Unity in Diversity - Europe's youth is connecting with each other through languages, identity and cultural heritage

"Considering their own identity and cultural heritage we teach our students 21st Century Skills with creative and outcome-oriented thinking. With this project we have offered basic competences to our students for a successful scheme of life in the European context. Those included job-related competences in Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing in the foreign languages English and German as well as the awareness that learning a foreign language is necessary. We tried to implement these important competences in practical rather than in abstract learning. Therefore, students came across with e.g. culture, conventions and traditions of other countries. As working in mixed groups was obligatory, students had to put that knowledge into practice. Objectives: - Students realised that successful learning and working in Europe includes to familiarize oneself with languages, traditions and habits of other cultures, to accept those and to adapt the own way of life without losing the own identity. - the willingness to learn from each other, to show tolerance and consideration for others and to be responsible are values that are necessary to save equal opportunities for all children in a united Europe - students understood similarities/common European values despite the diversity to fight prejudice, exclusion, discrimination and racism - With the help of project-oriented work and especially the intercultural dialogue together with partners from other schools students promote their development of competences, their autonomy and responsibility, their problem-solving skills and critical thinking - Support of European cultural heritage and preservation of a personal identity and customs while accepting migrating cultures - Stimulation of lifelong learning and mobility Number of participants: 30-35 students (aged 12-16) per year/per school, parents and supervising teachers (about 8-10 per school). activities/methodology/results: - Training teachers in teaching CLIL and implementing modern media in three staff training events - using a foreign language in shared lessons, with new material to perform practically relevant, interdisciplinary, bilingual lessons (i.a. 10 well-elaborated CLIL-lessons per shool) - students constantly work actively in multinational groups during the 5 LTT-weeks and produce project tasks together with students from other countries - videocompetition in the context of the topic (cultural heritage and identity) - fashion show and production of a tradional blouse - newly invented Songs and Dances across countries and traditions - shared booklet ""Now and Then"" - building a creative/plastic memorial or monument - students reflect the LTT-week with the help of a diary (in English) and a videoclip presenting the highlights of the week Impact/benefits: When we break down the barriers of languages and cultural diversity by learning, working and experiencing together, we reduce prejudices and encourage a feeling of ""We are Europeans"" in future. Also, co-students that are not directly involved in this project profit from this European identity. By the implementation of CLIL-lessons and the experiences of the teachers, the knowledge of a new method can be put into practice in schools. All products are provided on the internet with the result that they can be used in lessons in the future (also by third parties)."