and concentration.  These are transferable to many other contexts outside the language learning classroom setting and support learners in their day-to-day lives.
• In some instances, for example when working with learners recovering from brain injuries, the VIVACE language learning experience has helped to reactivate previous knowledge and skills, including kinaesthetic and motor skills.
• In general, the VIVACE and ALLEGRO experience supports personal growth, independence and responsibility on the part of the learners both in relation to their language learning and in their personal lives.

And what about the benefits for our staff and for us as an organisation?

Staff will acquire new professional skills: the exchange of practice with professionals from another field, a new way of seeing and relating to their clients. In many VIVACE initiatives staff have learnt the language alongside the clients, sharing the new experience with them. 

In some organisations VIVACE has helped to support and develop existing international links and to forge contacts between learners and staff through e-mail, skype, visits and correspondence, thus helping to raise the international profile of the agency concerned.

You will forge new links with educational providers which may lead to collaboration in other initiatives

Some of the people we care for have enough difficulty communicating in their own language – how much of a foreign language can they realistically learn?

This was a common concern among both organisations and the learners themselves. One client at a day centre in Nottingham, UK for people with learning disabilities, before a taster session in French said:

“I am 34 years old and can’t even speak English properly, how can I learn French?”

By the end of the session, she was thrilled with what she’d been able to achieve and was determined to go home and show everyone (family, carers) what she’d learnt. 

In VIVACE a little goes a very long way.  Everyone can learn something of another language, even if it is only a few words or phrases, and everyone will benefit from the experience.  The VIVACE approach focuses on the needs and abilities of the learner and takes the learning at the learner’s pace.

How do we go about developing language learning as a service to our clients?  We operate on a small fixed budget and are not equipped with sophisticated technology.

To introduce language learning to your organisation you need to be able to provide someone who speaks a foreign language, preferably a qualified teacher with experience of teaching beginners and a suitable, safe space for the teacher and the group to meet. You may also be interested in the study circle model which has been trialled through ALLEGRO and VIVACE. This is a self-organised approach where your staff and clients could work together towards simple language and cultural learning goals.

The VIVACE model is a low-cost one.  It does not require specialist equipment or materials to provide a successful language learning experience.  It does require a supportive organisational framework and a teacher who is willing to adopt innovative teaching approaches tailored to the needs and abilities of your clients.

We have a Spanish-speaking colleague who would be keen to conduct some Spanish lessons with some of our clients.  What should we do to facilitate this?

Your responsibilities are to brief the teacher/trainer fully on the group s/he will be dealing with and what to expect of their characteristics and behaviours, such as short attention span, slow or abrupt communication style, low self-esteem, likely responses to a ‘teaching’ situation, among others.

Both you as a social care provider and your teacher/trainer should take time to familiarise yourselves with the Taste of VIVACE and the VIVACE and ALLEGRO database on this website for more information from real experience.

Your teacher/trainer should also study the Good Practice Guidelines for Educational Providers on this website for information, advice and suggestions for successful delivery of language learning to disadvantaged groups.

We have decided to introduce language learning to our range of activities.  We have invested considerable energy and enthusiasm to get to this point and are anxious that our language learning classes really are a success.  Are there any pitfalls we should avoid?  Do you have any other advice to offer?

Learn from our experience!  Our database provides details of 62 VIVACE and ALLEGRO language learning case studies, which we call sub-projects.

Study the Good Practice Guidelines for Educational Providers for methodological and pedagogical advice.  Your teacher should be prepared to be flexible and adaptable and to be ready to break the rules to meet your learners’ needs.

Build on your learners’ successes.  Reward achievement and celebrate success with certificates and prizes, preferably in the context of an awards ceremony to which you might invite family, friends and carers.

Is there anything else we should do?

Yes! Spread the word through your own professional networks and in the media of the value of this exciting and rewarding opportunity to make a positive difference to your clients' lives and sense of well-being.  The more you can do to help to get the message across, the greater the benefits will be for everyone.