\ Students and teachers from 59 groups of intermediate vocational training courses will be able to benefit from the programme.

\ The two-week courses will take place in Ireland during July and August.

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English language immersion programmes in Ireland.

\ One of the priority objectives of the Regional Ministry is to promote the teaching and learning of foreign languages to improve the communicative competence of island students in foreign languages.

\ The deadline for submitting applications is 12 April 2023.

The Department of Education and Vocational Training, through the Directorate General of Vocational Training and Higher Artistic Education, has published in the BOIB the call for applications for grants for students and teachers of intermediate-level training cycles associated with the implementation of the Pilot Plan for reinforcement in foreign languages in intermediate-level training cycles taught in public schools in the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands during the 2022-2023 academic year.

The call for applications provides for a minimum of 60 grants for students and a minimum of 20 grants for teachers at 24 public schools in the CAIB. The students in question are students from different intermediate-level training cycles in the professional families of Hospitality and Tourism (HOT), Commerce and Marketing (COM), Administration and Management (ADG), Maritime Fishing (MAP), Transport and Vehicle Maintenance (TMV) and Electricity and Electronics (ELE).

Pilot plan for reinforcement in foreign languages

This year, a total of 24 centres are taking part in the pilot plan for reinforcement in foreign languages, 9 more than in the previous year. The total number of groups is 59 (39 more than last year), while the total number of students is 661 (452 more than last year). In addition, a group has been created in Formentera, which did not exist in the 2021-2022 academic year, and one more professional family has been added, that of Electricity and Electronics (ELE).

The participating centres, distributed by island, are as follows:

• Mallorca: IES Alcúdia, IES Berenguer d’Anoia (Inca), IES Calvià, IES Felanitx, IES Guillem Colom Casasnoves (Sóller), IES Guillem Sagrera (Palma), IES Llorenç Garcias i Font (Artà), IES Llucmajor, IES Manacor, IES Son Pacs (Palma), CIFP Nauticopesquera (Palma), CIFP Joan Taix (sa Pobla), CIFP Juníper Serra (Palma), CIFP Pau Casesnoves (Inca), CIFP L’Embat (Palma) and CIFP Francesc de Borja Moll (Palma).
• Menorca: Maria Àngels Cardona secondary school (Ciutadella) and Pasqual Calbó i Caldés secondary school (Maó).
• Ibiza: IES Balàfia (Sant Llorenç de Balàfia), IES Isidor Macabich (Eivissa), IES Quartó de Portmany (Sant Antoni de Portmany), IES Sa Blanca Dona (Eivissa) and CIFP Can Marines (Santa Eulària del Riu).
• Formentera: IES Marc Ferrer (Sant Francesc Xavier).

Number of participating groups and distribution of grants by island

A total of 59 groups may participate, distributed as follows:

• Ibiza (12 groups).
• Formentera (1 group).
• Menorca (6 groups).
• Mallorca (40 groups).

By islands, stays for students will be distributed as follows:

• 75% of the total grants for the island of Mallorca.
• 5% of the total grants for the island of Menorca.
• 20% of the total grants for the islands of Ibiza and Formentera.

As for the teachers, they will be distributed as follows:

• 68% of the total aid for the island of Mallorca.
• 10% of the total aid for the island of Menorca.
• 22% of the total grants for the islands of Ibiza and Formentera.

Free stays abroad to strengthen linguistic skills

The call is aimed, on the one hand, at students who in the 2022-2023 school year are enrolled in intermediate-level vocational training courses associated with the pilot plan for reinforcement in foreign languages (modality A) and, on the other hand, at teachers who in the 2022-2023 school year will be teaching a group of intermediate-level vocational training courses associated with the pilot plan for reinforcement in foreign languages (modality B).

The placements are completely free of charge and the beneficiaries will receive a minimum of 40 hours of English classes. The two courses will take place in Ireland, modality A in the period from 1 July to 31 August 2023, and modality B in the period from 15 July to 31 August 2023.

This call aims to reinforce the linguistic competence of both students and teachers. One of the priority objectives of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training is to promote the teaching and learning of foreign languages in the education system of the Balearic Islands to improve the communicative competence in the foreign language of the students of the Balearic Islands. In this sense, this reinforcement will consist of academic and recreational activities to be carried out during the holiday period next summer, in which special emphasis will be placed on oral expression since the programmes must guarantee immersion in the English language.

The deadline for applications is 12 April 2023.

All information is available on the website of the Directorate General for Vocational Training and Higher Artistic Education.

These grants have a budget of 256,000 euros and are funded by the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training and the European Union-NextGenerationEU, within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan Facility.