We are delighted to appear on EPALE, a European, multilingual, open membership community of adult learning professionals, including adult educators and trainers, guidance and support staff, researchers and academics, and policymakers.
EPALE is part of the European Union’s strategy to promote more and better learning opportunities for all adults. The platform supports and strengthens the adult learning professions by enabling members to connect with and learn from colleagues across Europe. It provides a space for knowledge exchange through blog posts, forums, and the Partner Search tool, complemented with physical gatherings. EPALE also offers high-quality, accurate information relevant for adult learning practitioners, fostering engagement and collaboration within the community.
We are pleased to share an insightful interview with Raquel Amaro, the coordinator of the iRead4Skills.
Q&A highlights
What are the goals of this international project?
The iRead4Skills project is dedicated to enhancing adult reading skills by developing an automatic system capable of assessing text complexity. This system will help individuals find suitable reading materials or assist in the creation of such materials. Ultimately, the goal is to bridge skill gaps, improve professional competencies, and enhance access to information and culture for vulnerable and often overlooked populations.
How has it been to work with experts from different nationalities and disciplines?
Collaborating with a diverse, international, and multidisciplinary team has been both rewarding and inspiring. It brings challenges, as different perspectives and expertise must be integrated, but this also results in stronger outcomes. The iRead4Skills project is particularly enriching as it combines knowledge from computational sciences, information technologies, education, social sciences, and humanities.
How can the project contribute to adult literacy improvement across Europe and globally?
Our system is designed to be easily accessible and freely available to trainers, librarians, publishers, and individuals with low literacy skills. By offering tailored reading recommendations, we aim to make reading more engaging and less discouraging. The ability to choose materials that match one’s reading level is crucial for motivation and success, whether in educational settings, informal learning environments, or workplaces. Currently, the system covers Portuguese, French, and Spanish, benefiting speakers of these languages worldwide.
Read the full interview on EPALE: https://epale.ec.europa.eu/en/blog/iread4skills-interview-raquel-amaro
