BEYOND THE CLASSROOM: CULTURAL HERITAGE THROUGH THE LEARNING OF ENGLISH, FRENCH AND SPANISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE Erasmus Project

Project Title

BEYOND THE CLASSROOM: CULTURAL HERITAGE THROUGH THE LEARNING OF ENGLISH, FRENCH AND SPANISH AS A FOREIGN 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 : Strategic Partnerships for adult education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2018

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Creativity and culture; Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

The project CHEFS (Cultural Heritage through the learning of English, French and Spanish as a foreign language) has been successfully completed and after three years, we are satisfied to have been involved in this project. During this time, we have succeeded in engaging many students and teachers from different schools in different activities, and we are proud to present the results. Our students have improved the target language through the cultural heritage not only of their country, but also of the other partner countries of the project. Furthermore, we (both students and teachers) have exchanged experiences, knowledge, and ways of working, which have enriched our teaching and learning practice and broadened horizons. Being able to work with people from other countries has been a paramount motivation while carrying out the activities as students could interact in real everyday life situations.

The objectives of the project have been achieved by improving the cultural awareness and European citizenship of adult learners and teaching staff through the discovery and promotion of European cultural heritage whilst using a variety of activities and learning techniques. From a linguistic point of view, foreign language acquisition has been optimized; language skills of students of English, French and Spanish both in and outside the classroom have been enhanced; social skills promoted; individual self-confidence boosted and autonomous and peer learning engaged.

Sixty-seven students and accompanying persons took part in the mobilities. This figure would have been even higher had we been able to perform C4 in Brussels, a mobility we had to cancel due to covid. The profile of the vast majority of students who participated in the mobilities was that of people who had never had the opportunity to participate in a European project before. Apart from the possibility of putting the language studied into practice, all these people were able to meet people from other countries and therefore get to know other cultures and establish links that go beyond the CHEFS project. Moreover, our project has not only benefited the sixty-seven participants mentioned before, but also those who, in a direct or indirect way, have participated in the proposed activities, a total of about 3000 people.

Apart from the activities carried out during the mobilities, we have undertaken other tasks, in order to achieve the objectives that we had initially set. Most of these activities have been collected in a downloadable handbook available in the project blog https://erasmuschefs.com, which includes the record of all the transnational meetings, activities, mobilities, impressions of students, dissemination, etcetera.

Last but not least, the CHEFS project has been a motivational approach to second language teaching and learning for all the individuals somehow involved in the project. We strongly believe that we have succeeded in conveying the importance of cultural heritage when learning a foreign language. Going to class is important, but second language learning goes beyond the classroom, and this is what we have promoted with the CHEFS project. Nowadays, students who have experienced the CHEFS project are eager to undertake activities outside the class by exploring the surrounding cultural heritage and establishing contacts with students from other countries they share the same interests with, such as the learning of a foreign language through its monuments, legends, food, traditions, folk and music.

After this three-year experience, we are convinced of the merits of our methodology and are happy to observe how our activities are not limited to the classroom and the language only. We are sending confident, multi-lingual and skilled ambassadors of the European project into the world and will continue to work with the learning outcomes and methodology of the CHEFS project, in order to also maintain and further expand our international network of participants.

Project Website

https://erasmuschefs.com

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 81111 Eur

Project Coordinator

ESCOLA OFICIAL D’IDIOMES D’OSONA & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Vardakeios School of indigent children
• LUETEC
• CVO Semper