The context of the project called ‘Learning Together About Legends and History’ reflects upon the fact that 2018 is declared to be the European Year of Cultural Heritage. It involves the partnership of a Hungarian bilingual school in Budapest and a Polish private school in Warsaw, based on a finished award winning and an ongoing eTwinning project between the two schools. There are two participating classes with pupils aged 10-12. The most motivated pupils are chosen for the travelling learning activity. The objectives of the project are to bring Hungarian and Polish history, culture and heritage closer to primary pupils through legends and folk-tales. The two participating schools put great emphasis on foreign language practice. The participants gain real-life, first-hand experiences while creating a communicative and cooperating learning environment with the help of the English language and building a long-term relationship between the two schools and the learning pairs. They work together in several ways using ICT tools and 21st century learning techniques. The main idea of the project is that the participants share and learn about the legends and folk tales of the two nations as their common European cultural heritage. This topic is connected to the National Curricula. Both schools agreed to set up a new eTwinning project for this theme and during the project the teachers meet in Budapest and the pupils meet in Krakow. The two schools chose a Polish legend and they decided to work together as a group, performing a play about the ‘Dragon of Wawel’ which is the famous legend of Krakow. The activities take place during the whole year of the project and beyond. The project starts with a joint-staff start meeting, when four teachers of the Polish school visit the coordinator school in Budapest. After that there are five, one-month long, online, topic-based lectures about legends related to Hungarian and Polish history. In March the pupils of the two schools meet and carry out a joined ’live-lesson’ project and bring alive the play together. The main tool for communication is the eTwinning site, Skype and working in forms of short films, videos, photos, presentations. As a result of the project the pupils of both schools reach a wider knowledge about history and cultural heritage while they have a chance to share their ideas and experiences using the English language as an in-between tool to communicate. Their language competence, soft skills and interpersonal skills improve a great deal while they cooperate in their shared projects and learn to appreciate the values that are inherited from past generations. As a longer-term benefit, after sensitizing the pupils to preserve, protect and have an appreciation for tangible and intangible world cultural heritage, they became more conscious and they feel more responsible for them. Both schools are open for other eTwinning partnerships and are willing to work on new projects in the future. “There are many ways to get to know the world and that is what folk tales offer. Through tales, it is possible to acquire a valid knowledge of how the world works and what life tasks people face.” Boldizsár Ildikó
The context of the project called ”Learning Together About Legends and History” reflected the fact that 2018 was the European Year of Cultural Heritage. It involved the partnership of a Hungarian bilingual school in Budapest and a Polish private school in Warsaw which cooperated with each other pursuing the goal of making national legends and history more valuable among students. Both countries have their own legends and stories but as we worked together, it turned out we have many historical connections. The main objective was to improve our foreign language, cultural, digital and interpersonal competences. We integrated subjects like English. Literature, History, Drama, Music and Arts. All the participants got involved into learning activities which developed students` cultural and historical knowledge to a large extent. Due to the programme filled with all kinds of activities such as visiting Krakow together, the Polish teachers' visit to Budapest, establishing drama performance, sending video messages, doing observations, taking photographs, collecting data, sharing findings and results with the peers and the other pupils of the partner organisation project, all the participants, students as well as teachers, became more sensitive towards history and culture. The project started with a joint-staff meeting in Budapest. Thanks to this professional visit, observations, professional discussions and casual conversations took place at the receiving organisation. The main aim included language teaching methodology applied for students with multicultural backgrounds, working with mixed level- and ability groups, teaching science classes, observing international relations and project management. We had an opportunity to compare and analyze the differences and similarities in the field of the teaching methods of children with special needs. The knowledge acquired during the mobility was shared in both participant schools and the learned methods were integrated into the lessons. Polish teachers gained more experience in CLIL methodology and incorporated this new experience into their own practice. One of the long-term benefits of the project is the implementation of new creative and innovative teaching strategies in Poland which include the use of the teaching aids purchased in Hungary. Afterwards, Polish and Hungarian students worked on previously chosen topics about legends related to Hungarian and Polish history. They prepared many presentations, lapbooks, games and quizes using ICT tools which developed and supported their self-esteem and enhanced the process of becoming more competent users of the English language. As a result, they also improved their cultural knowledge. The personal meeting of the pupils from Warsaw and Budapest took place in Krakow. This city was chosen as a site of the most important learning activity of the project because of its unique and special place in the Hungarian and Polish historical connection. The Polish legend ”Dragon of Wawel” has similarities with the Hungarian legend ”Dragon of Kisnána” Students got to know the history of the city and its cultural heritage during guided tours inside the Wawel Castle and The Historical Museum of the City in Kraków and at sightseeing around the Old Town. They used the English language to communicate and cooperate with each other in games and while acting previously chosen roles in a play titled ”The Wawel Dragon.” The personal connections of the children made them even more motivated to develop their English knowledge. This possibility was a unique experience for pupils already highly committed towards each other thanks to the previous project. During all the activities students and teachers got to know each other better by personal interactions. Through the intensive use of the English language online, in drama and face to face pupils and teachers became more competent language users. We developed soft skills and European consciousness. By participating in the program and completing the project, participants set an example for both school communities involving each and every student and member of the teaching staff in both schools. Both partners became more sensitive towards history and culture. In conclusion, students were sensitized to preserve, protect and have an appreciation for tangible and intangible world cultural heritage. They feel more responsible for it after completing the project tasks. Both schools became more open for other eTwinning partnerships and willing to work on new projects together in the future.