BCBL seeks the best way to teach languages in the classroom
The research centre has signed a collaboration agreement with the London School of Languages to test its scientific methods in a real educational environment.
Researchers and teachers will work together on different projects with the challenge of advancing towards more effective, efficient and intuitive teaching.
The main objective is to lay the foundations for solid, long-term quality learning in language teaching.
The Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL) and the London School of Languages in Gipuzkoa have signed a collaboration agreement with the aim of testing different scientifically-based educational methods in the classroom and finding the best formula for teaching languages.
The agreement signed by both institutions came into force last December and will allow BCBL researchers, with the support of the teaching staff, to test different methodologies developed by the centre in a real environment for three years.
“It is a great opportunity to see how our research can help in language teaching. The direct contact with teachers will help us to find common interests and launch new studies in an unbeatable environment for experimentation,” said Miguel Arocena, BCBL’s director general.
To this end, BCBL researchers are counting on the collaboration not only of the teachers but also of the language school students themselves, who will participate in the studies thanks to the consent of their families.
“Since for us, the student is the fundamental axis in the learning process, our aim is to design innovative teaching strategies that facilitate learning in an intuitive, effective and efficient way; achieving not only the best results in the long term, but also the best learning experience”, emphasised José Mari Sánchez Requena, director of the language school.
Field work
The fieldwork in the framework of the collaboration has started this year 2023 through training sessions for teachers to learn about BCBL’s scientific methods and to select the most optimal ones to be integrated into their classes.
“We talk directly to teachers to take advantage of their knowledge of the educational environment and to help us adapt our experimental protocols in the best way,” said BCBL researcher Svetlana Pinet.
In the future, the BCBL hopes to carry out studies directly in language classes in order to test and verify the efficiency of the chosen scientific methods in the classroom.
“Our vision is, therefore, to redefine the concept of teaching by uniting neuroscience and education; and, at the same time, to lead the implementation of innovative proposals in the classroom offering the best quality in the learning of English and French” added José Mari Sánchez Requena.
ELT Conference 2023
Also on the near horizon of the agreement is the ELT Conference 2023, which on 25 March will bring together professionals from all over Spain and abroad in the field of English language teaching to present the latest advances in this field at the Palacio Miramar in Donostia.
The conference, organised and promoted by the London School of Languages and its specialist Teacher Training department, will have the pleasure of welcoming top-level speakers such as BCBL researchers Efthymia Kapnoula and Clara Martin.
In addition, the research centre will have its own stand to establish meetings and synergies between teachers and researchers. It will be a great opportunity to energise and network and to foster relationships that favour all parties.
