E-LEARNING IN ICT AND AGRICULTURE
Authors: Colibaba Luciacintia , Colibaba Anca cristina , Pawlowski Jan , Colibaba Stefan 
Published: February 2023

Encouragement of European labor mobility is one of the key challenges in the 21st century. The article “E-learning in ICT and Agriculture” has as main objective the description of the results obtained in the LaProf project and the processes that lead to their development.

LaProf (www.laprof.eu) project has responded to this challenge by developing computer-mediated multilingual language learning exercises for specific purposes and the overall concept of migration process. LaProf was a multiliteral project that aimed at promoting language awareness to immigrating workforces in two particular sectors, ICT and agriculture. The main goal was to provide free access to language learning resources that would help candidate immigrants get more familiarized with the terminology and cultural issues in their sectors, through developing and disseminating a number of language learning exercises. The main idea of the project was to encourage ICT teachers living in Estonia (and Baltics in general) to learn Finnish and give them assistance in an overall immigration process to Finland by increasing their knowledge about working environment and culture of the target country. Accordingly, LaProf aimed to teach Greek and cultural issues to agricultural specialists living in Romania, who want to move and work in Greece.

Significant attention was given to encouraging the learning of under-representing European languages (Finnish and Greek) as foreign languages in order to help European citizens from Estonia and Romania to understand better the working environment and culture of the targeted countries (i.e. Finland and Greece). This objective is in accordance with one of the European Label national priorities: foreign languages as preparation for the work market, language skills increasing the possibility of obtaining a better job, at national and even international level. In addition, the instructions of LaProf language learning exercises are translated into widely spoken EU languages (English and French) as well as into Hungarian, Romanian, Estonian and Russian, which are notably less widely used and taught languages in Europe. To reinforce the acquisition of language and cultural competencies by its targeted user groups, as well as to raise awareness for the targeted languages, LaProf developed and promoted language learning methodologies and resources that motivate the particular categories of language learners, in order to enhance their capacity for language learning.

As the main output 656 interactive language learning exercises were developed for its clearly defined user groups. A series of piloting tests were applied to a specified target group, the final outputs being thus optimized to the maximum. The targeted learning resources are focused on language learning of the targeted languages, but also reflect the embedded cultural context of the destination countries and sectors. The following key results were achieved:
• A language learning framework outlining the background, topics, working culture, and relevant terminology of the targeted sectors and destination countries;
• A variety of multilingual language learning exercises (translated and adapted in English, French, Romanian, Hungarian, Estonian, and Russian) are publicly available and accessible online;
• Additional learning resources such as Learner’s Guide, Teacher’s Guide, Manual of Tools, WebQuest containing the background knowledge that learners should have before taking the language learning exercises, culture-aware resources that will facilitate their preparation for immigration in the destination countries, as well as pedagogical and technical guidelines for the language teachers;
• Two online platforms: (1) the LaProf Web portal and (2) the LaProf Wiki page through which interested users are able to easily search, identify, retrieve and use language learning exercises in a digital format. These platforms contain also an online tool through which all producers of digital resources on language learning for the targeted communities are able to upload their resources, describe them with appropriate metadata in English and in their languages, and to make them publicly available via the LaProf Web portal for all interested users to find.