Through the implementation of the project, our primary goal was to provide children of Slovak minorities abroad and their teachers with modern didactic materials that enable them to learn in their mother tongue — in a format familiar to them from majority schools in their current countries of residence (in Western Europe and overseas) or in a form still missing from their minority schools, despite its growing necessity due to natural processes of assimilation (in countries with over 200 years of Slovak enclave or diaspora presence). By creating 40 short educational films, we aim to support a comprehensive approach to teaching and learning languages by filling a gap in the available educational materials for children of Slovak minorities abroad. This will enable teachers educating these children to develop professionally and improve their pedagogical performance. At the same time, we expect that the use of the project’s results in the educational practice of Slovak minority schools and centers abroad will contribute to the self-identification of children and their parents, foster awareness of the positive value of ethnic and cultural diversity, and create conditions for further inclusion and personal growth of multiple generations
The decision to submit this application gradually emerged during the implementation of our previous project JaSom. Through the project’s practical experience, as well as the extensive expertise of our specialized institution – the UMB Methodological Centre for Slovaks Living Abroad – we identified specific educational needs of children belonging to Slovak minorities abroad. Among these needs were not only concrete thematic areas but also a form of learning that is completely missing in the Slovak language: short educational films that guide users toward improving their language skills in a natural and engaging way. Since for Slovak children living abroad, Slovak is usually not a “foreign language” but rather a heritage language, we did not opt for a typical language course format. Instead, we identified the need for educational films focused on natural communication in Slovak, with gradually increasing language levels and progressively more complex topics through which Slovak communication is presented. All the needs identified directly in the practice of Slovak minorities naturally led to a project concept, which we subsequently adapted to meet the needs of our partners.