Informal Learning Spaces : Exploring Contextual Social Interactions to Support Second Language Learning Outside of the Classroom

Abstract: Migration has been increasing in the last years in the European Union, something that challenges social integration because of the language barrier. In the case of Sweden, although the government offers newcomers basic education to teach the language, small communities and local associations had been creating spaces to learn Swedish outside of a classroom environment. From this context, research is needed to find ways to enhance the learning experience environments outside a traditional classroom setting. Embodied interaction, as a subfield of Interaction Design, enriches conventional methods for education and learning by providing ways of integrating the physical body with new knowledge. This can be a possible way to contribute to finding new ways of learning. This project aims to explore collective ways of creating meaningful interactive experiences that can enhance language learning in adults with tertiary education in Malmö, Sweden. In this thesis project, an overview of the process will be presented. Furthermore, the project materializes in an app as a prototype, that presents some insights into the field of embodied learning and interaction design.