Looking Into Foreign Languages and Multimodal Creativity as a Tool for Pedagogical Innovation in Higher Education

Abstract

The innovation of pedagogical practices is a challenge currently faced by higher education, in which the student is the main actor in the learning process. The aim of this project is to develop collaborative work, using multimodality in communication, adapted to the professional context, as a strategy to foster the learning of foreign languages. The JASM project ([Janela aberta sobre o mundo].Open Window onto the World: Foreign Languages, Multimodal Creativity and Pedagogical Innovation in Higher Education), developed by a multidisciplinary team, rests upon an active learning dynamic based on projects, through the creation of digital narratives focused on the linguistic and cultural diversity of a city in Beira Alta, Viseu. The use of several action-research approaches allowed students of the undergraduate course in media studies at the School of Education in Viseu to develop a multilingual and multicultural awareness, in a creative, collaborative, and interdisciplinary environment.