Gospodarska škola Varaždin

COMENIUS CORNER

Comenius Multilateral School Partnership

(Spain, Turkey, Norway, Germany and Croatia)

Didactics of foreign languages

 in compulsory secondary education

About the project

Since September 2012 our school has been involved in a project funded by European Union within the framework of a Lifelong Learning Programme and Comenius Multilateral School Partnership. The title of the project is Didactics of foreign languages in compulsory secondary education. It is a project initiated by IES Emilio Perez Pinero, a general secondary school in Calasparra, Spain. There are three more countries involved in the project and they are Turkey, Norway and Germany.

Lifelong Learning Programme - video

Activities

In the course of next two years teachers, students and parents will be working together in order to achieve better communication competencies with students who are finishing compulsory education. They will be comparing and analysing different aspects which influence the learning process. The data they obtain will be processed and the best methodology chosen. The schools will exchange good practices, evaluate them and distribute them to schools which show interest.

The activities which include videos of each school, posters encouraging students to learn foreign languages, a comic on the same topic, a play in English, forums , blogs and video conferences, were agreed at the first meeting  held in Spain in September 2012 and will be conducted at each partner school in the months to come. Subsequently they will be discussed and evaluated at the meetings planned in each country participating in the project.  

First mobilities - Calasparra, Spain (24^th September – 1^st October 2012)

The first meeting of the partners was held in Calasparra, Spain, the host school being IES Emilio Perez Pinero, a state secondary school named after a famous Spanish architect born in Calasparra.

Presentation prof. Perši 

Presentation Lana & Tanja

The work

During our stay in Calasparra, several meetings and workshops were held  to discuss various project-related topics. This being the first of 5 meetings planned for the duration of the project, the idea was first to learn more about the partners' schools through the videos and presentation the partners had prepared for this purpose. Also, the partners could see the host school facilities and in the meetings certain decisions concerning the future activities had to be made: the tasks that include all partners were defined, the partners were assigned their individual tasks and deadlines for all these activities were determined. Also, the manner in which the partners will communicate while working on the project was established.  Some workshops were held comparing  the methodology in the classroom.

In the meantime, the students who also participated in these first mobilities were able to attend classes  and use their knowledge of foreign languages to communicate with their peers, exchange experiences with them and learn more about their school life.

The welcome

The mayor of Calasparra hosted a reception for all the participants welcoming us to Calasparra and wishing us a successful continuance of the project, all of which was covered by the local media.

Learning more...

A real treat for the partners was the opportunity to see some of our hosts' enormous cultural heritage. The area can boast with many sights, but to mention only a few that we were able to visit: the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Hope, a shrine built into the side of the mountain in the vicinity of Calasparra, the town of Caravaca de la Cruz, considered to be one of the most significant Holy Cities in the Catholic Church, and not to forget, La Alhambra, a palace and fortress complex in Granada, Andalusia, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1984.

The partners were also able to get an insight into the economy and the main industries of the area (Calasparra, for example, is known for its production of rice).

Some  traditional music and dances of the area were presented to the partners and we were able to try some typical Spanish dishes. (Naturally, the paella was made with Calasparran rice.)

We have to  thank our Spanish colleagues again for making us feel welcome and for making our stay a memorable experience. We can only try to match their hospitality when it's our turn. Gospodarska škola Varaždin is expected to host the meeting in March 2014.

Both  the students and the teachers involved in the project are looking forward to the activities and the results which will follow. And, of course, to their next trip to Istanbul, Turkey! 

PROJECT VISIBILITY

1)       Local media

The articles informing  the public about the Comenius project in general as well as describing the activities carried out during the first round of mobilities in Calasparra, Spain, from 24th September to 1st October were sent to the local newspapers:

-           Regionalni tjednik,

-           Varaždinske vijesti.

http://regionalni.com/zivotdrustvo/skolstvo/nezaboravnih-tjedan-dana-u-spanjolskoj-11643

2) School library – presentation for students (31st October 2012)

The school library hosted the presentation for students prepared by Lana Pupek and Tanja Satončić. They also created posters for so called Comenius Corner  which enriched the talk about  their trip to Spain. They spent a week in Calasparra attending some lessons at Emilio Perez Piñero school where they exchanged language learning experinece with their Spanish peers. They also had the chance to practice speaking Spanish since they lived with the Spanish families. Finally, they answered various questions on Spanish education system, Spanish students' free time activities, cuisine, lifestyle, etc.

3) STAFF MEETING – PRESENTATION by Mirna Rukavina Bakšaj and Vanja Perši

Mirna Rukavina Bakšaj and Vanja Perši gave a presentation for the school teaching staff at their meeting on 14th November 2012 providing general information about lifelong learning programmes especially Comenius partnership programmes. They described the aims and activities of the project and planned mobilities during the next two years. During the presentation the Spanish partner and the school were decribed as well as the activities in which the teachers participated and are supposed to carry out until the next meeting. Also, they mentioned the cities and the tourist sights they visited, national cuisine specialties they had the chance to try and shared some interesting facts they learned about Spanish education system and Spain in general. They informed their colleagues that all the information regarding the Comenius multilateral parthership can be found in the Comenius corner in the school library and on the school web page. Finally, they pointed out that all the teachers willing to contribute and participate in the project are welcome.

Comenius corner – Poster competition

Why learn foreign languages?

First year students of Gospodarska škola Varaždin supervised by their English teachers participated in the competition for the best poster about learning foreign languages.

1.B (students: Klementina Svetec, Ana Novačić; teacher: Vanja Perši)

1.C (teacher: Irena Ipša) – 49 points

1.D (students: Nikolina Slavin, Jakov Sić, Antonio Sirovec, Ivana Kosec, Matea Dolovski, Viktorija Kostanjevac;  teacher: Mirna Rukavina Bakšaj)

1.G (students: Petra Marenčić, Petra Lacković, Matea Bošković, Ivana Brzaj, Danijela Grgek, Lea Keretić, Patricija Pozder; teacher: Brankica Vrček)

1.H (students: Dalija Poustecki, Ena Anđel, Anamarija Žuliček, Valentino Hruškač, Martina Končevski; teacher: Alma Delija)

The first and second year students were asked to discuss, vote and choose the best poster.

                  And the winner is………. poster number 5, class 1.H

                  CONGRATULATIONS…. enjoy your prize!

Second Mobility:  Istanbul, Turkey (18^th-23^rd March, 2013)