Context/Background Because of the increasing problems with nationalism and intolerance throughout Europe we would like our students to feel closer to each other by giving them opportunities to work, live and share experiences together. The goal of integration and tolerance can only be reached by fostering global citizenship, intercultural competence and social values. Giving pupils the possibility to travel to a foreign country and learn about their customs and culture will not only open their vision of the world as human beings but also improve their training as prospective workers in the European labour market. The choice of European Cultural Heritage as main topic in this project will also strengthen students’ sense of belonging to a common European space, by helping them to reflect on their experiences and by interacting and confronting their views with their peers in another country. There is no understanding without communication so another motivation is to facilitate the use of a foreign language in a real context. Since the pupils will stay in families, they will get that chance to improve their Spanish or English in an authentic context. Besides they will carry out several presentations in the target language which will further enable them to significantly improve their linguistic skills during this project. Objectives -To improve the intercultural competence of our students and their knowledge of our common European cultural heritage. -To build up ties between students so friendship becomes the beginning of tolerance, unity and understanding. -To develop the students' language competence (in English and Spanish) and for the Swedish pupils to increase their motivation to continue higher Spanish studies. Participants -Students from both schools, age 17-18 (upper secondary education). Totally 48 pupils during two years. -Spanish teachers and English teachers. Two teachers from each school. -Members of the management group and language departments will not be active participants taking part in mobilities, but still play an important role in the implementation of the project. Activities Activities start when the school year starts. Swedish and Spanish pupils will be matched and paired. They start communicating through e-mails to get to know each other before the first mobility. In November the first mobility takes place i Spain and the teachers in Spain have set up a schedule for the visit related to different aspects of cultural heritage. In March the Spanish pupils will go to Sweden for a similar mobility to get to know the local cultural heritage there. When the visiting pupils arrive the hosting pupils will be well prepared to show, explain and give an account of their local cultural heritage. For the visiting pupils this will be a great opportunity, not only to learn about the hosting pupils' local cultural heritage, but also to compare and contrast, see differences and similarities between the cultures. Since the pupils are staying in local families, they will get a great opportunity to gain an insight into daily life and culture. Furthermore, holding presentations for an authentic audience will improve pupils' language skills and strengthen their confidence. Spanish pupils will prepare presentations in English and Swedish pupils in Spanish, as this exchange will be a part of their Spanish course. Between the mobilities, pupils will carry out different assignments together and stay connected through e-mails. In the second year, two other groups of pupils will join the project. Results and follow-up This interchange will help our pupils developing their intercultural understanding and their cultural awareness, they will create long lasting friendships and a feeling of a common European identity and they will improve their language skills and strengthen their motivation for studying languages. The idea is that this interchange will continue after the project period, but with other sponsors. The knowledge and experience gained and manifested through a final digital presentation will be valuable when finding other sponsors for the interchange to carry on in the future. Furthermore, the project will create an insight in each other's school system and an experience of Erasmus+ interchanges that will be valuable when starting up more international projects in the future.
Context After perceiving with despair, the growing winds of nationalism, intolerance and hatred throughout Europe and the rest of the world, the initiators of this Erasmus+ project wanted to create a stronger feeling of a European unity among our students. Instead of feeling like Swedish or Spanish citizens we wanted them to feel like Europeans. To achieve this, we emphasized the importance of learning about our common European heritage. By studying our local heritage together, we wanted our students to come closer and to build bridges of understanding, tolerance and friendship across the national borders. Furthermore, we wanted them to develop an intercultural competence by experiencing the everyday life of the students in the exchange country. Therefore, we let the students stay in local families during the mobilities. Since communication is an essential prerequisite for understanding and tolerance, language became an important aspect of the project as well. Objectives -To improve the intercultural competence of our students. We wanted them to see differences and similarities between our cultures and our ways of living. - To improve their knowledge of our common European cultural heritage. -To create bonds of friendship between the students so friendship becomes the beginning of tolerance, unity and understanding. -To develop the students' language competence and to increase their motivation to language studies. Activities The activities started when the school year started. Swedish and Spanish students were matched and paired. The students were given assignments before, during and after the mobilities. These assignments could be, for example, writing e-mails about themselves, producing videos about their cultural heritage and about their ways of living or preparing presentations in English and Spanish before the mobilities. They also presented their experiences from the mobilities to other classes. In November the first mobility took place in Spain. The teachers and students in Spain had set up a schedule for the visit related to different aspects of their cultural heritage. During the first mobility the Spanish students guided their Swedish peers through the local cultural heritage of Málaga and nearby places. The Swedish students stayed in the Spanish students’ families which gave them the chance to experience the Spanish culture and everyday life. Besides, learning about the Spanish cultural heritage they also attended regular classes along with their Spanish peers. During the second mobility in April the Swedish students gave presentations about important places as the students experienced the local cultural heritage of Strängnäs together. The students were given daily tasks to be carried out together in mixed groups and displayed on a web page during the final day of the mobility. The second mobility basically followed the same structure as the first including family stays, presentations and class visits. Results -The students have developed their intercultural competence as they have experienced the differences between our ways of living. The students pointed out differences when it comes to eating hours, sleeping hours and differences in social behavior. -Students have improved their knowledge, both when it comes to their own local cultural heritage and the cultural heritage of the country that they visited. -The project has created a network of friendship ties between Spanish and Swedish students, and a common feeling of belonging together as Europeans. Several students explain that they have made friends for life. An additional unexpected aspect that was especially pleasant to see was the friendship that developed between one of the Spanish boys, who has the Asperger syndrome and the Swedish boy who he was paired with. -The Spanish students have improved their English, and the Swedish students have improved their spoken Spanish language competence. The project has motivated the students to study language and to learn about another country. Expected long term benefits -The students have developed their intercultural competence and established a connection with another country which will be valuable for them in the future, whether it will be while traveling, studying or working abroad. The project has also increased their motivation for further language studies. -The students have created bonds of friendship across borders which will enrich their lives and offer them great opportunities in the future. For some students it has also opened their mindset and enabled them to become open minded European citizens. -A link has been created between Europaskolan and IES Bezmiliana which will most likely result in cooperation of some kind in the future. - Europaskolan has gained valuable experience of the whole process from application to implementation and reporting which might lead to more Erasmus+ projects in the future.