The impact of Erasmus+ training courses on the participants’ enhancement of English language skills

Abstract

Some researchers have conducted studies to find out the overall impact of Erasmus+ Program but very little is known about its impact on the enhancement of English language skills. The focus of this mixed methods research was to investigate the impact that the Program has on its participants’ English language skills. The number of the participants was 20. The instruments used in the research included a Likert scale questionnaire, an achievement pre- and post-tests, focus group interview, one-on-one interviews, self-checklists, and observations. The researcher analysed the quantitative data through Statistical Package for Social Sciences software, and then coded and categorized the qualitative data to identify differences and similarities in the data. The results of the investigation show that the training had an impact specifically on the participants’ listening, speaking and writing skills in terms of comprehension, pronunciation, spelling, and vocabulary. The participants also enhanced their intercultural competence by interacting with each other and sharing their cultural characteristics. Based on the findings, limitations, and delimitations of the study, the researcher has formulated a list of recommendations to the stakeholders of the study, viz., the organizers of training courses and other researchers interested in this topic.