Practices

Reading, an active search for meaning
Comenius Multilateral Project
Institutions involved:
Thematic Field: Literacy
Zespól szkól w Przeclawiu (Poland), Initiative et Formation Belgique (Belgium),
Association Européenne des Enseignants – Enseignement Libre (Belgium), Lycée
français Notre Dame de Sion (Turkey), Escola Secundaria C/3° Ceb de Afonso de
Albuquerque (Portugal), Liceu Teoretic (Romania), Universitatea din Bucuresti
(Romania), Centre national de formation de l'enseignement technique privé (France)
Coordinating institution:
INFOREF – initiatives pour une formation efficace (Belgium)
Key word: Low achievers in reading, Literacy strategies, Teaching skills
Description:
The project Signes@Sens addresses the problem of weak reading
comprehension. Many young and adults alike have low literacy skills; they can
decipher words and short sentences but are unable to understand the meaning of an
ordinary text on everyday issues. And for longer, more complex texts with implicit
meanings and the use of symbols, the number of people with reading problems
increases considerably, as shown by the PISA surveys.
The Signes@Sens project has collected successful approaches to literacy and has
developed an initial and in-service training module to help teachers improve their
knowledge of what reading actually involves, to better identify the real obstacles to
reading comprehension and to develop teaching practices adapted to overcome
these hurdles. The methodology has been tested with different profiles of learners
(age, socioeconomic background, and certain specific needs) and in different learning
contexts (learning French as mother tongue or foreign language, in the countries of
origin or in a foreign country, etc.).The project website gives access to all its results.
The project contributes to the improvement of reading comprehension for all pupils,
with a particular focus on the weaker pupils. These are the pupils who risk eventual
exclusion from the education system, the labour market, and society in general. The
key competence of "learning to learn" is an essential part of the project’s approach
to reading literacy. It is about helping the learner (young or adult) to become aware of
their mental processes and thus become master of his or her learning.
Duration:
2007-2009
Webpage:
http://www.signesetsens.eu
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