Policies for OER in regional and minority languages: are regional and minority languages side-lined? Marit Bijlsma & Cor van der Meer

1. This project was financed with the support of the European Commission. This publication is the sole responsibility of the author and
the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Policies for OER in regional and minority languages: are
regional and minority languages side-lined?
Moderators: Marit Bijlsma & Cor van der Meer, Fryske Akademy (Netherlands)
26thth of September 2016, Crowne Plaza - Brussels

2. This project was financed with the support of the European Commission. This publication is the sole responsibility of the author and
the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
What Characterizes Regional and Minority Language
Communities?

3. This project was financed with the support of the European Commission. This publication is the sole responsibility of the author and
the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Presentations
• Zora Popova (European Centre of Minority Issues, Germany)
• Ľudovít Hajduk (National Institute for Education, Slovakia)
• Eleni Sella (University of Athens, Greece)
• Madoka Hammine (University of Lapland, Finland)
• Maria Luisa Gurrutxaga (Donostiako Berritzegunea – Basque Government, Spain)

4. This project was financed with the support of the European Commission. This publication is the sole responsibility of the author and
the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Open Discussion
- What can OER offer for Small Languages and
Regional and Minority Languages in Particular?
- What concrete actions should be taken for further
uptake?

5. Recommendations
• Governments should: Support collaboration with other
nations or regions in establishing quality OER in lesser used
Languages (LuL);
• The European Commission should: Revitalise the
commitment to OER that it expressed in Opening Up Education,
with a particular focus on OER in LuL as a means of maintaining
cultural and linguistic diversity;
• Institutions should: Facilitate teacher and support staff
training in the creation, adaptation and use of OERs.

6. This project was financed with the support of the European Commission. This publication is the sole responsibility of the author and
the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
Concluding Remarks

7. Bottom-up initiatives
Bottom-up, community-driven initiatives of less used language speakers
demonstrate how speakers who actively engage in digital practice can contribute
in the linguistic and cultural expansion of their language;
Wikimedia Foundation: https://blog.wikimedia.org/2016/05/09/bangla-translations-
odia-womens-history/
Stimulate the production of multilingual OER
The production of most of the OER are in English, therefore, creating a barrier to
guaranteeing the universal use or understanding of the content.
 Develop methods to translate and re-contextualize resources from English and
other large languages
Moving the field forward

8. This project was financed with the support of the European Commission. This publication is the sole responsibility of the author and
the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.
What can OER offer for Less used Languages?

9. What are the advantages for Less used Languages when
using OER?
•Maintaining Linguistic Diversity
Example: Arbëresh (Southern Italy): Arbëresh is spoken in Southern Italy in the regions of
Abruzzi, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Apulia and Sicily. With almost no written
tradition of the language, it is a challenge to keep the language alive. OER can offer a great
opportunity to produce more learning materials in the Arbëresh language.
•Quality of education
OER facilitate the implementation of a CLIL method at low costs as OER learning materials
can be adjusted at no costs to a specific (language) context. In addition, it facilitates
Computer Assisted Learning (CALL). Computer assisted language learning refers to “any
process in which the learner uses a computer to improve language competences”
•Empowerment
In Friesland (Netherlands) a MOOC is being developed to empower the Frisian language. It
also offers diaspora languages the opportunity to reach out to their culture and language
while abroad.
• Decrease educational costs

10. What are the advantages for Less used Languages
when using OER?
In summary:
•Allow legal extensive use of the resources free of charge.
•Enable increased and low cost access to education.
•Enable increased quality assurance for the learning materials
used by learners.
•Enable innovation, creativity and sustainable use.
•Enable the rapid development of courses and programmes.
•Lower the cost of delivering online and blended learning.
•Make available high quality materials at any time when
delivered online.