Dissemination and exploitation activities - Reference: 2006-4675/001-001

1) Bulgaria, Romania, Ellas, Turkey – Language bridges encouraging tolerance (BRET. Ref № 117006-CP-1-2004-1-BG-LINGUA-L1). The project is represented by EF Istanbul, member of the project partnership. The project combines the expertise of partners from BG, TR, GR, RO, AT and UK. Over the period Nov 2005 – April 2006, the partnership has organized a series of Language Weeks dedicated to promoting Bulgarian, Romanian, Greek and Turkish, which also contributed to the process of strengthening the cultural bridges among the countries where these languages are spoken. The language weeks were a communication filed where various practices in teaching target languages and information about the neighboring countries’ cultures were found.

The practice of the less widely used and taught languages (LWULT) demonstrated the effectiveness of the approach in promoting languages within the real social and (inter)cultural context in which they are spoken. Furthermore, the role of art and the free creative expression, the initiative and reflections of the pupils involved proved to be a powerful means to re-contextualize and overcome some century-old stereotypes and prejudices.

The Project developments are presented in a series of radio broadcasts elaborated and produced by the partners: Radio Bulgaria and Orange 94.0 (Freies Radio Wien), Austria.

For the most active, creative and challenging students who took part in the Language Weeks in the Project partner countries, a Youth Language Camp in Bulgaria took place in September 2006. During one week the participants in the international event will be able to acquire authentic inter-cultural and multilingual experience.

One of the main outcomes of the project was focusing more positive attention on the target languages and countries, as well as creating opportunities for contacts and cooperation between a number of schools involved in the 6 countries of the project.

All the activities of the project are available on the site of the project: http://cei-bg.org/bret

2) Cross-Cultural Walk in the Streets of Europe (CC –WISE, 118963-CP-1-2004-1-BG-COMENIUS-C2.1). A project coordinated by ICCF, BG, combining the expertise of partners from TR, RO, PL, SP, AT. The project elaborated as a Teacher Manual, a teaching aid with intercultural themes, addressing teachers of various subjects (including foreign languages) working in the junior high and secondary schools. The Manual is printed in all the languages of the partner countries: BG, DE, ES, PL, RO, and TR. The topics and the methodology used in the Manual were tested in all partner countries. A CD-ROM with the texts of the Manual in English, plus some additional sources of information is currently under work.

Local teacher trainings were carried out in each partner country. A Teacher Training Program based on modern involving activities to work with students has been tested through this practical experience and has finally been produced. the objective is to provide the teachers with the methodology and the approaches to carry out intercultural education as well as to give them the necessary tools and training to help them became facilitators of the students work.

All the activities of the project are available on the site of the project: http://cc-wise.iccfound.org

3) "French through dramatisation techniques" (Le français par les techniques théâtrales) (89874/CP/1/ 2001/1/IT/LINGUA/L2). A project coordinated by FENICE - Federazione Nazionale Insegnanti Centro di iniziativa per l’Europa. Partners from Italy, France and Romania collaborated in order to organize the project which began in November 2001 and ended in January 2004. The objective of this project was to increase language competence and fluency in French among students attending secondary schools both in Italy and Romania, by using stagecraft.

Though it is linked to foreign language (French both for Italian and Romanian students) this project aims at selecting models which may be used in the teaching of other subjects as well, as they study and experience integrated forms of communication (words, gestures, emotional involvement and multimedia).

The products elaborated include:

12 teaching units, to be used in curricular or extra-curricular contexts, which show how theatre techniques may be used in the teaching/learning process and a concept for revision of the Italian and Rumanian curricula concerning students between 14 and 16 years of age (false beginners) as a result of the use of theatre techniques.

A handbook to explain the rationale behind the exercises

An interactive multimedia CD-Rom to be used both by teachers and students who will be given examples, feedback and opportunities to check by themselves whether learning is taking place.

A DVD with filmed shots of an activity for each teaching unit.

A website http://www.edutheatre.it  in three languages (French, Italian and Romanian) for the diffusion of the project and its results as well as the effects of the experimentation started after its conclusion.

4) The ‘Big Picture’ Network involves 10 partners in 7 European countries: Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Spain and the UK. These partners cover a range of institutions whose the target are learners over 16 in further education colleges, art schools, specialist arts institutes and private training organizations. They  offer a wide variety of specialists in arts areas, including animation, audio, computer design, dance, drama, graphic design, multimedia, music and video.

Giving for granted a constant need to improve traditional teaching, the network has come up with methods developed in art education:

·         An expanding network of post-16 non-advanced education centres

·         A range of approaches & activities promoting Visual & Performing Arts within vocational education

·         Multi-lingual material in a variety of formats

·         An interactive web-site

·         Ongoing links with other professional & educational organizations

The site of the project is: http://www.bigpicturenetwork.net

The project is undertaken as a multinational partnership including institutions from four countries: Bulgaria, Italy, Turkey and United Kingdom:

• Intercultural Co-operation Foundation (ICCF)- Sofia, Bulgaria - a non-governmental, non-profit organisation whose activities are aimed at improving the agreement and collaboration between the cultures and their progress respecting their distinctive characteristics and mutual equality. ICCF strives to act as information clearing-house and resource centre in the field of intercultural co-operation and education. It accumulates expertise and solid knowledge about international programmes and projects, and offers assistance and advise to interested people and institutions willing to make use of this information in favour of sustainable European development, i.e. maintaining and improving good-neighbourly relations and strengthening cross-cultural co-operation.

• EF Dil Okulu – Istanbul, Turkey – a private language school with 5 branches, 75 English teachers, 15 Turkish teachers, around 3,000 students, affiliated to English First, an independent network of schools. The school started to teach Turkish to foreigners and now offers English courses to the local people and some combined programs for the students to practice the language in their home countries. The new Training Center provides also quality in-service and pre-service training opportunities for native and non-native speakers of English.

• Federazione Nazionale Insegnanti Centro di iniziativa per l’Europa – FENICE – Naples, Italy – a non-profit teacher’s association which supports all those initiatives which favour the integration of the intellectual resources of schools in the cultural growth of society, promotes and plans initiatives, training projects, refresher courses, the cultural improvement of  teachers as well as research and experimentation in the teaching field. It also takes part in the research and development of technologies aiming at making learning easier, as well as education and vocational training more easily available thanks to the modern means of communication.

• Liverpool Hope University – Liverpool, United Kingdom - a higher education establishment, which strives to provide opportunities for the personal development of students from all faiths and beliefs. It is a national provider of a wide range of high quality programmes, including the education, training and professional development of teachers.  Subjects at Liverpool Hope are grouped into four Deaneries: The Deanery of Arts & Humanities (creative and performing arts - Music, Art, Design, Drama, Theatre Studies, Dance, Media, English, History, Politics, Theology and Religious Studies at undergraduate and postgraduate levels), The Education Deanery, (Initial Teacher Training programmes, Special Needs, Education Studies and Early Childhood Studies, Masters and CPD courses) The Business and Computing Deanery (Business School, IT programmes, Masters programmes in Business Management and Computing) and The Deanery of Sciences & Social Sciences, (Sport, Health, Geography, Sociology, Psychology and Criminology).