How do you say it
in your language ?
Education is the most
powerful weapon
which you can use
to change the world
Nelson Mandela
About the project
This project is for young English language learners (11-12 years old ) to be able to communicate, integrate and interact with young learners from other countries so as to obtain more confidence in their speaking skills. Every month there will be one topic they work on (things about themselves, school, country, customs) in order to interact with each other exploring the differences and similarities between their countries and enriching their vocabulary.
The main idea of the project is to involve the students in sustainable development through their school activities and improving the quality of school, a place of joy and learning in a pleasant way.
Our ideal goal would be to create a multilingual dictionary with basic words from the participant countries.
To increase our pupils' interest in foreign languages by creating a real environment for the use of English. To stimulate the pupils' motivation to become better at English by providing them the opportunity to use English and promote native language in real communicative situations.
To encourage pupils to get to know pupils from other countries and cultures and develop a respectful attitude towards them.
To promote our school and country. To improve English language skills. To improve the use of technology, get acquainted with new technologies so as to communicate with other European schools and expand pupils' notion of the world. To enhance co operation among peers and make new friends. To publish a multilingual dictionary.
Project aims
Expected final outcome
The ultimate goal is the publication of a simple and short multilingual dictionary, in the form of an ebook, through the pupils' active engagement and friendly co operation.
Educational outcome
We increased our pupils' interest in foreign languages by creating a real environment for the use of English. With this project we managed to stimulate the pupils' motivation to become better at English by providing them the opportunity to use English and promote native language in real communicative situations. We also encouraged pupils to get to know pupils from other countries and cultures and develop a respectful attitude towards them, working either in groups or pairs at school under the teacher’s invigilation and constant advice or individually at home.
Educational procedure
Every month there was a different topic related to the modules of the school curriculum as far as vocabulary and grammar are concerned. The pupils chose the words for the multilingual dictionary pages, wrote them in English, added them in the Google document and each partner worked online translating these words in their own language. Pupils had real fun translating and at the same time trying to pronounce other countries’ vocabulary. All the pupils improved their English competency (speaking, writing, reading and listening) and their motivation to learn the language better was increased. Cooperation among peers was enhanced, as well, while working for ‘their own’ project either in groups or in pairs, in their classrooms or at home. All the pupils progressed in the use of technology, too.
Partners communicated and decided upon the issues of the project through Twinspace platform, personal mail correspondence or Skype meetings. A communication page for questions and duties was created, as well. Every month there was a guideline with new tasks to follow. Every school worked cooperatively on the project through Google forms and other online applications, made video presentations, power point presentations and so on and so forth.
Every school worked the same, more or less. All the pupils had to complete the same tasks each month – add and translate vocabulary words, talk about their school/town/country, make Christmas and Easter cards, write poems, sing carols, draw for May Day/Mother Day/summer/dictionary cover and subpages, write questions for the board game, make traditional recipes, vote online, make polls and comments, answer quizzes, play games, create avatars and websites etc.
All schools worked hard to accomplish the multilingual dictionary and the board game before the end of the school year.
Every school worked online with the dictionary pages and the board game questions, used applications (Padlet, Colorillo, Thinglink, Tagul, Kizoa, Answergarden, Wix, Movie maker, Prezi, Youtube, Emaze, Skype, mail, Qzzr, Smilebox, Photosnack , Googlemaps etc) to create beautiful presentations, promote their schools, countries, cultures but, most of all, communicate effectively with the other partner schools.
The project helped both teachers and pupils improve their competency skills, raise their self-confidence, get to know better other countries, cultures and languages, make new friends, cooperate on a common platform, share experiences and acquire even more . Schools raised awareness towards other cultures, other schools, other languages apart from English. It was also promoted in an effective way with a long lasting impact (dictionary). The whole project provided pupils with a range of opportunities to use both English and technology in real situations through interesting activities and meaningful tasks. Video conferences were very enjoyable and everyone was really happy to be a part. The project let pupils become the protagonists, take responsibilities, make decisions, become not only translators but designers, too, using their imagination and creativity so as to be better aware of their own learning. The most successful part of the project was not only the creation of the multilingual dictionary and the website but the beginning of wonderful co-operations and friendly relationships, as well.