26 Jan 2006 - Comenius programme unites EU schools
- Hey, let's go to see the Cathedral! I can show it to you. - Ok, aber kennt ihr deutsche Musik? Die Prinzen zum Beispiel.
There were lively, international conversations to be heard in the schoolyard of Tampere Classical School, when pupils in the eighth grade were talking to their guests from abroad. These visitors arrived via the Comenius programme that is aimed at promoting international relationships in practice.
In the picture are the teachers and children from St Josef's in Schwabisch Gmund
Participants in the Comenius exchange in January 2006 came to visit Tampere Classical School from Germany, Great Britain and Poland. This time, Tampere was the only city, as the visitors were from small places like Schwäbisch Gmünd in Baden-Württemberg, Barnsley in Yorkshire and Niedzwiedz in southernmost Poland.
Comenius is an exchange programme for schools and is supported by the EU. The goal of the programme is to promote the linguistic competence and the international relations of the pupils, their families and the teachers by offering opportunities for practical cooperation. The young people stay with host families who have children of the same age. This means that the whole host family gets the opportunity to practise a foreign language. The young people from abroad, in turn, can get to know Finnish culture and customs during their visit, that lasts almost a week.
The days spent in Tampere were full of activities: among other things, the participants in the exchange visited Taitaja, a fair that presented different working skills. They also took part in lessons in the Classical School, went to a concert in Tampere Hall and took a guided sightseeing tour. During the weekend, a busy day with both free time and organised outdoor activities was offered in Kauppi Sports Park. The visitors could get acquainted with Nordic walking, skiing, making a hole in the ice and grilling sausages in almost arctic conditions.
Also, the families could spend some time together with their young visitors during the weekend. Some of the young people went bowling together with their Finnish host brothers and sisters in a hall with gloomy neon light. A mixture of English and German, practised in a relaxed atmosphere, was the recipe for good communication and for getting to know each other.
Authentic contacts from schools:
The Comenius programme is a means of creating authentic international contacts on a grass-roots level between even the most remote locations within the EU. The partner schools are an excellent example of this. The young travellers were on their first visit to Finland, and many pupils were flying for the very first time.
The pupils from Niedzwiedz, southern Poland, arrived with their English teacher, Boguslawa Gniecka, and their school librarian, Danuta Stachura. Ms Stachura remarked that very many pupils and teachers in their school were interested in the exchange. In Niedzwiedz, they might need to draw lots in the future in order to choose the teachers who will get an opportunity to participate in the upcoming exchanges.
The pupils in Niedzwiedz were selected on the basis of their school reports, their knowledge of languages, but also on social grounds. Ms Stachura is especially pleased about this.
- These children have not had the opportunity to travel abroad before this, she states.
Ms Stachura, a librarian herself, could not stop admiring and praising Metso, the city library, in Tampere. In particular, she paid attention to the relaxed and peaceful atmosphere in the library.
- Friendly service, an abundance of chairs and niches for reading, sufficient ventilation, agreeable room temperature, automatic loans and returning systems, good lighting, spacious halls, well presented collections and a cosy cafeteria, Ms Stachura lists the assets of the library, seen through the eyes of a professional.
Examples of Swabian dialect:
The school for hearing-impaired children in Schwäbisch Gmünd sent a group taken care of by Heike Neuber-Joos, English teacher and Franz Wiker, teacher of mathematics and natural sciences.
- In our school the participants for the project were chosen on the basis of their language skills, good manners and knowledge of Germany, our home country, reveals Raphael Stahl, one of the youngest participants in the exchange. He is a 13 year-old schoolboy from a village called Adelberg, with some 2,100 inhabitants.
- I am prepared to talk about the German school system and, if requested, to even demonstrate some Swabian dialect, grins Raphael. For him, the most interesting sights among the many places he visited in Tampere, were Metso, the city library, and the Moomin Museum.
Helena Tapaninaho, English teacher in the Classical School, reports that this exchange will be continued by more visits during 2006. These visits will take place in Germany and possibly in Romania, if the country gets accepted as a partner in the Comenius project. As a rule, there are two pupils and two teachers travelling on the exchange trips.
Topics for the Comenius exchange visit in Tampere were schoolwork in Finland and, among other things, environmental issues. For the next meeting, new topics, such as music in the home country, dance and Easter from the viewpoint of young people, were settled on.
Ms Tapaninaho is enthusiastic about international contacts, even though they mean extra work outside working hours, spent on preparing, organising and reporting.
- It is very rewarding to see the pupils get encouraged to speak in a foreign language. It also widens their experiences of different cultures and their general knowledge. In our Comenius project, together with the pupils from Schwäbisch Gmünd, Barnsley and Niedzwiedz, we decided to start a web magazine. The articles for the magazine will be provided by the pupils and teachers working together, explains Ms Tapaninaho. We call our joint project Europrides because we are very proud of it.
- The Comenius project enables us teachers to exchange our experiences and knowledge, for instance, of pedagogical solutions. International contacts of this kind are very fruitful, Ms Tapaninaho sums up.
(The original article appeared on a Finnish website, based in Tampere the city we visited)
Participants in the Comenius exchange in January 2006 came to visit Tampere Classical School from Germany, Great Britain and Poland. This time, Tampere was the only city, as the visitors were from small places like Schwäbisch Gmünd in Baden-Württemberg, Barnsley in Yorkshire and Niedzwiedz in southernmost Poland.
Comenius is an exchange programme for schools and is supported by the EU. The goal of the programme is to promote the linguistic competence and the international relations of the pupils, their families and the teachers by offering opportunities for practical cooperation. The young people stay with host families who have children of the same age. This means that the whole host family gets the opportunity to practise a foreign language. The young people from abroad, in turn, can get to know Finnish culture and customs during their visit, that lasts almost a week.
The days spent in Tampere were full of activities: among other things, the participants in the exchange visited Taitaja, a fair that presented different working skills. They also took part in lessons in the Classical School, went to a concert in Tampere Hall and took a guided sightseeing tour. During the weekend, a busy day with both free time and organised outdoor activities was offered in Kauppi Sports Park. The visitors could get acquainted with Nordic walking, skiing, making a hole in the ice and grilling sausages in almost arctic conditions.
Also, the families could spend some time together with their young visitors during the weekend. Some of the young people went bowling together with their Finnish host brothers and sisters in a hall with gloomy neon light. A mixture of English and German, practised in a relaxed atmosphere, was the recipe for good communication and for getting to know each other.
The Comenius programme is a means of creating authentic international contacts on a grass-roots level between even the most remote locations within the EU. The partner schools are an excellent example of this. The young travellers were on their first visit to Finland, and many pupils were flying for the very first time.
The pupils from Niedzwiedz, southern Poland, arrived with their English teacher, Boguslawa Gniecka, and their school librarian, Danuta Stachura. Ms Stachura remarked that very many pupils and teachers in their school were interested in the exchange. In Niedzwiedz, they might need to draw lots in the future in order to choose the teachers who will get an opportunity to participate in the upcoming exchanges.
The pupils in Niedzwiedz were selected on the basis of their school reports, their knowledge of languages, but also on social grounds. Ms Stachura is especially pleased about this.
- These children have not had the opportunity to travel abroad before this, she states.
Ms Stachura, a librarian herself, could not stop admiring and praising Metso, the city library, in Tampere. In particular, she paid attention to the relaxed and peaceful atmosphere in the library.
- Friendly service, an abundance of chairs and niches for reading, sufficient ventilation, agreeable room temperature, automatic loans and returning systems, good lighting, spacious halls, well presented collections and a cosy cafeteria, Ms Stachura lists the assets of the library, seen through the eyes of a professional.
Examples of Swabian dialect:
The school for hearing-impaired children in Schwäbisch Gmünd sent a group taken care of by Heike Neuber-Joos, English teacher and Franz Wiker, teacher of mathematics and natural sciences.
- In our school the participants for the project were chosen on the basis of their language skills, good manners and knowledge of Germany, our home country, reveals Raphael Stahl, one of the youngest participants in the exchange. He is a 13 year-old schoolboy from a village called Adelberg, with some 2,100 inhabitants.
- I am prepared to talk about the German school system and, if requested, to even demonstrate some Swabian dialect, grins Raphael. For him, the most interesting sights among the many places he visited in Tampere, were Metso, the city library, and the Moomin Museum.
Helena Tapaninaho, English teacher in the Classical School, reports that this exchange will be continued by more visits during 2006. These visits will take place in Germany and possibly in Romania, if the country gets accepted as a partner in the Comenius project. As a rule, there are two pupils and two teachers travelling on the exchange trips.
Topics for the Comenius exchange visit in Tampere were schoolwork in Finland and, among other things, environmental issues. For the next meeting, new topics, such as music in the home country, dance and Easter from the viewpoint of young people, were settled on.
Ms Tapaninaho is enthusiastic about international contacts, even though they mean extra work outside working hours, spent on preparing, organising and reporting.
- It is very rewarding to see the pupils get encouraged to speak in a foreign language. It also widens their experiences of different cultures and their general knowledge. In our Comenius project, together with the pupils from Schwäbisch Gmünd, Barnsley and Niedzwiedz, we decided to start a web magazine. The articles for the magazine will be provided by the pupils and teachers working together, explains Ms Tapaninaho. We call our joint project Europrides because we are very proud of it.
- The Comenius project enables us teachers to exchange our experiences and knowledge, for instance, of pedagogical solutions. International contacts of this kind are very fruitful, Ms Tapaninaho sums up.
(The original article appeared on a Finnish website, based in Tampere the city we visited)