Regarding context, we could say that our schools and towns are quite similar at socio-cultural, economic levels, and inhabitants. We both come from an inner countryside. Our school offer education at the same levels (Secondary Education, A-Levels and Vocational Studies) Our main goals are to compare methodologies in the teaching of foreign languages, the updating of teaching methods, the creation of bilingual sections in both schools and the development of digital competence. As far as our students are concerned we seek the improvement of language competences, the acquisition of a higher European conscience and a better insertion in the job market thanks to multilinguism and the mastering of new technologies. The teachers who take part are experts on different foreign languages , scientific fields and vocational training. The students this project is aimed at belong to all those levels. Apart from meetings with partners, we will produce surveys, job shadowing, inmersions of both students and teachers, a blog and a Youtube channel will be created and also a code of good teaching practises. Bearing in mind key competences, our methodology will be based on tasks or projects focused on practical results which priorized the transfer of learnings. Our tasks should be active and contextualized, based on real situations, leaning on cooperative, sequenced and meaningful learning structures. Besides, we will take into account diversity and respect for different learning paces and styles. Our methodology is centred around the motivation to create active and autonomous students who can make the construction of learning theirs. Different materials and didactic resources will be used giving relevance to ICT. It is crucial to have a good coordination among teachers as well. All in all, we seek an action based learning. Hopefully, we will hope to share experiences in the creation of a bilingual section in both schools and learn successful methodologies in the teaching of foreign languages, as well as the teaching of non-linguistic subjects in an L2 from our partners, while we develop our ICT competence as a tool for communication and work. The impact sought must comprehend the perfection of linguistic competences in real contexts, the production of materials for the spreading of European values and culture, enhancing interculturality by means of motivating work methods which will awaken in our students a dynamic and enterprising spirit which helps them in a better integration in an European and global job market. In the long run, we would like for our bilingual section to remain in time. Likewise, our mutual contact should foster the improvement of linguistic abilities, the possibility of exchanges between students and schools and twinning among European cultures.
Both IES El Pomar and Escola Secundária de Vila Verde are schools sited in similar cities, regardings aspects such as socio-cultural and economic levels; they are both located in rural areas, and offer the same educational levels. OBJECTIVES REACHED • Start of a bilingual section in the Portuguese school • Improvement of students and techers’ linguistic competence. • Improvement of foreign language teaching methods. • The creation of a feeling of European citizenship in the environment of the partners schools. • Professional and personal excellence, by means of the improvement of personal abilities and competences. • Promotion of European certifications. • Making the project worthwhile by connecting schooling with the students’ professional projection. • Getting the whole social and educational communities involved. • Keeping the project at a transnational level in all instances. The number of participants has been proportional to the number of students and teachers belonging to each school. Students were selected taking into account definite criteria regarding inclusion, avoiding repetition of mobilities, personal involvement and participation in the project, a positive attitude towards foreign language acquisition, and academic records in general. Teachers were selected attending to suitability criteria depending on each activity, mastery of languages when it was a must, and their personal availability depending on the school year. ACTIVITIES • Job- Shadowing in each school. • Congress “Los idiomas, Una Puerta Abierta a Europa” (Languages: An Open Door to Europe) • CLIL Seminar. “Jornadas Bilingües IES El Pomar-Escola de Vila Verde” (Bilingual Workshop IES El Pomar-Escola de Vila Verde) • Congress at Vila Verde School: “Portugal, um país aberto às línguas” (Portugal, A Country Open to Languages) • Educational and ITC Workshops, at both schools. • A Document about common aspects and practices in the teaching of foreign languages. • Internal and external surveys. • Blog, YouTube channel, social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) • Tutorial videos by teachers on how to elaborate audiovisual materials, and on the different discourse types. • Videos by students about their daily lives both in and out of school, in several languages. • Promotional tour guides of both cities. • Rubrics for oral production, written production and written comprehension. • Correspondence via e-mail between students from both countries. • Interviews by students of work actors and employers and at different local organizations. • Digital book with all the activities done throughout the project. • Final Event. Cross-border Day with schoolers from diffrerent schools from Spain and Portugal. • Graffiti Workshop; Portuguese language, culture, music and tiling. RESULTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS • Exchanging of work and teaching methods, developing the use of ITC • Creation of a Bilingual Section at Vilaverde School. • Formative seminars. • Congresses:“Los idiomas: una puerta abierta a Europa”, at IES El Pomar, and “Portugal, un país abierto a las lenguas”, at Escola Secundária de Vila Verde. • Development of a conscience of belonging to the EU. • Good Practices Code. • Job-Shadowings, one at each school, for the comprehension and assimilation of methodologies. • Profiles and channels in several social media. • Digital book with the experiences and works done by students during the project. • Europass passport. • Promotional vídeos related to Erasmus+, school life, students’ life and local and regional communities. IMPACT: Both teachers and students at both schools have improved their linguistic compence, due to the fact that they not only had the chance to practice a foreign language during the mobility, but also some of them have acquired a B1 certificate by the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas in Extremadura. Besides, they also improved their cultural awareness of the neighbour country, as well as their digital competence because the had to use different programmes and apps in order to elaborate materials throughout the project. As for the results, we expect a continuity and enhancement of the bilingual section at the Spanish school, and the starting of one at the Portuguese partner’s. We also believe there will be an improvement at language levels, as well as the keeping of a feeling of belonging to Europe in all the participants in the project. Activities such as the blog, the YouTube channel, the e-Twinning will continue in time. Contacts between partners will keep on, with an eye on future exchanges, collaborations or projects. Due to the fact that the platforms where all the materials above mentioned are stored are free to use, without charge, they will continue in use to promote new projects, activities and for the dissemination of news related to Erasmus+ and the opportunities it offers.