Languages and cultures: a bridge among school communities Erasmus Project

Project Title

Languages and cultures: a bridge among school communities

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 school education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Recognition, transparency, certification; Early School Leaving / combating failure in education

Project Summary

Successful cooperation among schools in Prienai ( Lithuania), Langon ( France) and Bitetto (Italy) involved in individual pupil mobility programmes was the leading idea behind the decision of these schools to further develop and strengthened their partnerships by implementing a common project with the inclusion of another partner (Turkey) in order to enlarge communication and cooperation with partners who had not been included in previous projects.
The main objectives of our project were to promote multiculturalism and multilingualism, to enhanced the quality and relevance of learning offer in education and training at our schools.
Participating organizations:
1. “Ziburys” Gymnasium” in Prienai, Lithuania, a coordinator of the project, is a general high school located 100 km far from the capital, Vilnius. Students are intrinsically motivated in learning foreign languages – mostly English- required to communicate with the rest of Europe and to have access to various resources.
2. Scientifico de Amaldi Hight School is located 20 km far from Bari, regional capital, Italy. The population is rural. It’s a general school. The geographic and economic situations reduce opportunities of exchanges.
3. Elbeyli Ortaokuluschool is located in Iznik (west of Turkey). It’s a little school (about 200 young pupils- between 9 and 14 Yo). Students are not involved in studying foreign languages: they feel it’s useless.
4. Jean Moulin High School is a general school. Most of students live in rural environment and are not really involved in studying. Languages are subjects like any other.
During the implementation of the project we fostered equity and inclusion in education, training, enabled learning quality for all as well as to prevent drop-out and to promote participation of disadvantaged groups in society, which is a really important and urgent issue nowadays. The responsibility of a school community was not to leave such pupils aside, but persuaded them to participate in school’s life, integrated them in different activities, motivated them to learn foreign languages, traveled and discovered the other way of life. So we facilitated the transition of learners through different types of formal/non-formal education, modernization and reinforced education and training to response to the main challenges of today’s world.
The project objectives were implemented in our project by organizing sustainable project activities, sharing the experience and promoting new ways of teaching and learning in non-traditional learning environments.
The most important thing that school leaders – administration were actively involved in organizing, implementing and evaluating the project activities, its results and impact.
Multilingualism was promoted during lessons at schools where some subjects might have been partly taught in a foreign language, through the exchange of teachers who were given the chance to teach a language in participating school for some time – it usually took 2-3 days when an accompanying teacher, who brought pupils participating in long-term mobility, provided a few lessons for students and teachers who were the part of the project team. Also students, who took part in long-term mobilities studied the subjects in the language of a hosting school.
Three transnational meetings for school administration were organized, two short-term project meetings for students and teachers, also 8 short-term staff meetings and long-term mobilities in Lithuania, France and Italy.
During dissemination activities in schools, the results and the activities of the project were presented through images and videos. In addition, project exhibitions were organized with photos from each country, brochures, posters. Teachers and students made the presentations related with project meetings for the schools and also for the local communities, articles were written and published in the school papers and local newspapers. A
Results and longer-term benefits: 4 presentations on the topic of education systems in Lithuania, Italy, France, forms of lesson observation for students and teachers (which are used after the end of the project), created system of recognition and validation of pupils’ achievements during their long-term study mobility.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 103204,32 Eur

Project Coordinator

Prienu Ziburio gimnazija & Country: LT

Project Partners

• Lycée Jean Moulin
• Elbeyli Ortaokulu
• LICEO SCIENTIFICO AMALDI