“EUROPEAN CONTEST: A BILINGUAL CHALLENGE” Such an ambitious project’s title should include aspects: - We’ve named it “European”because we’re from: Germany, France, Czech Republik, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Spain. All of us strongly believe in the European dimension of education. We’re agreed to EU objectives and include them, within the activities, tasks, or challenges, we’ll carry out together. Following our schedule of activities, we’ll increase our 10 to 14 years students, English Language Competence and its relevance in their learning process. We’ll also increase their Digital Competence not only as a way of communication among schools, but also as innovative tool for educational development of our students and teachers. Hardly work at school in both mentioned competences will ensure our children become active European citizens strengthening the link between their education and their future jobs.Our schools firmly believe that well trained students are absolutely linked with well trained teachers, so this is the reason whereby we’ve designed a teacher training course inside the project. This course’ll be focused in CLIL methods, in order to include English in every school subject. The adquired knowledges will be into our School Educational Projects. - We’ve used the word “Contest” because it’s the thread of the project in which we’re going to sew all the school areas in a bilingual way. Students, from 10 to 14 years old, will propose, find, build questions and answers about these topics: "Cultural Heritage, Music, Art, , Nature and landscapes, Healthy Life and Sports, Children’s literature, Historical Figures and Events , Folklore, traditions, customs and gastronomy" They’ll investigate, share and learn about its country and the other European countries. Finally they´ll participate in the contest in which they’ll show what they’ve learned and worked about. They’ll develop strong communication links with all partner schools, working together with pupils across the partnership. We’ll communicate through a range of technologies, including e-mail links, shared blogs, e-twinning services, video conferences. All schools involved have competent ICT predispositions and this efficiency will support ease and frequency of communication. The option of pupil-exchange visits will also be included, because 3 of them are going to travel with their teachers to visit school partnerships. They’ll be hosted in school families. Therefore, the title of our project ‘European contest: a bilingual challenge will become for them, not just a vision but a reality. We’ll produce final products like a Digital Board Game for our students to play. This game will include the eight topics above mentioned, in which there’ll be a number of questions or challenges, the same for each country. Children’ll have to investigate and answer the challenges and after works they’ll share every answer to include them in our Digital Board Game. At the end of the project, they’ll participate in a Final Contest and should know a lot about each partner country. - We want to Grow “Bilingual” together: This Project will involve education both, in a Child's native language and English. In a bilingual program, both languages are used as a vehicle to acquire academic knowledge. European Schools allow staff to have their children receive their education in their mother tongue, and at the same time to foster European spirit by teaching at least two other European languages.This project idea was born In Spain, where things have changed drastically concerning bilingual education since the introduction of the Plurilingualism Promotion Plan by the autonomous governments, such as in our region, Castilla La Mancha in 2014. Following its content-based approach, especially English, will take part of investigation and implementation of the Integrated Curriculum of languages must be carried out .CLIL provide effective opportunities for our pupils and teachers. The European Commission has decided the training of teachers in order to promote the teaching of non-linguistic subjects in foreign languages". - This project’ll be a “Challenge” for us because we’re commited to:- Develop greater understanding and respect between pupils, staff and parents, creating a deep impact, not only, in the partnership schools, but also in their environment, institutions and collaborators, enlarging its influence beyond school to local community . We’ll do this through the exploration of our different views of our world. We’ll explore our similarities and differences, within both aesthetic and Intellectual Knowledge Areas. - Develop basic skills in our students to improve Key Competences. We’ll do it through activities which are interesting and motivating for the children, helping them to understand what and how they’re learning. Activities that show different realities and include cultural and social aspects of their knowledge areas where ENGLISH language will be speak
"EUROPEAN CONTEST: A BILINGUAL CHALLENGE" It was the title of an ambitious and successful project which has included aspects such as: - It was "EUROPEAN" because we are students and teachers from Germany, France, Czech Republic, Italy, Turkey, Poland and Spain. We all firmly believe in the European dimension of education. We agree with the objectives of the EU and we have included them in all activities, tasks or challenges, we have carried out together. We have followed exactly our program of activities aimed at students from 10 to 14 years, students of English, and good language skills. We have also increased digital competence, not only as a form of communication between schools, but also as an innovative tool for the educational development of our students and teachers, our children become active European citizens, we have strengthened the link between their education and their schools. We have trained students and have been linked with well-trained teachers, for a training course within the project. This course has focused on CLIL methods, in order to include English in all school subjects. Knowledge have been included in our school educational projects. - It was a "CONTEST" because it has been the leitmotif of the project that have woven all areas of school in a bilingual manner. Students 10 to 14 years proposed, sought, created and loaded into a digital database with their own Tablet, questions and answers about these topics: "healthy Cultural Heritage, Music, Art, Nature & Landscapes, Life and Sports, Children's Literature, History, Traditions, customs and cuisine ". We have researched, shared and learned about the participating European countries. Finally they have developed strong communication links with all partner schools. We have communicated through a wide range of technologies, including email, blogs, e-twinning, video conferencing, forums, chats, whatsapp groups, etc. All participating schools have been competent in ICT and this efficiency has facilitated the frequency of communication. Exchange visits of students have turned out to be the greatest motivation and the most successful, because 4 of them have traveled together with their teachers. They have been housed in school families. Therefore, the title of our project: a bilingual challenge for them has become a reality. We have produced sets of high quality end products such as a digital game for our students, open to all and become APP (available for Android) This set includes the above topics, with 350 questions or challenges for each of the themes worked on. Players give response to the challenges and can play in several modes (normal, versus, by country, tablet mode, subject mode). At the end of the project they participated in a grand final contest, demonstrating know a lot about each partner country. - We have grown "BILINGUAL" together: This project has been developed both in the mother tongue of the partner country and in English. The two languages have been used as a vehicle to acquire academic knowledge, promoting our European spirit. This idea was born in Spain, which has coordinated, and has been extended to other partners, a course about our methodological approach, based on the content in English, taking part of a research and joint implementation of curriculum integrated languages and how it should be carried out (CLIL). All this in order to provide effective opportunities for our students and teachers. - Finally, this project has turned out to be a "CHALLENGE" for all of us, not only by the volume and quality of work done by students and teachers, but because we committed and have managed to successfully develop a greater understanding and respect among students, staff and parents, have created a deep impact on our schools, communities, cities, also in our environment, institutions and partners, extending our influence beyond what we could have expected at the beginning of this project. We have done this through the exploration of different views of our world. We explored our similarities and differences within the two areas of aesthetic and intellectual knowledge. We have developed basic skills in our students to improve two key competencies (linguistic and technological). We have done this through highly interesting and motivating for our students activities, we have helped them understand why and how they are learning, and we have shown different realities, cultural and social aspects in their areas of expertise and English, inside and outside their schools. Unmatched and unforgettable.