What is the Tell me project? How did it start? Partners Objectives Activities Products The site – some works The future Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003 What is the Tell Me! Project? (1)  The project Tell me! is meant for pupils aged 8 to 12.  It is a languages (mother tongue as well as foreign languages) and ICT based project  Subjects such as Arts, Music and Sports have also a very important role.  Pupils exchange between themselves expressions, words, sentences, dialogues, songs, traditional tales, traditional games, etc in various areas / themes / topics.  In this exchanges pupils will use their mother tongues as well as English  Drawings and pictures are also used as a way of getting closer to the others.  In each country pupils select expressions they consider vital to communicate with others using their mother tongue in different contexts.  Parallel to the exchange of expressions there is also an exchange of cultural and social information.

Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003 What is the Tell Me! Project? (2)  The words/expressions chosen by the pupils are recorded in the mother tongue as well as in English by all the participants and made available in Webpages. With this project we want to......promote the pupils’ mother tongues, specially from countries with not so widely spoken languages in Europe,... facilitate the free circulation of citizens between European countries,... make pupils more aware of the differences and similarities between themselves, their cultural and social contexts as well as their mother tongues.

How did it start?  ECOLE kick-off meeting – 8-10 February st rough draft of the project was drawn  ESP conference – March 2002 Final version of the project proposal was written and made available at the ECOLE website  Bridges for Learning Conference – September 2002 The project was introduced to the participants and a group of teachers interested started to work in it Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Partners Istituto Comprensivo "Via Bitossi, 5”, Italy Maria Rosaria Chiummo - Aadland Skole, Norway Lise Haugeberg - Escola Básica 2, 3 da Cruz de Pau, Portugal Francisca Soares - Solkan Elementary School, Slovenia Viljenka Savli - Studies Center Joan XXIII. Barcelona, Spain Lucia Negredo - Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Objectives (1) The aims of the Tell me! Project are, among others:  To exchange experiences, ideas and opinions on the topics under discussion,  To make pupils aware of the social, cultural, historical and linguistic differences and similarities between different European countries,  To make pupils aware and proud of the specificity of their own language, traditions and culture,  To promote intercultural education and accept the OTHERS, their realities and contexts,  To make links / bridges of understanding and co-operation between different countries in Europe,  To promote the use of a foreign language as a communication tool,  To get acquainted with different foreign languages, Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Objectives (2)  To improve students' knowledge of foreign languages,  To learn some expressions in different European languages,  To introduce students' mother tongue to foreigners,  To compare different European languages according to their different origins, structures and spelling/pronunciation,  To use different languages in different contexts,  To reflect on and make pupils aware of the differences between formal/informal usage of mother tongue,  To learn something about European cultures from the use of language and the description of situations,  To make pupils use the Information and Communication Technologies in order to produce their works and to make them available,  To make use of different ICT possibilities. Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Objectives (3) One of the expected impacts of the TELL ME! project both on the pupils and teachers involved in its development as well as on the educational communities of the different schools will be to have a better understanding of their partners, to know each others better in order to accept the differences and similarities between the different nations. We have to know and appreciate ourselves, our culture, our history in order to understand and appreciate the others. Promoting, introducing and exchanging our languages, games, tales, in short our cultures will enable all to understand and accept the OTHERS. Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Activities (1) 1st activity – October – December 2002 Pupils …  … introduced themselves using their mother tongues; (they wrote small texts with name, age and a short sentence about their likes/preferences)  … translated the sentences into English;  … made drawings that somehow illustrated their texts;  … recorded the sentences; The texts, drawings and sounds were made available on the project website. Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Activities (2) 2 nd activity – November March 2003  Pupils chose two areas / situations to work with: To greet or ask for names At a birthday party In the classroom My school In the park / playground Spare time At the restaurant In a shop On the street If you get lost Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Activities (3) 2 nd activity – November March 2003 Pupils… … selected words / expressions in their mother tongues according to the two areas / situations chosen; … translated the words / expressions from the pupils’ languages into English; … sent them to the common Website of the project; … created small dialogues (one or two for each area) with those words / expressions; … translated the dilogues from the pupils’ languages into English; …recorded the dialogues in English and in their mother tongues. Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Activities (4) 2 nd activity – November March 2003 Webpages with words, expressions, drawings, dialogues, sounds were made available on the Website. Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Products At the moment we have Webpages with texts, sounds and illustrations in the different languages involved in the project, plus English, We want to create a database with expressions/words in the different languages, plus English;... produce a CD-ROM with the works done by the pupils (texts, recorded sounds, illustrations);... organise exhibitions in the different schools involved. Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

The site The areas available on the Website are: The project Objectives Activities Products Participants Contacts Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

The site Some of the works available on the Website:  from Italian childrenItalian  from Norwegian childrenNorwegian  from Portuguese childrenPortuguese  from Slovenian childrenSlovenian  from Spanish childrenSpanish Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

The future – A wish Comenius 1 project – September 2003 Istituto Comprensivo "Via Bitossi, 5”, Italy Maria Rosaria Chiummo - Aadland Skole, Norway Lise Haugeberg - Escola Básica 2, 3 da Cruz de Pau, Portugal Francisca Soares - Základná škola Dvina, Slovakia Ľudovít Sopčák - Studies Center Joan XXIII. Barcelona, Spain Lucia Negredo - Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003

Bridging Best Practices – Rome – 5 / 9 March 2003 Italy - Grazie Norway - Tusen takk Portugal - Muito obrigada Slovenia - Hvala lepa Slovakia - Dakujem ti Catalan - Moltes gràcies Thank you very much