The Project "Communication" runs 24 months and is put into effect by six Schools from Germany (comprehensive School), Poland (elementary School), Croatioa (Grammar School), Bulgaria (Grammar School), Portugal (Grammar School) and Spain (Grammar School). Communication keeps every form of society together, from the wandering families of the Stone Age to our highly networked Europe, where people from very different cultural and linguistic backgrounds communicate. Modern day students are confronted with completely new communicative challenges. Monolingualism is no longer the reality of life. It hasn`t been for a long time, but it seems that it`s no sooner than now that we are beginning to understand. It is the Goal of this project to give the students what they need to cope with these challenges and to foster a state of mind that considers this challenge as an opportunity. This project aims at fostering multilingualism, which is far more than simply learning grammar and the rules of language. Communication shall be looked at in its entirety: the combination of language, gesture, facial expression and alternative forms of communication such as dancing, music and much more. Comprehension of communication helps fighting prejudicedness and bringing forward open-mindedness. The broad concept of the project enables the participation of almost every student only depending on their wish to participate and contribute. Whereas a normal School exchange is more likely to appeal to well-performing students, this project gives every sudent the opportunity to take part. Students with migrational background for example are the center when it comes to showing the participants aspects of their native language. Further goals of the project are - promotion of language of minorities. - integration of children with migrational background - analysis of foreign language teaching - improvement of language learning - open mindedness towards minorities - open mindedness towards people with communicative deficits During the 24-month course of the project every participating school will be visited by four students plus teachers of each of the partners' school. That means that in total 24 students will participate in each project meeting. The students will be hosted by local families and this way they will get in touch with the local culture and will have to communicate. This form of communication will also be necessary during the meetings, when students from six different countries with six different native languages work on the project. The contribution of the students is not limited to the meetings but also, even for the greater part, takes place at their schools in between the meetings. They will prepare presentations, language- and travel guides, language games, films and tutorials, brochures, plays and music during lessons and clubs. The results of this work will be published and presented during the meetings via E-Books or videos. During and after the project the participating students and teachers shall act as multipliers. Students have great influence on their peer group. The open minded attitude and the unprejudicedness will have an impact on their social contacts. Teachers can use their newly learned teaching techniques in their lessons, in the attitude towards communicative challenges and gain a new approach to the teaching of foreign languages. This can reach as far as some changing in the school curriculum. A shift of paradigm may only be a long-term goal, but it is possible to change bit by bit to come closer to the overall goal: Multilinguistic communication.
A total of 6 schools from Germany (integrated comprehensive school), Poland (primary school), Croatia (primary school), Bulgaria (high school), Portugal (high school) and Spain (high school) were involved in the 3-year "Communication" project. The Spanish school dropped out at the end of the original 24 months. Communication holds a society together, from our ancestors to today's networked Europe, in which people with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds communicate and understand each other. The plan that each school is visited by the partners with 4 students and teachers had to be deviated from because of the Corona regulations. A total of 24 participating students and accompanying teachers were involved at the meetings, with the exception of Portugal (virtual meeting), Bulgaria and Poland (without German students). They should be accommodated with host parents. This was also not possible in Bulgaria, Poland and Croatia because of the pandemic. The topic made it possible to address a wide student body and not exclude anyone from participating. While student exchanges appeal to the high-performing students, this theme provided an opportunity for each student to contribute. For example, children with a migration background are the focus when it comes to teaching the project participants the language of minorities. With funding from the EU, the project also enabled children whose parents could not afford a student exchange to participate in the mobility programmes. The aim of this project was to provide the students with the necessary tools for communicative challenges and a tolerant attitude. The project should promote a multilingualism that is more than grammar and language rules. Communication should be considered as a whole: the combination of language, gestures (also sign language), facial expressions and other forms of communication such as dance, music. An understanding of communication should help to prevent prejudices and promote an open-minded attitude. Other goals of the project were the integration of children with a migration background, the investigation of foreign language teaching and the acceleration of foreign language acquisition and openness to people with communication deficits. The activities and results can be roughly divided into the areas of writing, culture, language and everyday life. In the area of written communication, the students learned how people with disabilities communicate in writing. The students got an insight into Braille for the blind, sign language and phonetic transcription. The students wrote their names in Braille and introduced themselves in a video in sign language and phonetic transcription. They learned the Cyrillic alphabet and translated their names, and got creative, inventing a new language and composing sentences in the codes of planets and chemical elements. In the field of culture, there was a drumming course and visits to art exhibitions. In workshops, the students produced traditional art in handicrafts. There was also a lot of dancing. The Yiddish dance "Chiribim Chiribam" was rehearsed, as was the choreography for "Jerusalema". A video was put together from this. The students wrote an essay about their individual talents and hobbies and exchanged ideas about them. Each student created a profile of themselves and in presentations about their homeland, the students got to know about the of life of others. Language was illuminated in terms of local dialects. The students taught each other local expressions, the use of which is regionally limited. A dictionary was created with all the languages involved in the project. Differences and similarities became visible here and the students got a feeling for the language of others. Another aspect was the everyday life of the students. They exchanged ideas in international groups. The influence of the pandemic on the reality of life was also important. Other topics were learning at school and the home country, which was presented in short presentations. A cookbook with dishes typical of the country was also created. We know from experience that the effects of Erasmus projects are not only short-term, but that the participating students and schools benefit in the long term. Participation in the project should create self-confidence to face new challenges with confidence. Communication hurdles should be removed and conflicts due to misunderstandings should be avoided. The school gains new impulses for its own lessons through the experiences and the exchange with other countries. This happens, for example, through new learning methods and learning apps. The participants, both students and teachers, should serve as multipliers and pass on their new knowledge to their peers or colleagues.