relica
Rethinking Language Learning through Art and Creativity
Recycling Skills to Improve Literacy, Language and Communication Competences through Artistic and Digital Creation
relica
Waiting ROOM
The RELICA project was developed around six languages. While waiting for everyone to join, discover them and test your knowledge!
In which language do you want to play the game? Click on the little flags:
relica
relica
What is
relica
A collaborative project
An approach and A method
A collection of resources
Finally, RELICA is also a collaborative European project developed by six partner organisations from six European countries: France, Germany, Greece, Poland, Italy, and Hungary. Over three years, the project evolved through numerous activities including interviews, background research on local needs, local workshops to test and adapt the co-designed activities, and international co-design labs bringing together artists, teachers, trainers, and language learners.
RELICA is a method for learning languages through art, creativity, and play in non-formal learning contexts. It is designed for multi-level groups and especially for vulnerable learners who need flexible, adaptable, less formal, and more inclusive ways of accessing knowledge. Beyond language learning itself, RELICA also supports the development of a wide range of competences, including self-confidence, creativity, knowledge of local cultures, digital skills, and autonomous learning.
RELICA is also a collection of resources, including two handbooks featuring a study on needs analysis, institutional contexts, and 24 good practices adaptable for language teaching. The project also offers 18 creative activity descriptions, 7 video tutorials supporting the activities, and 18 online interactive games and digital activities in 7 languages. All these resources are available as open educational resources through an online platform, which also encourages exchange and collaboration through an interactive space dedicated to sharing practices and ideas among teachers, learners, artists, trainers, and other participants.
Needs and Challanges
Co-creating resources by teachers, artists, volunteers, and learners, exchange and complemenarity of experieces, International experiences to be transfred to local contexts
An intuitive approach without imposed grammar
A research-based method
encourage mutual help among learners and create learning communities
Adapated to real needs of the learners within the learning contexts
Balance between language Art And playing
Responding to learners’ real live challanges and realitites
overcome barriers, create experiences of success, and diversify ways of learning.
RESponding to trainers and istitutions challanges
Transmit knowledge about local culture
Developing transversal skills
valuing learners’ cultures, languages, skills and knowledge -rethinking the facilitator's role
The approach
Language and art as Systems of Signs
The RELICA approach does not position itself around a single linguistic theory. Instead, it places the learner at the centre of the process and, together with art, it approaches language in multiple ways.
Language and Art for Telling One’s Story
Language and Art as Playgrounds
Language and art to explore cultures and each other
Language and art as Tools for Creation
Language and Art as Tools for Social Interaction
The Skills adressed
In addition to language skills such as speaking, listening, reading, and writing, the activities foster the development of a wide range of competences and knowledge through art- and gamification-based approaches.
cultural, inter- cultural skills
Social skills
orientation skillst
cooperation skills
analytical skills
flexibility, problem-solving skills
Creativity
Critical thinking
structuring skills
self confidence
digital skills
observation skillls
introduction
Through art, we ...
Drag the letters into the circles
relica
10
11
explore
while playing with creation
12
create
while exploring through playing
play
while creating based on what you explored
exploring
13
Finish the sentence. Click on the correct option.
playing
14
Finish the sentence. Click on the correct option.
creating
15
Finish the sentence. Click on the correct option.
Explore the interactive versions of the RELICA activities
16
Choose and test one of our selection of the RELICA games!
THE INTRUDER
ROOMS
POSTCARDS FROM HOME
DUST, DETECT, DISCOVER
FR
EN
EN
DE
FR
HU
PO
HU
PO
EN
FR
HU
PO
IT
GR
IT
GR
DE
IT
GR
DE
FR
EN
HU
PO
IT
GR
DE
GUESS THE EMOTIONS
the Five senses in ART
THE FOUR SEASONS
MOSAIC CITY
FR
IT
HU
GR
PO
DE
EN
FR
EN
IT
HU
GR
PO
DE
EN
FR
EN
IT
HU
GR
PO
DE
FR
IT
HU
GR
PO
DE
17
18
The content
19
The handbooks
The platform
Handbook 1: - Background research on institutional frameworks, trainers, facilitators, volunteers, needs;
- Needs of learners mapped through art-based research workshops; observation of learners’ reactions during pilot and testing workshops;
- A collection of 22 good practices analysed and adapted for language teaching through art-based approaches.Handbook 2:
- Description of the methodology;
- 18 art-based workshop activity descriptions;
- Recommendations for facilitators with links to complementary resources, including interactive online activities and video tutorials designed to support, introduce, or prepare the workshops.
- Online access to all the 18 activity descriptions
- 7 video tutorials (subtitled in all partner languages)
- A community space to share practices, ideas and questions
- 18 interactive games to develop language skills and creativity (available in 7 languages, tested through local workshops)
handbook 1
20
handbook 2
21
The platform
https://relica.online
22
SIGN UP: Register, creae profile and join the community
RESOURCES: Read the Handbooks, explore actity desriptions, dowlonad activty sheets, watch tutorials, play interactive online activities in 7 languages
COMMUNITY: Meet the memebres of the community
RESOURCES:
FEED: Learn and share practices on the connuity space
Thank you for your participation.
If you enjoyed this session, join our community to explore all the RELICA resources and share your ideas, experiences, and inspiration in art-based language teaching and learning.
relica
Have a question, a thought, or an idea to share? We’d love to hear from you. Write to us at : cotaong@gmail.com
A Methodology Adapted to the Realities of Community-Based LearningThe development of the proposed activities was preceded by extensive research phases based on interviews with teachers, volunteers, and learners, as well as studies and experimental workshops. These explorations made it possible to adjust the content, test its accessibility, and progressively shape a methodology genuinely adapted to the realities of the field.Designed primarily for community-based learning environments — often supported by volunteers and composed of highly heterogeneous groups of learners — the methodology aims to remain flexible, adaptable, and inclusive.Sessions can be used independently or connected through a broader narrative framework. Each activity is designed to be adaptable for multiple language levels so that every learner can find an appropriate entry point, including in contexts marked by irregular attendance or interrupted participation.Learning therefore becomes a flexible and evolving process in which participants can progress at their own rhythm within a supportive, collaborative, and stimulating collective environment.
11. Redécouverte des savoir-faire et des compétences des apprenants À travers la multiplicité des activités proposées — artistiques, artisanales, ludiques ou pratiques — la méthode invite les apprenants à redécouvrir leurs savoir-faire, leurs compétences et leurs aptitudes.
Chaque atelier devient un espace d’exploration et de valorisation personnelle, où l’on prend conscience de ses talents, parfois oubliés ou jamais exprimés. Cette redécouverte renforce la confiance en soi, favorise la prise d’initiative et rappelle à chacun qu’il possède déjà des ressources précieuses pour apprendre, créer et participer pleinement à la vie collective.
La langue est utilisée pour interagir, dialoguer, coopérer et créer du lien avec les autres. Les exercices de cette catégorie mettent en place des situations réelles, invitent les apprenants à sortir de la classe pour découvrir leur quartier, visiter des musées ou rencontrer d’autres personnes, et les placent dans des contextes d’interaction sociale authentique.
La langue comme outil d’échanges sociaux
how to join ?
access to all content, discuss and share
Balance Between Language, Art, and PlayParticular attention was given to finding the right balance between language learning and the use of art- and gamification-based activities, as well as reflecting on how these approaches can be integrated into learning curricula and complement more conventional ways of developing language skills such as reading and writing.This aspect is especially important in order to make both facilitators and learners feel comfortable with the use of art-based methods, without overwhelming them with additional skills to learn or creating unnecessary complexity. The objective is not to replace traditional learning approaches, but rather to enrich and support them by creating meaningful connections between language acquisition, creativity, and playful experiences.
La langue sert à se raconter, à structurer et à transmettre des récits — imaginaires ou réels — mais surtout à se dévoiler, à partager ses idées, ses expériences, ses préférences et ses désirs. Elle permet à chacun de construire une voix personnelle et d’exister dans le groupe à travers la parole, l’écriture et la narration.
La langue comme outil pour se narrer
A Methodology Adapted to the Realities of Community-Based LearningThe development of the proposed activities was preceded by extensive research phases based on interviews with teachers, volunteers, and learners, as well as studies and experimental workshops. These explorations made it possible to adjust the content, test its accessibility, and progressively shape a methodology genuinely adapted to the realities of the field.Designed primarily for community-based learning environments — often supported by volunteers and composed of highly heterogeneous groups of learners — the methodology aims to remain flexible, adaptable, and inclusive.Sessions can be used independently or connected through a broader narrative framework. Each activity is designed to be adaptable for multiple language levels so that every learner can find an appropriate entry point, including in contexts marked by irregular attendance or interrupted participation.Learning therefore becomes a flexible and evolving process in which participants can progress at their own rhythm within a supportive, collaborative, and stimulating collective environment.
Language is used to interact, communicate, cooperate, and build connections with others. The activities in this category create real-life situations, encourage learners to step outside the classroom to explore their neighbourhoods, visit museums, or meet other people, and place them in authentic contexts of social interaction.
Language as a Tool for Interaction and Social Connection
Language becomes a playful tool for experimenting and playing with sounds, words, letters, and structures — but also, and above all, for playing with others. The desire to challenge oneself and to “win” against the game or against other players creates a light and friendly atmosphere where learners get to know one another better and spontaneously support each other.
Language as a Playground for Interaction and Discovery
La langue est perçue comme un ensemble de codes et de règles : lettres, sons, orthographe, syntaxe, grammaire. D’un point de vue artistique, on établit aussi des rapprochements avec d’autres systèmes de signes — dessins, symboles, couleurs, mouvements — afin de faciliter la compréhension du concept de signe et d’explorer ses multiples formes d’expression. Ces activités permettent également de développer d’autres compétences cognitives et sensorielles. La majorité des exercices de cette catégorie sont adaptés et/ou adaptables aux cours d’alphabétisation pour adultes.
La langue comme système de signes
Language serves as a means of acquiring knowledge about the world, culture, science, geography, history, and the arts. Since these different approaches often overlap, learning takes place through play, creativity, and experimentation, while learners acquire new knowledge through practice — sometimes even beyond the classroom through learning experiences in real-life environments.Language also becomes a tool for getting to know one another, discovering stories, experiences, and knowledge within the group, both among learners and between facilitators and learners. In this process, everyone becomes a discoverer and an explorer, learning from one another and building knowledge together.
Language as a Tool for Exploration, Knowledge, and Human Connection
how to join ?
access to all content, discuss and share
Cultural and Artistic Openness that Values Learners’ Original Cultures and LanguagesThe method encourages openness to culture and the arts by inviting learners to discover and engage with the artworks, music, stories, and artistic practices of the host country. The aim is to support integration through the discovery of local cultural heritage, presented in a simple, engaging, and accessible way.At the same time, the method values learners’ original cultures and languages, placing them at the heart of intercultural dialogue. Arts thus become a shared language — a bridge between different worlds — where everyone learns to know one another and recognize the richness that each person brings.
Language as a Tool for Storytelling and Self-Expression
Language serves to narrate, structure, and communicate stories — whether imaginary or real — but above all to reveal oneself, share ideas, experiences, preferences, and aspirations. It enables each person to build their own voice and to exist within the group through speaking, writing, and storytelling.
An Intuitive Method Without Imposed GrammarRather than explaining grammatical rules explicitly, the method allows learners to experience them through dialogues, repetition, and storytelling. Learners hear, read, pronounce, and naturally reuse language structures in meaningful contexts. Language is therefore acquired like music — through immersion, enjoyment, and familiarity — even for those with little or no experience of formal education.This approach helps learners reconnect with language by valuing intuition, auditory memory, and creativity, while reducing the fear of making mistakes and avoiding the cognitive overload often associated with explicit grammar instruction. It is also adapted to volunteers, who are not always professional teachers, and supports their role in facilitating French language learning by providing a flexible, dynamic, and accessible framework.
Learning Beyond Language: Building Knowledge and Essential Life Skills With vulnerable target groups, language education is complemented by the transmission of basic knowledge, fundamental scientific concepts, cultural knowledge, orientation within the local environment, and familiarity with local institutions. RELICA’s gamification-based activities, workshops, and activities outside the classroom place particular emphasis on acquiring these competences and knowledge through practice and real-life situations, while the games introduce them through imagined and narrative-based scenarios.
Learning Connected to Learners’ Real LivesThis method emerged from the observation that there is a lack of pedagogical tools genuinely adapted to the realities of adult migrants and refugees — tools capable of taking into account their life situations, concrete needs, and cultural habits.It proposes a learning approach rooted in everyday experiences, connected to familiar actions, skills, and activities that are already part of learners’ lives, while also building on vocabulary that is close to the language they already use in their native languages.Language is approached as something living, emotional, and embodied: it becomes connected to memory, emotions, and each person’s individual experience. Stories inspired by everyday life create bridges between the familiar and the new: learners can recognize parts of themselves within them while discovering new ways of expressing themselves, thinking, and connecting with others.
Activities that develop transversal skills essential for inclusion:- creativity;
- artistic and craft skills;
- organisational and planning skills;
- spatial awareness and orientation within the host city;
- non-verbal expression skills;
- cultural and intercultural competences;
- digital literacy;
- basic scientific knowledge;
- self-confidence;
- critical thinking and problem-solving skills;
- teamwork and collaboration skills.
A Pedagogical Approach Based on Peer Support and Mutual LearningThe diversity of backgrounds, languages, and experiences is not seen as an obstacle, but as a source of richness. The group becomes a space for cooperation, mutual support, and solidarity, where everyone contributes their knowledge and strengths.Learners exchange knowledge, share their stories, languages, and life experiences. Volunteers and facilitators are no longer only teachers, but also guides and cultural mediators who themselves learn from the group. This collective dynamic encourages mutual trust, values each individual, and fosters the creation of a genuine learning community.Over the course of the sessions, a true learning community gradually emerges: open, supportive, and intercultural. Languages, traditions, skills, and recipes circulate, are shared, and enrich one another. French becomes a space for encounter and participation in local life — a bridge connecting people and cultures.
A Methodology Co-Created Through Shared ExperienceThis methodology is the result of a collective process shaped through years of experimentation, collaboration, and exchange between educators, artists, volunteers, and learners within a European context.Through the sharing of practices, reflections, and field experiences, we progressively designed and refined tools aimed at strengthening key competences for social and professional inclusion, especially for people living in vulnerable or disadvantaged situations, with particular attention given to adult migrants and refugees.All activities have been tested, adapted, and continuously adjusted locally through feedback from both learners and facilitators. They are the outcome of an evolving and collaborative process in which pedagogy, artistic practices, and field experience constantly interact and enrich one another.The methodology builds upon the adaptation of artistic, craft-based, playful, creative, and digital activities to the specific context of adult language learning, while placing cooperation, creativity, and inclusion at the centre of every stage of the learning process.
A Non-Linear Pedagogical Structure Adapted to the Needs of Learners and Facilitators Learning is designed as a non-linear process, but rather as a circular and episodic one: each session represents a small autonomous chapter within a larger collective narrative. In this way, even learners who are unable to attend every session can still fully participate, understand the overall meaning of the process, and continue progressing at their own pace without ever feeling lost or excluded.
La langue devient un outil ludique pour expérimenter, jouer avec les sons, les mots, les lettres et les structures — mais aussi, et surtout, pour jouer avec les autres. L’envie de se défier, de « gagner » contre le jeu ou contre les autres crée une atmosphère légère et conviviale, où les apprenants apprennent à mieux se connaître et à s’entraider de manière spontanée.
La langue comme terrain de jeux
Language is understood as a system of codes and rules: letters, sounds, spelling, syntax, and grammar. From an artistic perspective, connections are also established with other systems of signs — such as drawings, symbols, colours, and movement — in order to facilitate the understanding of the concept of signs and to explore their multiple forms of expression.These activities also contribute to the development of other cognitive and sensory skills. Most of the exercises within this category are adapted and/or adaptable for adult literacy courses.
Language as a System of Signs and Multiple Forms of Expression
La langue sert à acquérir des connaissances sur le monde, la culture, les sciences, la géographie, l’histoire ou les arts. Comme ces approches se superposent souvent, l’apprentissage se fait en jouant, en créant et en expérimentant, tout en assimilant de nouvelles connaissances à travers la pratique — parfois même en sortant de la classe pour apprendre sur le terrain.
La langue comme outil pour explorer, découvrir, apprendre
La langue devient un moyen d’expression artistique et personnelle, permettant d’inventer, de raconter ou de produire du contenu original. La notion de créativité s’applique ici aussi bien à la création linguistique qu’aux domaines artistiques : arts visuels, sonores ou théâtraux. L’objectif est de développer une approche esthétique de la langue et de l’écriture, d’apprendre à les aimer, à les pratiquer avec plaisir, et à enrichir la mémoire par la création.
La langue comme outil de création
Language becomes a means of artistic and personal expression, allowing learners to invent, tell stories, and create original content. The notion of creativity applies here both to linguistic creation and to artistic fields such as visual, sound, and theatrical arts. The objective is to develop an aesthetic approach to language and writing — to learn to appreciate them, engage with them with pleasure, and enrich memory through the process of creation.
Language as a Space for Creativity and Personal Expression
Art-Based Activities to Overcome Barriers, Experience Success, and Diversify Ways of LearningThe narrative framework is accompanied by a series of hands-on, creative, digital, and movement-based activities. These practices connect language with action: learners acquire knowledge through doing and through experiencing alternative ways of learning. They foster creativity, self-confidence, cooperation, and curiosity.For many learners who have experienced interrupted or difficult educational paths, creative activities can help overcome fears related to making mistakes, being judged, or engaging with written language. The tangible, immediate, and regular outcomes produced through these activities create a constant sense of achievement, reinforcing self-confidence. Art, play, and creation help rebuild a positive relationship with learning, allowing learners to regain trust in their abilities and rediscover the pleasure of learning without fear.Through creative activities, the demanding process of repetition — essential for memorization in language learning — is introduced in playful and varied ways. Learners repeat words and structures without boredom or fatigue through writing, speaking, drawing, movement, and play. These different forms of expression intersect and stimulate memory in diverse ways, allowing each learner to find their own path toward language acquisition.In this way, repetition becomes a process of exploration rather than a mechanical exercise: each return to a word or sentence creates a new understanding and a new way of speaking, writing, or sharing ideas.
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Transcript
relica
Rethinking Language Learning through Art and Creativity
Recycling Skills to Improve Literacy, Language and Communication Competences through Artistic and Digital Creation
relica
Waiting ROOM
The RELICA project was developed around six languages. While waiting for everyone to join, discover them and test your knowledge!
In which language do you want to play the game? Click on the little flags:
relica
relica
What is
relica
A collaborative project
An approach and A method
A collection of resources
Finally, RELICA is also a collaborative European project developed by six partner organisations from six European countries: France, Germany, Greece, Poland, Italy, and Hungary. Over three years, the project evolved through numerous activities including interviews, background research on local needs, local workshops to test and adapt the co-designed activities, and international co-design labs bringing together artists, teachers, trainers, and language learners.
RELICA is a method for learning languages through art, creativity, and play in non-formal learning contexts. It is designed for multi-level groups and especially for vulnerable learners who need flexible, adaptable, less formal, and more inclusive ways of accessing knowledge. Beyond language learning itself, RELICA also supports the development of a wide range of competences, including self-confidence, creativity, knowledge of local cultures, digital skills, and autonomous learning.
RELICA is also a collection of resources, including two handbooks featuring a study on needs analysis, institutional contexts, and 24 good practices adaptable for language teaching. The project also offers 18 creative activity descriptions, 7 video tutorials supporting the activities, and 18 online interactive games and digital activities in 7 languages. All these resources are available as open educational resources through an online platform, which also encourages exchange and collaboration through an interactive space dedicated to sharing practices and ideas among teachers, learners, artists, trainers, and other participants.
Needs and Challanges
Co-creating resources by teachers, artists, volunteers, and learners, exchange and complemenarity of experieces, International experiences to be transfred to local contexts
An intuitive approach without imposed grammar
A research-based method
encourage mutual help among learners and create learning communities
Adapated to real needs of the learners within the learning contexts
Balance between language Art And playing
Responding to learners’ real live challanges and realitites
overcome barriers, create experiences of success, and diversify ways of learning.
RESponding to trainers and istitutions challanges
Transmit knowledge about local culture
Developing transversal skills
valuing learners’ cultures, languages, skills and knowledge -rethinking the facilitator's role
The approach
Language and art as Systems of Signs
The RELICA approach does not position itself around a single linguistic theory. Instead, it places the learner at the centre of the process and, together with art, it approaches language in multiple ways.
Language and Art for Telling One’s Story
Language and Art as Playgrounds
Language and art to explore cultures and each other
Language and art as Tools for Creation
Language and Art as Tools for Social Interaction
The Skills adressed
In addition to language skills such as speaking, listening, reading, and writing, the activities foster the development of a wide range of competences and knowledge through art- and gamification-based approaches.
cultural, inter- cultural skills
Social skills
orientation skillst
cooperation skills
analytical skills
flexibility, problem-solving skills
Creativity
Critical thinking
structuring skills
self confidence
digital skills
observation skillls
introduction
Through art, we ...
Drag the letters into the circles
relica
10
11
explore
while playing with creation
12
create
while exploring through playing
play
while creating based on what you explored
exploring
13
Finish the sentence. Click on the correct option.
playing
14
Finish the sentence. Click on the correct option.
creating
15
Finish the sentence. Click on the correct option.
Explore the interactive versions of the RELICA activities
16
Choose and test one of our selection of the RELICA games!
THE INTRUDER
ROOMS
POSTCARDS FROM HOME
DUST, DETECT, DISCOVER
FR
EN
EN
DE
FR
HU
PO
HU
PO
EN
FR
HU
PO
IT
GR
IT
GR
DE
IT
GR
DE
FR
EN
HU
PO
IT
GR
DE
GUESS THE EMOTIONS
the Five senses in ART
THE FOUR SEASONS
MOSAIC CITY
FR
IT
HU
GR
PO
DE
EN
FR
EN
IT
HU
GR
PO
DE
EN
FR
EN
IT
HU
GR
PO
DE
FR
IT
HU
GR
PO
DE
17
18
The content
19
The handbooks
The platform
Handbook 1:- Background research on institutional frameworks, trainers, facilitators, volunteers, needs;
- Needs of learners mapped through art-based research workshops; observation of learners’ reactions during pilot and testing workshops;
- A collection of 22 good practices analysed and adapted for language teaching through art-based approaches.Handbook 2:
- Description of the methodology;
- 18 art-based workshop activity descriptions;
- Recommendations for facilitators with links to complementary resources, including interactive online activities and video tutorials designed to support, introduce, or prepare the workshops.
handbook 1
20
handbook 2
21
The platform
https://relica.online
22
SIGN UP: Register, creae profile and join the community
RESOURCES: Read the Handbooks, explore actity desriptions, dowlonad activty sheets, watch tutorials, play interactive online activities in 7 languages
COMMUNITY: Meet the memebres of the community
RESOURCES:
FEED: Learn and share practices on the connuity space
Thank you for your participation.
If you enjoyed this session, join our community to explore all the RELICA resources and share your ideas, experiences, and inspiration in art-based language teaching and learning.
relica
Have a question, a thought, or an idea to share? We’d love to hear from you. Write to us at : cotaong@gmail.com
A Methodology Adapted to the Realities of Community-Based LearningThe development of the proposed activities was preceded by extensive research phases based on interviews with teachers, volunteers, and learners, as well as studies and experimental workshops. These explorations made it possible to adjust the content, test its accessibility, and progressively shape a methodology genuinely adapted to the realities of the field.Designed primarily for community-based learning environments — often supported by volunteers and composed of highly heterogeneous groups of learners — the methodology aims to remain flexible, adaptable, and inclusive.Sessions can be used independently or connected through a broader narrative framework. Each activity is designed to be adaptable for multiple language levels so that every learner can find an appropriate entry point, including in contexts marked by irregular attendance or interrupted participation.Learning therefore becomes a flexible and evolving process in which participants can progress at their own rhythm within a supportive, collaborative, and stimulating collective environment.
11. Redécouverte des savoir-faire et des compétences des apprenants À travers la multiplicité des activités proposées — artistiques, artisanales, ludiques ou pratiques — la méthode invite les apprenants à redécouvrir leurs savoir-faire, leurs compétences et leurs aptitudes. Chaque atelier devient un espace d’exploration et de valorisation personnelle, où l’on prend conscience de ses talents, parfois oubliés ou jamais exprimés. Cette redécouverte renforce la confiance en soi, favorise la prise d’initiative et rappelle à chacun qu’il possède déjà des ressources précieuses pour apprendre, créer et participer pleinement à la vie collective.
La langue est utilisée pour interagir, dialoguer, coopérer et créer du lien avec les autres. Les exercices de cette catégorie mettent en place des situations réelles, invitent les apprenants à sortir de la classe pour découvrir leur quartier, visiter des musées ou rencontrer d’autres personnes, et les placent dans des contextes d’interaction sociale authentique.
La langue comme outil d’échanges sociaux
how to join ?
access to all content, discuss and share
Balance Between Language, Art, and PlayParticular attention was given to finding the right balance between language learning and the use of art- and gamification-based activities, as well as reflecting on how these approaches can be integrated into learning curricula and complement more conventional ways of developing language skills such as reading and writing.This aspect is especially important in order to make both facilitators and learners feel comfortable with the use of art-based methods, without overwhelming them with additional skills to learn or creating unnecessary complexity. The objective is not to replace traditional learning approaches, but rather to enrich and support them by creating meaningful connections between language acquisition, creativity, and playful experiences.
La langue sert à se raconter, à structurer et à transmettre des récits — imaginaires ou réels — mais surtout à se dévoiler, à partager ses idées, ses expériences, ses préférences et ses désirs. Elle permet à chacun de construire une voix personnelle et d’exister dans le groupe à travers la parole, l’écriture et la narration.
La langue comme outil pour se narrer
A Methodology Adapted to the Realities of Community-Based LearningThe development of the proposed activities was preceded by extensive research phases based on interviews with teachers, volunteers, and learners, as well as studies and experimental workshops. These explorations made it possible to adjust the content, test its accessibility, and progressively shape a methodology genuinely adapted to the realities of the field.Designed primarily for community-based learning environments — often supported by volunteers and composed of highly heterogeneous groups of learners — the methodology aims to remain flexible, adaptable, and inclusive.Sessions can be used independently or connected through a broader narrative framework. Each activity is designed to be adaptable for multiple language levels so that every learner can find an appropriate entry point, including in contexts marked by irregular attendance or interrupted participation.Learning therefore becomes a flexible and evolving process in which participants can progress at their own rhythm within a supportive, collaborative, and stimulating collective environment.
Language is used to interact, communicate, cooperate, and build connections with others. The activities in this category create real-life situations, encourage learners to step outside the classroom to explore their neighbourhoods, visit museums, or meet other people, and place them in authentic contexts of social interaction.
Language as a Tool for Interaction and Social Connection
Language becomes a playful tool for experimenting and playing with sounds, words, letters, and structures — but also, and above all, for playing with others. The desire to challenge oneself and to “win” against the game or against other players creates a light and friendly atmosphere where learners get to know one another better and spontaneously support each other.
Language as a Playground for Interaction and Discovery
La langue est perçue comme un ensemble de codes et de règles : lettres, sons, orthographe, syntaxe, grammaire. D’un point de vue artistique, on établit aussi des rapprochements avec d’autres systèmes de signes — dessins, symboles, couleurs, mouvements — afin de faciliter la compréhension du concept de signe et d’explorer ses multiples formes d’expression. Ces activités permettent également de développer d’autres compétences cognitives et sensorielles. La majorité des exercices de cette catégorie sont adaptés et/ou adaptables aux cours d’alphabétisation pour adultes.
La langue comme système de signes
Language serves as a means of acquiring knowledge about the world, culture, science, geography, history, and the arts. Since these different approaches often overlap, learning takes place through play, creativity, and experimentation, while learners acquire new knowledge through practice — sometimes even beyond the classroom through learning experiences in real-life environments.Language also becomes a tool for getting to know one another, discovering stories, experiences, and knowledge within the group, both among learners and between facilitators and learners. In this process, everyone becomes a discoverer and an explorer, learning from one another and building knowledge together.
Language as a Tool for Exploration, Knowledge, and Human Connection
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Cultural and Artistic Openness that Values Learners’ Original Cultures and LanguagesThe method encourages openness to culture and the arts by inviting learners to discover and engage with the artworks, music, stories, and artistic practices of the host country. The aim is to support integration through the discovery of local cultural heritage, presented in a simple, engaging, and accessible way.At the same time, the method values learners’ original cultures and languages, placing them at the heart of intercultural dialogue. Arts thus become a shared language — a bridge between different worlds — where everyone learns to know one another and recognize the richness that each person brings.
Language as a Tool for Storytelling and Self-Expression
Language serves to narrate, structure, and communicate stories — whether imaginary or real — but above all to reveal oneself, share ideas, experiences, preferences, and aspirations. It enables each person to build their own voice and to exist within the group through speaking, writing, and storytelling.
An Intuitive Method Without Imposed GrammarRather than explaining grammatical rules explicitly, the method allows learners to experience them through dialogues, repetition, and storytelling. Learners hear, read, pronounce, and naturally reuse language structures in meaningful contexts. Language is therefore acquired like music — through immersion, enjoyment, and familiarity — even for those with little or no experience of formal education.This approach helps learners reconnect with language by valuing intuition, auditory memory, and creativity, while reducing the fear of making mistakes and avoiding the cognitive overload often associated with explicit grammar instruction. It is also adapted to volunteers, who are not always professional teachers, and supports their role in facilitating French language learning by providing a flexible, dynamic, and accessible framework.
Learning Beyond Language: Building Knowledge and Essential Life Skills With vulnerable target groups, language education is complemented by the transmission of basic knowledge, fundamental scientific concepts, cultural knowledge, orientation within the local environment, and familiarity with local institutions. RELICA’s gamification-based activities, workshops, and activities outside the classroom place particular emphasis on acquiring these competences and knowledge through practice and real-life situations, while the games introduce them through imagined and narrative-based scenarios.
Learning Connected to Learners’ Real LivesThis method emerged from the observation that there is a lack of pedagogical tools genuinely adapted to the realities of adult migrants and refugees — tools capable of taking into account their life situations, concrete needs, and cultural habits.It proposes a learning approach rooted in everyday experiences, connected to familiar actions, skills, and activities that are already part of learners’ lives, while also building on vocabulary that is close to the language they already use in their native languages.Language is approached as something living, emotional, and embodied: it becomes connected to memory, emotions, and each person’s individual experience. Stories inspired by everyday life create bridges between the familiar and the new: learners can recognize parts of themselves within them while discovering new ways of expressing themselves, thinking, and connecting with others.
Activities that develop transversal skills essential for inclusion:- creativity;
- artistic and craft skills;
- organisational and planning skills;
- spatial awareness and orientation within the host city;
- non-verbal expression skills;
- cultural and intercultural competences;
- digital literacy;
- basic scientific knowledge;
- self-confidence;
- critical thinking and problem-solving skills;
- teamwork and collaboration skills.
A Pedagogical Approach Based on Peer Support and Mutual LearningThe diversity of backgrounds, languages, and experiences is not seen as an obstacle, but as a source of richness. The group becomes a space for cooperation, mutual support, and solidarity, where everyone contributes their knowledge and strengths.Learners exchange knowledge, share their stories, languages, and life experiences. Volunteers and facilitators are no longer only teachers, but also guides and cultural mediators who themselves learn from the group. This collective dynamic encourages mutual trust, values each individual, and fosters the creation of a genuine learning community.Over the course of the sessions, a true learning community gradually emerges: open, supportive, and intercultural. Languages, traditions, skills, and recipes circulate, are shared, and enrich one another. French becomes a space for encounter and participation in local life — a bridge connecting people and cultures.
A Methodology Co-Created Through Shared ExperienceThis methodology is the result of a collective process shaped through years of experimentation, collaboration, and exchange between educators, artists, volunteers, and learners within a European context.Through the sharing of practices, reflections, and field experiences, we progressively designed and refined tools aimed at strengthening key competences for social and professional inclusion, especially for people living in vulnerable or disadvantaged situations, with particular attention given to adult migrants and refugees.All activities have been tested, adapted, and continuously adjusted locally through feedback from both learners and facilitators. They are the outcome of an evolving and collaborative process in which pedagogy, artistic practices, and field experience constantly interact and enrich one another.The methodology builds upon the adaptation of artistic, craft-based, playful, creative, and digital activities to the specific context of adult language learning, while placing cooperation, creativity, and inclusion at the centre of every stage of the learning process.
A Non-Linear Pedagogical Structure Adapted to the Needs of Learners and Facilitators Learning is designed as a non-linear process, but rather as a circular and episodic one: each session represents a small autonomous chapter within a larger collective narrative. In this way, even learners who are unable to attend every session can still fully participate, understand the overall meaning of the process, and continue progressing at their own pace without ever feeling lost or excluded.
La langue devient un outil ludique pour expérimenter, jouer avec les sons, les mots, les lettres et les structures — mais aussi, et surtout, pour jouer avec les autres. L’envie de se défier, de « gagner » contre le jeu ou contre les autres crée une atmosphère légère et conviviale, où les apprenants apprennent à mieux se connaître et à s’entraider de manière spontanée.
La langue comme terrain de jeux
Language is understood as a system of codes and rules: letters, sounds, spelling, syntax, and grammar. From an artistic perspective, connections are also established with other systems of signs — such as drawings, symbols, colours, and movement — in order to facilitate the understanding of the concept of signs and to explore their multiple forms of expression.These activities also contribute to the development of other cognitive and sensory skills. Most of the exercises within this category are adapted and/or adaptable for adult literacy courses.
Language as a System of Signs and Multiple Forms of Expression
La langue sert à acquérir des connaissances sur le monde, la culture, les sciences, la géographie, l’histoire ou les arts. Comme ces approches se superposent souvent, l’apprentissage se fait en jouant, en créant et en expérimentant, tout en assimilant de nouvelles connaissances à travers la pratique — parfois même en sortant de la classe pour apprendre sur le terrain.
La langue comme outil pour explorer, découvrir, apprendre
La langue devient un moyen d’expression artistique et personnelle, permettant d’inventer, de raconter ou de produire du contenu original. La notion de créativité s’applique ici aussi bien à la création linguistique qu’aux domaines artistiques : arts visuels, sonores ou théâtraux. L’objectif est de développer une approche esthétique de la langue et de l’écriture, d’apprendre à les aimer, à les pratiquer avec plaisir, et à enrichir la mémoire par la création.
La langue comme outil de création
Language becomes a means of artistic and personal expression, allowing learners to invent, tell stories, and create original content. The notion of creativity applies here both to linguistic creation and to artistic fields such as visual, sound, and theatrical arts. The objective is to develop an aesthetic approach to language and writing — to learn to appreciate them, engage with them with pleasure, and enrich memory through the process of creation.
Language as a Space for Creativity and Personal Expression
Art-Based Activities to Overcome Barriers, Experience Success, and Diversify Ways of LearningThe narrative framework is accompanied by a series of hands-on, creative, digital, and movement-based activities. These practices connect language with action: learners acquire knowledge through doing and through experiencing alternative ways of learning. They foster creativity, self-confidence, cooperation, and curiosity.For many learners who have experienced interrupted or difficult educational paths, creative activities can help overcome fears related to making mistakes, being judged, or engaging with written language. The tangible, immediate, and regular outcomes produced through these activities create a constant sense of achievement, reinforcing self-confidence. Art, play, and creation help rebuild a positive relationship with learning, allowing learners to regain trust in their abilities and rediscover the pleasure of learning without fear.Through creative activities, the demanding process of repetition — essential for memorization in language learning — is introduced in playful and varied ways. Learners repeat words and structures without boredom or fatigue through writing, speaking, drawing, movement, and play. These different forms of expression intersect and stimulate memory in diverse ways, allowing each learner to find their own path toward language acquisition.In this way, repetition becomes a process of exploration rather than a mechanical exercise: each return to a word or sentence creates a new understanding and a new way of speaking, writing, or sharing ideas.