Our projet topic is tourism , therefore teachers as well as pupils improve their knowledge on what happens in and out of school by investigating the tourism offer ,researching job opportunities , meeting professional stakeholders from local tourist offices, hotels, travel agencies, they will act as tour guides ,shop assistants, translators.. , Pupils need to learn by doing, so they will be put in situations where they have to figure things out , they will exchange their findings and reflect on what skills and qualities are needed to be successful in the tourism field, to start a business they will also learn from their mistakes in mock job interviews, for instance. They will reflect on the transversal skills needed to promote new kinds of activities to existing businesses (for instance sense of initiative and leadership, autonomy, entrepreneurial spirit, cooperation at work, problem solving, cultural and natural awareness, ICT skills as well as linguistic and intercultural competences.International teams of students aged 15-19 will work, both on line and face to face during the learning mobilities, under the attentive guidance of their teachers, and research, collect, select, translate, process and confront materials and information concerning the areas where the partner schools are located, in order to work out a 3-day tourist offer in each promoted region. The students will focus on the following aspects: attractive places, cultural heritage, traditional cuisine, accommodation,disabilty , but also any special activity which can be carried out and promoted in their area (for instance Nordic Walking, hiking, but also orienteering, gourmet tours, etc.). The offers (prepared during classes of Geography, History, English, Arts, IT, Business, Sports, but also during extracurricular meetings regularly held in the partner schools) will be tried out and practically assessed during the learning mobilities. Our challenge is to implement new strategies to overcome demotivation.After the tours an evaluation session will be held and the students’ comments and remarks will be used to assess the package tour and adjust it. The final stage of the project will be evaluating the tourist destinations they have researched and developing promotional materials to advertise the package tours both on line and through leaflets, brochures and catalogues. At the end the project will result in the publication of a set of tourism related materials designed to have a European dimension and to be delivered both in the national language of the partner schools and in English: an e-TOURISM-INFOBOX (containing European materials on: Tourism related Jobs, Tips for a successful job interview, Special Interest Tourism, Sustainable Tourism, the Ideal Hotel, the Setting up of a School Grocery) - all displayed on TWIN SPACE. The development of speaking English skills will be focused on through continual conversation during the periods when students work together, both online and face-to-face, so involving dyslexic pupils. The written aspect will not be neglected as note taking and original material creation need the written aspect of English.All the schools will mainly involve students with fewer opportunities and from disadvantaged backgrounds, who would not normally have the opportunity of doing a learning experience abroad. Our 4CsF project involves learning to know, to do, to be ,to live together, to protect and save ourselves.It will strengthen links with the community,the relationships between teachers,pupils,parents and societyIt supports the modernisation of education, improves the level of key competences/skills (especially entrepreneurship), helps preventing early school leaving and failure in education by carrying out activities consistent with the Erasmus+ Programme.
The project was approved in 2016 after 3 years of work: it was supported by Romania, Italy, France. Many students from the partnership, aged from 15 to 19, come from deprived backgrounds and are from different cultures. They study in a tertiary vocational school (in France), in the tourism field of technological high school (Portugal and Italy) or in a general high school before getting to university (Romania, Turkey and Cyprus). Most of the schools have maturity in project management due to prior European projects. The project is based on tourism. Its objective is to develop inclusion, tackle early school leaving and promote entrepreneurship. The high schools involved are located in touristic areas. This field can’t be ignored by the students and it should enable them to open themselves, improve intellectually (cultural and linguistic enrichment, access to new technologies), socially (by meeting people), professionally (team work, initiatives, problem solving, awareness of cultural differences) These skills can be improved in each of the partner countries. The project dealt with different types of tourism, especially in France and Cyprus: - Accessible tourism (visitors with reduced mobility or hearing impaired) - Green tourism - Gourmet tourism The team work is essential, either nationally or internationally, to motivate the students, who can develop ICT skills. The students from all the schools have worked together efficiently, especially during mobilities. The teenagers got more knowledge about their own “region” by preparing quizzes, touristic circuits or by playing the role of a touristic guide. They created flyers, bilingual booklets; they took part in job interviews and interviewed professionals. Teachers and teenagers have learnt how to make videos. They learnt how to do a self-assessment by creating google forms. The Italian team was in charge of the project website lnx.itcgfermi.org/erasmus/ . We can see many photos, read articles and the pupils’ logbooks. This project enabled to improve linguistic skills, as well as social skills. The participants realized how important it is to be able to speak English, even in their own country. The project allowed all of us to learn and teach differently, by going out of the classroom. Our productions (about 80 videos as well as many flyers, booklets, padlets, slideshows) can be seen online on the Twinspace https://twinspace.etwinning.net/25887/home. According to their skills and tastes, the students could take part in the project at their rhythm, in a relevant way. This innovative way of teaching is stimulating for teachers, students and professionals. In France, two “firm classes” in management and administration (SAGA) and in customer relations (ACTEO) have contributed to the project. The partners still communicate and a Portuguese student has opened an Erasmus+ on Facebook Some students intend to go back to the countries they visited or invite their “penfriends” More students and teachers than planned at the beginning took part in the project. The partnership experience, the analysis of the needs, the Twinspace, the Gantt calendar, the frequent contacts, the help of the professionals in tourism, the self-assessment of the activities helped to reach our objectives. Some colleagues have discovered the Erasmus + programme and are ready for a new project. The professionals were delighted to help us. Our exchanges were very rich. They could intervene in some of our classes. In Normandy, an agreement has been signed with the National stud farm “Haras National du Pin”. In Romania, the high school is thinking about opening a course in tourism. Besides, thanks to this project it is awarded the title of “European school”. Some teenagers would like to work in this field. In Portugal, they would like to reopen the “bar-restaurant” class. The students have understood the importance of English, they have gained self-confidence and working abroad is less scary than before. The students, some of them suffering from dyslexia, have received certificates or Europass mobility documents. The host families have warmly welcomed the young students. Adults and teenagers mixed together and they created links, friendships, souvenirs… We have also been invited by local authorities and the press was here. The schools improved their image by organizing receptions. Here is a quotation from a Cypriot student, George: “you were our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, nephews for one week ….we felt safe…you are still by our side even when we are away” Or from Manuel, an Italian pupil: “this experience has opened my horizon, my mind and heart”