Innovation in Language Learning

Despite media literacy long having been identified as a critical set of 21st-century skills by various governments and non-governmental organizations (Carlsson, 2019), many university students are not fully aware of its importance and are overly confident in their own abilities (Horgan, 2025). A month-long ERASMUS+ “Blended Intensive Program” that combined a week of in-person activities and distance tasks was developed at Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU) to help improve the media literacy of university students who participated from five European countries. The programme brought together 26 international students from diverse academic backgrounds and combined online preparatory sessions with an intensive on-site week of lectures, workshops, and collaborative projects. Learning activities were designed to foster critical thinking, digital literacy, intercultural communication, and leadership skills. The aim of the present research was to explore the effectiveness of the ERASMUS BIP short-term course in the international group of students and to work out recommendations for the teaching of media literacy themes.   The method of the research was the case study. Data were collected through participant surveys, group reflections, and instructor observations.

Findings show that the BIP significantly enhanced students’ ability to analyze media content critically, use digital tools effectively, and collaborate across cultural and disciplinary boundaries. Students reported increased confidence in questioning information sources, improved teamwork skills, and greater awareness of the media’s influence on society. These findings are consistent with earlier research on blended learning at LBTU, where postgraduate engineering students in Academic English courses emphasized enhanced motivation, self-directed learning, and development of communication competences (Sinkus & Ozola, 2022).

The case study demonstrates how Blended Intensive Programmes can effectively develop essential competences in small, international groups of students. Hosted at LBTU, the BIP highlighted the value of integrating media literacy into higher education curricula and provided recommendations for designing future programmes that promote active learning, intercultural collaboration, and critical engagement with media.