Strengthening Transnational Collaboration: EcoLingua Curriculum Project Meeting in Rome
As part of the Erasmus+ KA220-SCH project titled EcoLingua Curriculum: Digitally Enhanced Pedagogy for Integrating Environmental Issues into Language Teaching (Project No. 2024-1-TR01-KA220-SCH-000245616), the project team recently gathered in Rome, Italy for a transnational project meeting hosted by the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
Held between 18–22 May 2025, the mobility contributed to both the advancement of project outputs and the development of long-term academic partnerships. The event focused on collaborative efforts in integrating environmental themes into foreign language education through digital pedagogies.
The project is coordinated by Dr. Mehmet Saraç from the Department of English Language Teaching at Necatibey Faculty of Education. Representing Balıkesir University during the visit were Prof. Dr. Mehmet Baştürk (Head of the Department of Foreign Languages), Dr. Serhat Güzel, and Lecturer Vahit Sapar.
Throughout the program, project partners from Türkiye, Italy, Spain, and Lithuania worked together on designing teacher training modules, refining sample curriculum frameworks, and planning learner-centered activities. The exchange of good practices from each partner country contributed to a stronger interdisciplinary perspective.
A highlight of the visit was an official meeting between the project coordinators and the Rector of the University of Rome Tor Vergata. Discussions extended beyond the scope of the EcoLingua Curriculum project, covering future cooperation opportunities under the Erasmus+ program, including student and staff mobility, joint research, and new partnership ventures.
Campus tours, eco-themed workshops, and field observations allowed participants to experience first-hand how ecological awareness can be embedded in language teaching. These insights will directly inform the development of instructional materials and digital content aligned with the project’s sustainability-oriented goals.