Lots of students find language learning at school difficult, discouraging, and boring. They see learning as the teacher’s responsibility. Choosing right methods, to make students use the language in any way they enjoy through speaking, writing, reading, listening, and even playing and thinking, will teach students to take responsibility for their own language learning. The main objective of the project is to help teachers to become motivators and students to become motivated learners. We want to change our teachers’ attitude towards teaching. There will be five schools from five countries participating in the project: Istituto Comprensivo Statale Amaseno (Italy), Agrupamento de Escolas de Avis (Portugal), Pirtin koulu (Finland), Furness Academies Trust (the UK), Valgu Põhikool (Estonia). The target group in the project is students aged 10 – 14. This is the age when it is really difficult to keep students motivated in learning, especially in learning foreign languages. Throughout the project, several surveys will be carried out among the students of five partner schools to monitor students' progress in their language studies and work habits. Students will point out their expectations on language studies, give active feedback on methods used in classes. Every project partner will work out a lesson plan with suitable students-activating methods on a given topic. The methods will cover four language skills. Every partner will also compile a test to be carry carried out at the end of the topic. There will be five topics altogether: - school, daily routine, and free time (the UK); - hometown, shops and other local places, and giving directions (Finland); - food and healthy lifestyle (Estonia); - holidays and travel (Portugal); - smart devices, Internet, and students (Italy). Partners will share their lesson plans with each other. Before every project meeting, the same topic will be handled in every partner school and the test will be carried out. On project meetings, partners will discuss the approaches to active learning, analyze outcomes of the learning session. Students will give their opinion on methods used in classes. Throughout the learning process, students will need to make contact with their peers from partner countries via the internet to find out some special information on the topic. Students will be encouraged to communicate and collaborate with the students from partner schools via the emails and eTwinning chatroom by giving them different relevant little tasks. In their foreign language classes, students will write mini-plays and exchanges and act them out. Students search for information about the connections with their partner countries and they prepare presentations using different web-based tools. The search for information will be integrated into everyday studies of different school subjects. All outcomes will be shared with partners. During the three first project meetings, students will write a script of a play and in the last project meeting, students will produce their play. Students collect information about their partner countries. They broaden their knowledge of partner countries, one country at a time. Students look for all kinds of different connections between their home country and their partner countries. The search for information will be integrated into everyday studies. The project carried out transnationally gives students a chance to experience cooperation between different nationalities. They need to think about the cultural differences while working together. Also, being engaged in a transnational project motivates students' better commitment to their language studies. Teachers with different culture background give a new perspective to teaching. The project aims to produce lasting results within the cultural approach that families, teachers, and students adopt in their relationship with other cultures, teaching and learning techniques and, generally, towards EU integration. Participation in the activities planned will take effect, hopefully, throughout the life of our teachers and students on developing their ability.
Many students find learning a foreign language difficult and boring. Although students usually try to complete the tasks assigned to them, they do not have a vision of where they want to go with their studies. Students do not perceive development and therefore their motivation to study decreases. Students feel that the teachers are responsible for their development and grades, teachers hold students responsible for their studies. During the „E-netˮ project, we tried to find ways to increase students' learning motivation. Our goal with our partners was to share our best-performing language learning methods. By choosing methods that involve students, we wanted to get our students to speak, write, read, listen, play and think. We wanted to get students to use language in a way that is enjoyable for students and that improves their language skills. In this way, we could increase students' self-confidence and they were better motivated in their studies and the students were more ready to take responsibility for their language learning. Also, our goal was to change teachers' attitudes toward teaching and help teachers become motivators. There were four schools from four countries participating in the project “Experiencing New Educational Tools”: Istituto Comprensivo Statale Amaseno (Italy), Agrupamento de Escolas de Avis (Portugal), Pirtin koulu (Finland), Valgu Põhikool (Estonia). The target group in the project was students aged 10 – 14. This is the age when students get into trouble with their language studies and it becomes more difficult to keep students motivated in language learning. Each project partner proposed a lesson plan with learning methods, that activated students, on their topic. The remaining project partners tested the methods with their students, adjusted the methods if necessary. We carried out oral interviews and discussions at schools to monitor students' motivation and ask students for their opinion on the methods used. Students pointed out their expectations on language studies and gave feedback on methods. We also discussed every lesson plan with project partners at the next international project meeting. There were four topics altogether: - hometown, shops and other local places, and giving directions (Finland); - food and healthy lifestyle (Italy); - holidays and travel (Portugal); - smart devices, Internet, and students (Estonia). In addition to the lesson plans, we shared presentations on various topics using different web-based tools. Students acted out and wrote mini-plays and exchanges and shared them with partners. We shared songs and chants. Throughout the project, we kept in close touch via the internet to encourage communication between all partners. During the project meetings, students wrote a play script. Due to the pandemic, it was not possible to direct the play in a joint project at the last short-term exchange of students as it was planned initially. So at the end of the project, the students from the partner schools presented the play in a freely chosen format. Students sought information on partner countries, trying to find similarities between their home countries and partner countries. Thanks to this, they got to know the partner countries and learned a lot about their home country. All the search for information was integrated into daily school lessons. The international project gave the students the opportunity to experience international cooperation, during which they had to cope linguistically, show respect for each other taking into account cultural differences, they learned to be more tolerant and empathetic. Organizing short-term student exchange events gave students the possibility to feel that they are an important link in organizing an international event. Participation in an international project was a strong motivator for the students' language learning process. Teachers from different cultural backgrounds helped to open up a new perspective on teaching. Project activities and communication during the project contributed to a better cultural understanding. Students, teachers, parents, and also communities involved in the project have become more aware of the cultural differences and customs of the project partners. The ideas obtained during the participation in the project activities, the experience gained, the ability to think more flexibly from the perspective of both the student and the teacher will help us to be more successful in our future studies and teaching. The positive experience gained encourages teachers to be innovative and wise in choosing their material and be open in communication with students.