https://eurocircle.fr
France - Learning Environment - Inclusion - Responsibility & commitment - Teamwork - Communication - Leadership
ACCESS’SPORT
Sports and social inclusion
Context and Setting
Based on the best practice “The English Access Microscholarship Program (Access)” which provides a foundation of English language skills to bright, economically disadvantaged students, primarily aged 13 to 20, in their home countries. Access programs give participants English skills that may lead to better jobs and educational prospects. Participants also gain the ability to compete for and participate in future exchanges and study in the United States. Since its inception in 2004, approximately 150,000 students in more than 80 countries have participated in the Access Program. Eurocircle in 2017, with the support of the Prefecture des Bouches du Rhône and the Consulate of the United States in Marseille, developed a programme “ACCESS’SPORT” based on the model of the real ACCESS but targeting young people with fewer opportunities.
Objectives and target group
The goals:
To teach English to NEETs coming from difficult areas and backgrounds in Marseille
To enrol them into a sport activities in order to change their routine and to teach them respect and rigor and give them some health care tips
To engage them into a „Youth Exchange“ abroad
The target group:
up to 16 Young people, 18 to 25 years old, with fewer opportunities.
Activities
English courses
Every morning in a non-formal way, it consists of linguistic courses but also culture and civilisation discoveries; discussions and role plays.
English evaluation the first day and the last day in order to be able to see the evolution of each young person in a more formal way (based on the model of the “The English Access Microscholarship Program”).
Sports activities
Under the “Service civique” contract, the young persons were involved each afternoon in a sport structure and were integrated into a group. The young person was encouraged to play different roles: the player, the leader, the referee in order to learn the proper attitudes and behaviors to have.
Concept and Methodology
Collective and individual support
Experiential learning
Non-formal methods
Active participation of the group in suggesting English topics for the morning and Sports games for the afternoon
Service Civique rules: so the young people were receiving a subsidy and were linked to Eurocircle by a legal contract which enables them to learn to behave properly for a future professional integration.
Youth exchange: basic rules from the European program
Elements of a successful learning space
a) Preparation
Young people were selected upon meeting the criteria defined by the funders (Prefecture and Consulate) and depending on the motivation and willingness of the candidate to change, to give his / her life a new turn. Intensive 5-day training before starting was delivered with non-formal method in order to present the project, the goals, to create group cohesion and to focus on motivations, expectations and fears of the laureates. Second intensive 5-day training was hold just before departing for the youth exchange in order to prepare them to intercultural learning. Third and final 5-day training at the end of the program: to evaluate the path of each young person, to reflect and prepare the after.
b) Postprocessing
Regular meetings between the project managers, the English teacher and the tutor in the sport association
Regular meetings with each young person.
Additional meetings in case of improper behavior
c) Accompanement:
Collective accompaniment during the program at local level
Collective accompaniment during youth exchange in Europe
Qualitative and quantitative evaluation by different actors (hosting structures)
d) Other special features worth mentioning
This project model was only used for a year. Then, for the following years, Eurocircle continues with this model-based project but adding some changes in order to give more space to intercultural learning and mobility. The project was transformed for the international part but all the rest of the practice remained the same. The new version is called now “Youth Ambassadors of Solidarity” (Jeunes Ambassadeurs de la Solidarité JAS). Young people (same criteria for recruitment) are doing:
1-month intensive training on languages (English + languages of the hosting country) + intercultural preparation workshops
6-month civic service abroad in the solidarity / social / humanitarian fields
5-day training at the end of the program: to evaluate the path of each young person, to identify and recognize acquired competences, to reflect and prepare the after.
Evaluation
Group evaluations and individual evaluations
Oral and written evaluation
Different tools: open questions and “Yes/No” questionnaires
Feedback from different actors (written and oral format)
Standardized evaluation by English teacher in order to teach a specific level of English and to give a certification in the end that young people can refer to when needed.
