Introducing ENACT: a free-to-use web app that helps people learn languages and overcome cultural barriers.
Developed by Newcastle University experts, ENACT has the potential to bring culture to life and make language learning more accessible to all. We spoke with project lead, Dr Müge Satar, about how the project started, what they hope to achieve, and their plans for the future.
Contents:
- Can you tell us about the ENACT project?
- Who is the ENACT app designed to appeal to?
- How does the app work?
- Why are intercultural and intergenerational social cohesion, two-way knowledge exchange, and co-creation important?
- How was the project received?
- What impact has the project had?
- What’s next for your work?
- What would be one message you would give?
1. Can you tell us about the ENACT project?
My name is Müge Satar, Reader in Applied Linguistics and Director for Global in the School of Education, Communication and Language Sciences. I am the project lead for ENACT, and Prof Paul Seedhouse and Dr Ahmed Kharrufa are the co-leads.
In this project, we developed a web app to bring culture to life. The ENACT web app is for anyone to explore and create cultural activities in multiple languages for free.
Examples of cultural activities are arts and crafts for festivals such as pumpkin carving, making shadow puppets or lanterns, and everyday practices like various ways of tea drinking, games and dance activities, and children’s toys.
We currently have 150 cultural activities from 26 countries in 22 languages, such as English, Spanish, Arabic, Finnish, Turkish, and Chinese. More than 11,000 people worldwide have used the web app, accessing the content from about 160 different countries.
The ENACT project was co-funded by the European Commission. Newcastle University led the project with partners in Turkey, Finland, and Spain. In the UK, our associated partners were Action Foundation and North East Solidarity Teaching (N.E.S.T.).
The project officially closed in 2022 and we continue to organise community activities for adults, children, and families with our associated partners, other organisations working with migrant populations, as well as schools and museums. The events take place either on campus or at the premises of our partners.
2. Who is the ENACT app designed to appeal to?
The ENACT web app is designed to appeal to various groups of users, such as:
- organisations working with migrants and local communities,
- language learners and teachers,
- people interested in heritage languages and cultures,
- people interested in developing their digital skills,
- but also university lecturers interested in introducing interculturality and community engagement in their teaching.
Migrants and displaced individuals helped to design the app. As potential primary users of the app, their first-hand experiences and insights into the challenges they face provided essential guidance on what features and resources are most needed. This ensured that the app was user-centred and meaningful, fostering a sense of ownership and tailored engagement that supports successful outcomes.
'By involving individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds in the design process, we incorporated a variety of cultural perspectives, making it more universally accessible and relevant.' Dr Müge Satar
3. How does the app work?
The ENACT web app is very easy to use. It has three components: an interactive player (LEARN), an authoring tool (CREATE) and an online community (CONNECT).
To start learning, users watch a video introducing them to the activity and culture. Then, they can study the important words using interactive images by clicking on the image to see how the word is written and hear how it is pronounced. Then, a video shows them in detail how they can carry out the activity following step-by-step instructions. Some videos have captions and subtitles or pop-up explanations to help users understand the content better. Finally, they can review what they have learned through simple activities such as vocabulary drag and drop, image ordering, or a short quiz.
A selection of resources available on ENACT's website.
The web app uses an innovative task-based digital learning pedagogy to offer a real-world, interactive learning experience. Learning by physically engaging in an activity brings the language and culture to life and helps cross-cultural understanding.
The learning experience is more memorable as it involves touch and all four senses. Some activities have interactive 360° videos and images which offer learners an immersive experience.
The web app has user guides and recommendations on how to create your own activity and tell others about your own languages and cultures.
With the online community, learners can connect with others by liking activities, commenting on what they have learned about the culture and the language, providing feedback and suggestions, sharing an image and video of others’ cultural activity they re-created, interacting with other user profiles, and sending private messages.
4. Why are intercultural and intergenerational social cohesion, two-way knowledge exchange, and co-creation important?
Intercultural and intergenerational social cohesion, along with two-way knowledge exchange, are essential for the project. Social cohesion and mutual understanding help create a more inclusive society where individuals feel valued and connected. This reduces prejudices and misconceptions, leading to a more harmonious coexistence where societies can thrive while being surrounded by diversity and change.
'Through intercultural and intergenerational exchanges, individuals from diverse backgrounds can learn about each other's traditions, values, and perspectives.' Dr Müge Satar
Two-way knowledge exchange is also key to ensuring that people from various backgrounds have equal status where the contributions of everyone are acknowledged. This is absolutely necessary when engaging with differences with an empowerment perspective rather than a deficiency perspective. By this I mean taking a strength-based approach that recognises migrants as individuals with agency and strengths who bring rich social, linguistic and cultural resources. Migrants are not a homogenous group, and neither are home community members. An inclusive strength-based approach foregrounds equality, mutuality, curiosity, and solidarity. It reduces prejudices and misconceptions, leading to a more harmonious coexistence where societies can thrive while being surrounded by diversity and change.
The ENACT web app can be used individually, but it is more fun and creative when people from diverse backgrounds come together to co-create their activities. This is essentially how we organised several workshops throughout the project. Members of the home and migrant communities came together to help each other create their own cultural activities using the technologies. They also then re-enacted or re-produced each other’s activities.
An understanding of culture as a semiotic practice enables people from different backgrounds to experience each other’s cultural activities. As a result, culture becomes something one does, encouraging participation and active involvement beyond factual knowledge.
5. How was the project received?
The project was received really well by the communities we worked with. Our participants enjoyed creating cultural artefacts from other cultures and learning different languages. This was largely due to our close collaboration with cultural organisations such as Action Foundation and N.E.S.T.. We organised the activities and workshops together.
As the project went on, some of these organisations then used the web app on their own.
We see a lot of enthusiasm from schools in general and museums. For example, we regularly participate in the Festival of Languages organised by International Newcastle, and our workshops are always fully subscribed to by schools who come to visit us on campus. We have also received positive responses at a number of events we organised at the Great North Museum.
We find that children definitely enjoy engaging with the app very much: either alone, with each other, or with their families. For Halloween, we organised a pumpkin carving event with N.E.S.T. for migrant families. It was their first time carving a pumpkin, everyone had a lovely time and took their pumpkins home.
Carving pumpkins with children during a N.E.S.T. event.
6. What impact has the project had?
We have seen clear language learning gains, especially in relation to the key vocabulary items introduced and practised on the web app. Overall, there was a higher awareness of cultures and languages around them.
We observed increased confidence and well-being, and migrant participants really appreciated the opportunity to share their own language and culture with the host community. Participants increased their digital skills, especially in relation to finding, editing, and creating appropriate audio/visual content, and their understanding of copyright and licencing.
N.E.S.T. engaged over 50 children from the refugee and asylum-seeking community last year, and have continued with the project this year. They have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from schools. Teachers report that the children are so engaged with the arts and crafts, that they don’t even realise they are learning at the same time. The children regularly come to school the following day excited to talk about what they learned.
7. What’s next for your work?
Next, we are looking to organise more community activities for various groups including school visits to our campus, support the implementation of Around The World Clubs at schools more widely in the region, nationally and internationally, offer activities at museums for the wider local community, implement the web app in virtual exchange as part of our teaching on campus, and continue to organise workshops with and for organisations working with migrants and displaced individuals either at their venues or on campus.
We are also looking to secure funding to develop a new generation of the web app using artificial intelligence (AI). The idea is to offer immediate, customised, and personalised support for users to create their activities. Support can be in the form of generating ideas, finding or creating appropriate media, or pedagogical advice.
Learning to make pancakes using ENACT's resources
8. What would be one message you would give?
Explore the ENACT web app and enjoy the diversity and richness of our cultures and languages around the world!
Language and culture are inseparable, and learning one without the other limits our understanding of the world. With ENACT, we do not only provide a space for language learning but we foster curiosity, empathy, and social cohesion. As educators, researchers, and global citizens, we have a responsibility to embrace and promote intercultural learning as a means of breaking down barriers and building stronger, more inclusive communities. Let’s move beyond transactional language learning and create spaces for meaningful cultural exchange.
You might also like:
- explore the free web app, ENACT
- learn more about the ENACT project
- read about Dr Müge Satar, Reader in Applied Linguistics and Interim HaSS Dean for Global
