Finding our roots
Start date: Sep 1, 2015,
End date: Aug 31, 2017
PROJECT
FINISHED
FOR (Finding Our Roots) project emerges out of a previous collaborative work between three state high schools located in greatly depressed economic areas: IES Urbi (Basauri / Spain), Liceo Classico Statale Plinio Seniore (Castellammare di Stabia / Italy), and Varvakeio Model Experimental Lyceum (Athens / Greece).
IES URBI high school is specialized in multilingual education based on CLIL (Content and Language integrated Learning), and since 2008-2009 has been holding annual European projects.
Plinio Seniore high school puts great emphasis on language learning (English, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and Chinese) to guide the school community on social development of economic sectors such as cultural tourism. Currently, the school is holding European projects that involve short-term exchanges.
Varvakeio is one of the 47 “Model Experimental” state schools in Greece that pursue “excellence”. This school accepts foreign students that make there their short-term stages of practice.
FOR project will run for two school-years (2015-2016 and 2016-2017), involving annual short-term exchanges for pupils.
This project intends to apply innovative CLIL method to multilingual learning-teaching system in upper secondary education, with the regard to develop academic language skills related to Botany vocabulary, mythology, and social language abilities in English to B2 level. So, having as starting point the official curricula of upper secondary education within our respective countries, upper secondary pupils are going to work simultaneously on various contents in English, belonging to more than one academic disciplines: Natural Science, Classic and Modern Languages, Classical Culture, and Computers.
Objectives:
-Every target student will acquire English academic language skills related to Botany vocabulary through classical roots finding to B2 level.
-Every target student will acquire English academic language skills to B2 level, by means of learning contents related to classical myths and plants.
-Every target student will improve English linguistic competences to B2 level in real-life situations, by means of working collaboratively and interacting socially with foreign students.
-Every target student will improve and acquire the vocabulary related to Botany in both mother and partners` languages: Spanish, Basque, Italian, and Greek.
-Every single member of our schools will improve ICT skills by applying web 2.0 resources to CLIL.
-Every single member of our school communities will improve plurilingual and intercultural competences through interaction with foreign partners and the use of e-ELP (Electronic European Language Portfolio).
Main activities:
-Every school year, the international student target groups should generate a collaborative glossary of 72 words about the morphology of the vascular plants in the project wiki.
-Every school year, the international student target groups should generate a collaborative dictionary of 24 mythological plants in the project wiki.
-Three times per school year, the target groups of each school shall prepare, conduct, and assess project activities together with the working groups’ representatives from the other two schools, who will be accommodated in foster school families.
-Three times per school year, the entire school community shall interact with 12 foreign students and 4 teachers from 2 different countries through face to face real-life communication.
Methodology:
-CLIL learning-teaching.
-Interdisciplinary teaching.
-Information and Communications Technology supporting CLIL.
-The use of the Electronic European Language Portfolio.
Expected results:
Intangible results:
-Pupils` achievement of English academic language related to Botany vocabulary, classical myths and plants to B2 level.
-Pupils` improvement of English linguistic competences in social situations to B2 level.
-Pupils` improvement and acquisition of the vocabulary related to Botany in both mother and partners` languages.
-School community improvement of ICT skills.
-School community improvement of plurilingual and intercultural competences.
Tangible results:
-The glossary on Botany vocabulary and classical roots.
-The dictionary of mythological plants.
-The mythological gymkhana.
-The mythological garden.
-The interactive exercises on Botany terms and mythological plants.
Impact:
-To achieve the project objectives and results in target groups and school communities.
-To include project aims, activities, and results in the annual syllabus of CLIL subjects.
-To encourage other educational establishments and associations to take part in European projects.
-To share multilingual and multicultural experiences among the school communities.
The potential longer term benefits:
-To use, develop, and disseminate most FOR activities, methodology, and outputs after the end of the founding, by means of ensuring the continuity of project teacher team work and the cooperation between the three schools.