Endangered languages, cultural diversity and integration in the EU of the XXI Century Erasmus Project

Project Title

Endangered languages, cultural diversity and integration in the EU of the XXI Century

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for Schools Only

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2016

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: International cooperation, international relations, development cooperation; New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

The inclusion of a new subject named “Endangered languages, cultural diversity and integration in the EU of the XXI Century” into the Transition Year curricula of 4 high schools: 1 in Ireland, Archbishop McHale, Tuam, County Galway (15 students) and 3 in Ponteareas, Galicia-North of Spain, IES Ponteareas (5 pupils) + IES Val do Tea (5 pupils) + IES Pedra da Auga (5 pupils). The subject will be studied by 15 pupils and implemented in a cross-curricular form which will involve several teachers of several subjects in each school so a total of 30 pupils a year adding both countries, 90 at the end of the program in 2019 and a full panel of teachers fully committed to the project for the 3 years duration of it. As a regular subject we will have 3 examinations a year. The program will be implemented from September 2016 to September 2019. All schools have agreed in writing to maintain the subject and transnational collaboration after 2019. Archbishop McHale school inTuam lacks of international programs or Erasmus activities and has real integration problems due to its geographical location and the social and economic background of many of its students so this is an attempt to introduce EU resources and values into this community starting with this first project. The selection of the schools in Ponteareas – Spain it is not forced nor casual; Archbishop McHale Gaelic teacher and this project’s coordinator, Mr Thomas O’Dowd, it has been looking for a twin villa with strong bilingual background to implement a real endangered languages research project in order to use the studies of those languages as a cultural diversity strategy for social integration in his school. The research and study of the status and future of the Gaelic and Galician languages will configure the main part of the project but it will be done with a new and innovative methodology, ICT and teaching and learning techniques which will make this Erasmus + singular and innovative at the same time. We should highlight also the common Celt culture of both Ireland and Gallicia. The pupils will study local cultural elements in the four related languages (Gaelic-English + Galician-Spanish) and teachers will exchange good practices learning from each other’s approach to the selected subject matter. We have also designed a really strong strategy of communication and coordination through monthly Skype connections, 2 Transnational Project Management Meetings and 6 weeks of Transnational Teaching, Training and Learning activities aimed to deepen into Gaelic and Galician learning, the introduction to students of the language of signs YoGoTe and follow up the curricula studies at the schools with practical examples of each other’s cultural elements during trips when we will also practice immersion language learning. Finally, we aim to provide students with working skills and EU ethos to facilitate their incorporation to the EU working market in their near future in accordance with EU related Directives and at the same time the involved teachers and schools will change their teaching practices incorporating the best of each other and learning to study, teach and research at an international level.We would like to highlight that we have designed a dissemination policy based on ICT elements (web pages) and TV coverage of Transnational activities and the yearly production of a 15 minutes long TV educational program summarizing our studies and aimed to 6 to 12 year old viewers to be aired in both countries on TG4 and Galician Public TV, TVG, entities with which we have got a collaboration agreement.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 118230 Eur

Project Coordinator

Archbishop McHale College & Country: IE

Project Partners

• IES de Ponteareas
• IES VAL DO TEA
• IES Pedra da Auga