Promoting social inclusion for migrant populations through media, technologies and languages

Abstract

While the globalized nature of contemporary society can be empowering for many, it may mean the maintenance of social iniquities for others, such as migrant populations. Spain, like many other European countries, has faced a high migration influx in the last decades. As a result, the government has invested in measures orientated toward social inclusion for these populations, including policies for the acquisition of language and culture. To support these efforts, the aim of the present study is twofold: Firstly, to evaluate the design of a cloud-based platform which supports learning authentic language and culture material appearing in media. Secondly, to present the results of a group of 12 trainers teaching language and culture courses through the platform and 63 adult A2-B1 migrants taking the courses offered there. The research examines the main findings of how migrants’ profiles may play a role in the effectiveness of online media as a teaching tool.