Music is the language of the world. Erasmus Project

Project Title

Music is the language of the world.

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 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Cooperation between educational institutions and business; EU Citizenship, EU awareness and Democracy; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

Our project Music is the language of the world had the objective to deal with cultural heritage and to promote the acquirement of key skills and competences.
The music classes of the NMS Feldkirchen and the Nordhamsskolan Göteborg visited each other to improve their skills in singing and playing instruments. In each country – Austria and Sweden – we organized a concert together in which we could present different songs, instrumentals and folk dances that we rehearsed during the school year. The highlight of these concerts was the song We won´t stop the music which was specially composed for this project by Karin Wiegert, a music teacher from Sweden. This song’s unique blend of modernity and tradition received a great echo by invited guests from the field of politics and media (see newspaper article in appendix).
The concert in Sweden was particularly unique. Besides playing parts of the music program from the Austrian school class, the students also presented pieces of music which the Swedish students taught the Austrian students just one day before the concert. The method of learning by doing was supported by the method of peer education which lead to an astonishing improvement of skills on instruments which some students had never even played before.
Another important part of the project was the improvement of the English skills of all students. From the very beginning of the project the students had contact with each other by using email, skype or other social media. This intense communication lead to close relationships, friendships and a constant exchange of information between the two countries. The improvement of English skills – which intensified during the stay in the other country – could be seen in their communication but also in reports the students had to write. The host families and the students also got close very quickly and 4 families visited each other during the summer 2019.
Another focus of our project was on cooking and food. Both countries exchanged recipes and the Austrian students put them together into a book that they brought as a gift to Sweden. Students in handicraft and art class created the cover for the book and students in computer science class worked on texts, formatting and pictures (see photos in appendix). In Sweden, we chose one recipe from the book to cook together in the school kitchen (see photos in appendix).
One byproduct of the project we did not foresee was created in our handicraft and art classes. With Sweden as a theme, students crafted a small deck chair that can be folded tightly. In sewing class students designed and tailored the cloth cover. More than 100 students worked on this (see photos in appendix).
In both countries we had field trips to historical places and landscapes. On the arrival day of the Swedish students in Austria, they explored the city of Feldkirchen in mixed groups with the Austrian students. The Austrian students guided their guests through the city and showed them the sights. In Göteborg, the Swedish students did the same and showed the Austrians their city. In both countries, the different groups got prepared questionnaires on the city tour to fill out and the groups with the best answers each won a price.
In Austria we visited lake Wörthersee, the collegiate church of Maria Wörth and the look-out Pyramidenkogel. Another must-see were the Carinthian mountains. We went on a little hike in Gnesau, visited a wood carver and an elementary school that was build with different kinds of wood from the surrounding area (pine, scots pine, fir, arolla pine). See photos in appendix.
We also did not miss to have a farewell party which was organized by the Austrian students’ parents.
In Göteborg we took the ferry to the island of Styrsö. There, the Swedish students’ parents catered for us and as the weather was beautiful, we even dared to take a dive in the sea (see photos in appendix).
We experienced two intense weeks where serious work went hand in hand with much fun and joy. New friendships developed, a curiosity for a foreign country was awakened and many new impressions were gathered. It was an unforgettable experience for all our students and colleagues!

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 14031 Eur

Project Coordinator

NMS Feldkirchen & Country: AT

Project Partners

• Nordhemsskolan