Innovation in Language Learning

The article is based on MEDLANG (2014-1-RO01-KA203-002940), a European project focusing on palliative care which is funded by Erasmus+. The objectives, activities and outputs of the project draw on the European context whose main characteristics - e-learning, mobility and multiculturalism - have become part of everyday reality. Considering the high degree of mobility in the European Union, languages, communication and cultural issues are of paramount importance in the medical field. Integrating culture into language learning is a must in education as culture helps learners, international students in our case, to be culturally competent and communicate efficiently and comfortably in different societies and social milieus. The article looks into the project’s main output, the language MOOC on palliative care, and highlights international medical students’ opinions and attitudes towards the role of culture in foreign language learning. We also present some of the online activities designed to develop international medical students’ cultural competence. It is students themselves who share cultural experiences and give their own solutions to cultural issues. This helps them adjust to new environments and get better insights and understanding of cultures.