Performing and Visual Arts, a universal language Erasmus Project

Project Title

Performing and Visual Arts, a universal language

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 : School Exchange Partnerships

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Creativity and culture; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy

Project Summary

“Performing and Visual Arts, a universal language” is a project designed for 2 groups of 24 3rd-JC students each year (12 from Spain and 12 from Ireland). All activities will enable students and teachers to experience and compare other learning methodologies through art. Art will be used as a tool to help students express themselves. It helps with communication and organisational skills, creativity and empathy, just to mention some of the many benefits that it can provide. All the aforementioned are exercises that contribute and boost the learning of a foreign language. As an alternative methodology and combined with the Erasmus exchange, the experience is expected to impact the participants and trigger curiosity showing them what a foreign language can contribute to their lives. The learning process will move from the idea of “They HAVE TO DO IT” to “They WANT TO DO IT”. Once curiosity is triggered, the learning process will take its natural course of action. The exchange enables good practice and improvement of the foreign languages involved: Spanish and English. Attending some lessons and events at the host school will provide teachers and students with new good practice and ideas to improve school life.The experience of living with host families during the visits will make participants witness real daily life in their partner school and country. The exchange encourages parent involvement and increases their expectations on their children’s potential, consequently the students through the self fulfilling prophecy, will improve their learning abilities. Tourist activities will make participants enthusiastic about the exchange and promote each other’s cultural life. Drama games will contribute to teambuilding. Individual and team work will help students to find out their own multiple intelligences. Individual work will lead to collaborative work where students will develop individual responsibility and sense of interdependence . The idea of helping each other and learning from each other is a two way street towards inclusion. Working in group will provide them with assertiveness but also tolerance, support and responsibility, critical approach to their own work and to the work of others, and with the ability to accept criticism and transform it into self-improvement. Mixed ability students will benefit from the many advantages of project pedagogy and collaborative work: * Opportunities for self-induced learning * More time for continued attention in class * The length of the duration of the project invites reflection between exchange visits * Greater emotional involvement and responsibility in class work * Self-esteem and lack of inhibition are enhanced * More situations in which to put oral and written language skills into practice * Students seek information and develop a sense of well-done feeling * Social skills and teamwork are practiced * Imaginative thinking is stimulated and mental laziness is decreased * Students learn to ask and to listen.
The exchange project can become a life experience to students, who might never have the chance to open this door of opportunities without the funding support. The students involved in this project are eager and enthusiastic about the possibility of enjoying high quality learning in a European environment. As students with mixed abilities, they will share a common denominator, they are all highly motivated students with good attendance record and due to their hard work, positive academic results.
Both schools with similar ethos, where tolerance and respect are the main description of the organisation .
Confidence in this type of endeavor, will encourage all students and teachers involved, to venture in other similar projects in their academic and professional future. It will also give them the view of the European Union as a land of equal opportunities for all its members, where no only all citizens are taken cared of and nurtured, but they are provided with the opportunity to fulfill their ambitions and create responsible and global citizens. The project can educate, future and possible crucial European members, that can help and change the world problems that we are facing nowadays. They will achieve that by working individually and feel they are part of a bigger and cooperative project where every piece has the same importance. Every piece in the puzzle is essential and is part of the bigger picture at the same level.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 47928 Eur

Project Coordinator

CausewayCS & Country: IE

Project Partners

• IES Ramon Llull