Challenges for finding Language OER: Suggestions to Repositories’ Administrators

Abstract

As the world becomes increasingly globalized, open, interconnected, multicultural, and multilingual it is extremely useful to speak many languages. Language Open Educational Resources (OER) can enhance international collaboration and equal access to language learning. This paper pictures the state of OER for teaching & learning English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish in major Repositories of OER (ROER). In general, it is not an easy task to find appropriate language OER for specific language and educational objective. Most ROER curate OER for teaching & learning the English as a foreign language. Also, most ROER mainly curate small pieces and parts of educational material than complete courses and textbooks. Furthermore, OER metadata do not provide information regarding the language skills. Then the paper suggests to ROER administrators the development of common standards for OER metadata, OER quality assurance, ROER organization, and e- communities of OER curators, creators, and teachers as well as training and awarding them.