CONNECTED WITH THE LANGUAGES Erasmus Project

Project Title

CONNECTED WITH THE LANGUAGES

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: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Creativity and culture

Project Summary

The project “Connected through the language” has provided for the formative demand of students belonging to the Foreign Language Teaching System. With this experience we have completed the students’ training, promoting a greater development of the competence on linguistic communication in the first foreign language.
This system’s regulation stresses the need to encourage complementary activities which contribute to a more complete education for these students and encourage the students’ contact with the foreign language in a varied range of contexts.
As these aims are common to the “Europe 2020” experience promoted by the European Commission, the Erasmus + programme has served the purpose as the perfect frame for their development. Likewise, this programme has helped save socio-economic differences between the students taking part in the programme, in such a way that by enabling all students to participate in this vital and formative experience, we gave an inclusive answer and a greater equity to all the students in the Foreign Language Teaching System.
The main aims of the Project have been achieved, namely:
– Improvement of linguistic abilities.
– A stronger motivation for language learning.
– Greater intercultural sensitivity. It has allowed us to be more conscious of social, ethnic, linguistic and cultural diversity around us.
– Encouragement of learning among equals, collaborative work and self-learning through the activities proposed.
All in all, we have provided the students with a greater capability and professionality which, in the future, will favour their adaptation as active citizens in society.
As for teachers, it has allowed:
• A greater professional development.
• Exchange of teaching strategies with other teachers.
• Acquisition of resources to achieve innovative and creative working processes.
• Achievement of a higher motivation and satisfaction in their daily work.

The students who participating were those studying within the Foreign Language Teaching System. These students were studying 3rd year Compulsory Secondary Education during the first year of the project and so were 14 or 15 years old when they took part in the project. There were 26 students from each school in the first and only mobility. On the other hand, the people in charge of coordinating and promoting the project were the teachers working in the mentioned programme, supported by the School Management Team.
The activities planned were organized in two basic blocks: those carried out by the students in their own schools (inter-mobilities), and the ones carried out during the formation mobilities.
A) Inter-mobility activities: host students worked in the elaboration of guidebooks and the preparation of explanations about the places to be visited with guest students, or (from the part of the students visitors) in the research for information about sociocultural aspects of the visited country (music, customs, food and general stereotypes) which were presented in the host country to later check their reliability. This work was shared in eTwinning. Students also shared profiles and video presentations in Twinspace, in order to get to know each other better and get in contact even before the first mobility.
B) Formation activities: host schools organized guided visits, activities and workshops that were developed during the mobility. The outcomes of the activities were presented, as well as the evaluation, by the coordinator and host school, and they were shared through eTwinning.

As regards methodology, it has been active all the time. The students, through their research in working groups, were the ones who prepared their presentations and conclusions about the topics proposed. Through the presentation of their work, students displayed their own conclusions (with the teachers’ guidance). During the visits to places of interest, the students again were the ones to act as guides, and for that purpose, they had previously searched for accurate information and prepared their presentations. Thus, self-learning and collaborative work were reinforced, also trying to foster self-esteem through work.

The expected results and objectives have been achieved in the short and long term, although, unfortunately, we could not carry out all the activities programmed for the second mobility, cancelled as a result of the world-wide pandemic due to Covid-19.
Despite this, both students and teachers achieved the aims related above. The contact with other teachers and students has been really useful to foster linguistic abilities, providing at the same time some knowledge of the sociocultural diversity around us. In the long term, we have already proved that the schools involved the exchange of ideas and resources.
On the other hand, eTwinning has provided a new experience to students and teachers, which will result in new future collaborations.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 42060,95 Eur

Project Coordinator

INSTITUTO DE EDUCACIÓN SECUNDARIA “VILLA DE ABARÁN” & Country: ES

Project Partners

• Zakladni skola UNESCO, Uherske Hradiste, Komenskeho namesti 350, prispevkova organizace