Language competence centre
Project title
Language competence centre
Name of Beneficiary/Beneficiaries
University of Finance and Computer Science prof. Janusz Chechliński
Name of programme
Operational Programme Knowledge Education Development
Competition
The University’s Third Mission
Project value
PLN 395,500.00
Funding value
PLN 383,635.00
Project delivery period
01-08-2019 to 31-07-2021
Meet our team
Dominika Seta - Project Coordinator
See the result of our work
As part of the project, 113 people received TGLS certification and improved their qualifications for the labour market. For reasons of data protection, we are unable to provide certificates.
Participants in the project received textbooks.
What problem does our project solve?
The aim of the project was to develop key competences, i.e. communication in foreign languages, corresponding to the needs of the labour market, the economy and society in people over 24 years of age who are non-standardised recipients of higher education.
The current job market is forcing us to be more competitive and language skills are becoming a standard that employers expect.
Those graduating from university often want to further their studies, due to the search for employment and the desire to travel. Paid language courses are a stumbling block for many people due to limiting financial resources. This is why a project such as the Language Skills Forge has become an opportunity to improve qualifications and fill language deficits among both young people and those with many years of professional experience. The very fact of being able to hold a conversation in a foreign language gave our participants the freedom to express themselves and removed the language barriers that arise during stressful situations involving communication in a foreign language.
Who is going to benefit from the project results?
A huge benefit of the project's results is derived by us as organisers ourselves. The project received positive feedback and we were already receiving enquiries about its continuation. We are pleased that, as a result of the University's activities, participants from the Lodz Voivodeship have improved their language qualifications and, as a result of their new skills, have gained the opportunity to obtain a more attractive job. This has also translated into benefits for employers with more skilled workers.
Which aspect of the project implementation have we found to be the most challenging?
The biggest challenge in the project was to appropriately select the level of English for individual candidates so that they were satisfied with the subsequent learning outcomes. Candidates themselves often underestimated their skills out of fear of appearing out of place in the group, and knowledge verification tests did not always give an authoritative picture of skills. The need for language groups forced organisers to standardise the level of the entire group, which even after the same level of grammatical skills often differed in the level of oral expression. The challenge was to find the right levels, trainers who would meet the needs of the whole group rather than individuals, and to plan activities so that participants could combine their professional and private lives and attend the language course.