emelielovqvist.blogg.se - Day 2 Interview

Yesterday, we learned about eTwinning, which is a plattform for teachers to create projects together in different countries. Out of the short introduction of the platform and some projects made from it, we created questions for the teacher we were going to meet today. The teacher, Sabine, told us about her experience in these type of projects and it was so inspiring to hear about them during the interview.

ProPIC-Study week 2019 | Course activity

School visit - Hebbelschule Kiel

A.The project aims and outcomes.

What are the main outputs of the students?
What learning outcomes have your students experienced after the project?
How do you find this project beneficial to students’ learning when compared to traditional teaching approaches?
What effects did this project have on the colleagues at the school? (sustainability)

B. Project design and procedure (eTwinning)

How do they inform schools to participate?
What are their target schools? Are only countries with refugees?
Are there more examples of projects similar to earth without borders?
What advice you could provide if we plan to do a project?
How old are the target participants? Are there any difficulties when designing the project to fulfil the target learning outcomes?
Would this project work in all countries?
What kind of tools and instruments do the students get to communicate and to produce their outputs in the project? How do they work with these tools and instruments?
How do you get to be part of this project as a school? How do you sign in?
Which is the difference between eTwinning and eTwinning+?
How do teachers send tasks through the eTwinning space?
Do students choose if they participate in the project or is it the teacher who decides who takes part in it?
Is there any development other than eTwinning+ in future?

C. Contact with the interviewees

How do the students get to know the refugees?
How do students collect data about refugees? Do they experience any difficulties during this process?
What questions do your students normally ask the refugees so as to get a deeper understanding of their situation?
What changes can you witness in regard to students’ mindset about human rights and refugees after they have finished the project?
How could the refugees participate in the project?

The most inspiring part of the interview was to hear how her projects have started. She just notices something important in the society, such as the migratory flood that took place in 2015, and turns that into a project to discuss it and learn from it. Then, she uses the eTwinning platform, to make it real. It is amazing how teachers all over the world can work together and exchange experiences with each other. I think that it is a more effective way of learning in comparison to reading about the topic in a book or in articles. However, to communicate on the internet can also be developing socials skills for students and teachers: you can learn how to describe words you don’t know and how to explain things that are the same in different cultures. Sabine has a project right now, where her students in Germany communicate with students in Finland to develop their English. In this case, the students are forced to use their second language which is more motivating than using this language with their German classmates, which can consist in translating hard words into their first language. I can not imagine a better way to learn a new language than speaking to someone with whom we don’t share the same mother tongue. I will definitely use these idea in the future to improve my langauge teaching.

I also liked the perspective she presented about the key points in language teaching. Many teachers are focusing on grammar and proununciation and that, makes students feel insecure and afraid of speaking. I had friends in my English class with the best grades in writing, reading and grammar, in spite of this they couldn’t use the language on the street. In my opinion that is kind of a waste of time, especially in our world nowadays, with more than just one language coexisting in the Sam classroom. It is important for me to give to my students the knowledge about the importance of speaking rather than using the correct grammar. And maybe digital tools, like videos, voice recording or skyping with people living in other countries can be a part of that...