Mainz and Valencia – more than a twin town Erasmus Project

Project Title

Mainz and Valencia – more than a twin town

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 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Teaching and learning of foreign languages; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage; Key Competences (incl. mathematics and literacy) – basic skills

Project Summary

Due to the pandemic, only one group could participate in a mobility to Spain in the first year, so that they could gain experience abroad and be prepared for the European labor market and life in Europe. The trip promoted the subject of Spanish in school. Thanks to the project, a group of pupils was able to experience Spanish daily life, but the pandemic prevented a second mobility. German students learned about the possibility of the project in grade 11 with the first contacts with exchange students through eTwinning. This network was replaced by private media during the project.

The first and only mobility took place in January 2020. German students stayed with families, participated in a varied cultural program and got to know the school and working life of the country for ten days. Many students kept in contact with their partners. The following topics were addressed: youth unemployment, migration movements and EU benefits for young people. During the exchange, the students wrote a diary, which is available on eTwinning, in which they critically reflected on their day and their experiences using a variety of linguistic means, as well as completing various tasks. The project strengthened both the relationship between the two partners and the skills required by the CEFR. The TELC language certificate could not be achieved due to school closures, but the participating students received a Europass – as did Spanish pupils later.

Since the pupils successfully passed the Abitur in March 2021, some pupils can already attach this certificate to their job applications. Afterwards, the students wrote a report for the school’s website and told the school community about their experiences. In addition, the Association of Former Employees of EU Institutions (A.I.A.C.E. DE e.V.) became aware of the IGS Anna Seghers and honored their commitment with a financial donation. A second group welcomed Spanish exchange students in March 2020. A return visit could not be offered within the project due to the pandemic, but was recovered in September 2021. The current situation required some changes, such as accommodation.

The first group of Spanish students welcomed German students in January 2020. These students had already been in Germany the previous year during a school trip. In parallel, another group of students worked two hours per week contents in German, outside school hours, in a classroom enabled for this purpose in Abastos. A Spanish teacher taught them some German because Spanish students had not studied German before. They started with basic notions, and continued with homework about “personal description”, “description of my family” and “description of a city”. Everything is collected in the DRIVE and published in eTwinning.

When students visited Germany, they were not yet able to hold a conversation, but they were able to improve their vocabulary. Spanish students did a research paper on the German cities visited, showing the results in Spanish and German and they increased their cultural knowledge of the other country. Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 during the stay, the program had to be adapted.

Both schools made the project known to the whole educational community. All information is published on the respective school website and the IES Abastos even published it on social networks like “Twitter”. The local newspaper: “El Levante-emv, Innovación en las Aulas” published an article on January 29th.
Unfortunately, due to health restrictions caused by COVID-19, the activities planned in the project for the second year could not be carried out.

All in all, the partnership between the cities of Mainz and Valencia has been created and, at the same time, professional and friendly contacts have been established, which continue today.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 42498 Eur

Project Coordinator

IGS Anna Seghers & Country: DE

Project Partners

• IES ABASTOS