CONCLUSIONS FROM POLAND - PART TWO

CONCLUSIONS FROM CATALONIA

PROJECT CONCLUSIONS

When you started the project, the aims of the project were:

• To create opportunities for young people to work together across cultures in Europe
• To create opportunities for all schools to develop their understanding of the diversity of European cultures
• To encourage young people to become active European citizens
• To help young people in their personal development, ie character building
• To improve knowledge and the use of English
• To improve the ICT competence.

Activities you did during the project:

• Christmas magazine
• Email exchange
• Tourist guide
• Comenius Pledge
• Quiz

What conclusion did you reach at the end of the project?

• It brings us a new way to see the European countries. We realize that the stereotypes don't fit the reality.
• We could get to know each other through photography.
• Through the Tourist guide we could know our country better and the most important aspects of the other countries. Now we all know about each other.
• Through the Comenius Pledge we learned many things about our city and we learned to respect our monuments more.
• English is very important to communicate with one another.
• In some European countries where they can not speak their own language outside of their country, they need to learn more foreign languages, such as English. Germany and Poland are contries that need it, so their level of English is higher. On the other hand, Spain and Portugal have a similar level.
• The work is very rewarding, for example in the case of the Comenius Pledge, that at the end we could prepare an exhibition in Masia Freixa
• We learned to communicate by writing more fluently in a foreign language.
• We realized the importance of learning English.
• We learned some things about hte other participating countries, such as the way of working or their roots.
• We share many aspects with people from other countries with the same age. We are not so different.
• We learned to adapt to each other in spite of the differencies.

Write the positive aspects of the project:

• We learned to write English better.
• We had the opportunity to know different things about other countries.
• We learned a lot of things from the different conferences.
• Using new technologies has been very interesting because we learned new things and we could put in practice lots of things that we already knew.
• Working with new technologies is very motivating.
• We learned to respect the monuments of our city.
• We got to know our neighbourhoods better.
• It's very interesting to participate in active works.
• The work dedication by everybody.

What would you like to add or change?

• We'd like to change the way to prepare the emails. We haven't received many emails from other countries.
• We'd like to have an exchange with the students we worked with.
• At the beginning we were very thrilled, but at the end it has been very disappointing because the email exchange between the different schools didn't work properly.
• We'd like to have a more global view of the project.

Now that we are back at home, we had the chance to reconsider what the whole Comenius-Project meant for us.

We think that we speak for everybody when we say that we often think back to the time we were in Portugal, the time when the Comenius project was at its best.

For us the project was something great to experience. Also all the activities we did before visiting Portugal to prepare ourselves and to learn more about other cultures were an enjoyable thing to do in school. We had the opportunity to deal with other countries in a different and more interesting way; not only in class but in a group of people and with the constant chance to directly stay in contact with this countries. It was a motivation to know that we would possibly meet people from the countries we talked about.

And finally meeting them in Portugal was a great way to finish the project, because now, honestly, we don’t want it to be over. Isn’t that good?

We really enjoyed the time in Portugal.

It was nice to meet people of our age from Portugal, England and Poland.

All the new experiences we’ve made are still present in our daily life now.

It was really, really interesting to get to know different life-styles.

The time we stayed in the school was, for us, the best time during our visit.

We noticed that school in Portugal is in a way quite the same as in Germany but also completely different. For example the school was smaller than ours and the lessons we were able to join differed from ours. The teachers seemed to be closer to their students but also not very strict at the first view. However, the biggest thing we learned is how easy it is to get along with adolescents from different countries. It was great to talk with all of you and to get to know you. The nice people we’ve met make us feel like we want to repeat this travel and if ever there is a chance to do it again we will agree.

In our eyes this project was a great success for everybody and brought us closer to people from “all over the world“ and took us far away from our worries we had in the first moments. Of course there were some strange situations when everybody was nervous but in the end it was worth it. The project taught us that these feelings are nothing to worry about and we want to say thank you to all the people who made this possible and especially to the teachers and students in Portugal who welcomed us very nicely. Hopefully there will be a possibility to meet again or to pass these experiences on to many other people.

Carolin, Louisa and Sandy, 10^th grade, for the German students

The project certainly was a great success - thanks to the creative ideas and the tireless work especially of the coordinating team. So let me say thank you to our Catalan colleagues on behalf of the German team. Our students greatly enjoyed the various tasks, competitions and in particular those projects that allowed them to compare their own lifestyle, living conditions, traditions, etc. with those of their fellow students from across Europe. My impression is that the students involved in the project have indeed overcome their stereotypes and have actually become much more interested in the way people in other European countries live than they used to be before. The fact that a couple of long lasting email or other forms of contacts have been established proves that friendships can develop that way even if the starting point might seem a little awkwardly arranged in the eyes of our students.

To have experienced an enjoyable, well organized Comenius project and – as my students have already pointed out – meeting each other during our wonderful stay in Portugal will most certainly have a lasting positive effect on our students’ attitude towards Europe. Thank you to all those who helped to make this possible! I really hope we will somehow stay in touch…

Annette, for the German team

CONCLUSIONS FROM POLAND - PART ONE

In my opinion the Comenius project was an interesting and original way to meet new people and learn English. I have learned a lot about the traditions and culture of the countries participated in the project. I saw the national dishes of each country. Through e-mail correspondence I have learned about their daily life, customs and way of spending free time by my colleagues from abroad. But it's not just generally. I also met the individual people with exceptional character who have become my friends. I intend to keep in contact with them even after the end of the project. I am convinced that we look different but basically we're all just the same. We have the same interests and behave similarly. Portugal is beautiful. Now when I can hear that name I think about these beautiful views. I have also greatly improved my English. Language in theory differs significantly from the one in practice. Now I know how to pay attention in language learning and what I have learnt yet. Now I can easier communicate with others in English.
Tomasz Bieniek (Year 9 student)

I think Comenius Project,, Let's get to know each other through photography" is a good way to make friends with other students. Thanks to corresponding with them I’ve learnt a lot about other European countries, about their culture and holidays. I learnt what sports they do and of many other curiosities. By writing emails I improved my command of English. At the beginning it was hard for me to understand the meaning of some words, but now I am able to do it without any problems. Many tasks were interesting. The most I liked was doing the tourist guide about Krajenka and surrundings. I prepared with friends some information about Głubczyn, Augustowo and Maryniec. There are many interesting villages beside Krajenka. To sum up I think that the Comenius Project was a great experience.
Paulina Graduszewska (Year 8 student)

In my opinion Comenius project is a very good project. Topics for correspondence, various task and competitions were very good and interesting. Sometimes the topics and tasks were difficult. This project gave me a lot of new, interesting information about the partner countries. I didn’t know many things about the partner countries before. I met their habits, national dishes and national holidays and their culture. The partner countries are very nice. I met a lot of new friends from partner countries. Many of them have similar interests so we wrote to each other a lot of emails. I like it so I want to continue correspondence. I like English. At the beginning when I wrote to the others my English was bad but now my English is much better and I know more words and learned how to talk with people who use the English. I will miss the Comenius project.
Mikolaj Dabrowski (Year 9 student)

Comenius project opened me way to meet people from abroad. If I didn't join to Comenius I couldn’t talk with my internet friends. After graduating from school I'm going to write to them, beacuse I want to know about their planes for the future and how they spent holiday. Now I know their lives are similar to my life. They've got a lot of houseworks and studying. They have got the same interesting like me. Comenius is a chance to go abroad (Germany and Portugal). My friends who were in these countries could take part in lessons in schools. After that they told me about people and places. I learned patience, punctuality and involvement. I could spend more time with my school friends.I learned some new information about my surrounding area and Holidays in different country. I learned some new English words.
Marta Sobczak (Year 9 student)

Comenius project was a nice adventure for me. Working in such project is great pleasure. Overall project is very interesting. Thanks to Comenius project I learned many interesting things about teenagers living in Partner countries. I met people that listen to similar music, play the same Computer games etc. I understood that we are just the same even though we live in different parts of Europe. Across the Comenius project I learned how partner countries celebrate Christmas and Easter.
Thanks to the project I have a richer knowledge of culture and customs of the inhabitants of different countries. I met new friends with I can talk about everything. After the Comenius project I will continue to correspond with them. Participation in the Comenius project very enriched my English vocabulary. I am very pleased that our school had a chance to participate in such interesting project where we could learn a lot.
Klaudia Babinska (Year 8 student)

I think comenius project was very interesting and funny. I know more about Spain, Germany, England, Portugal and Greece. My friends are in Portugal and they have many photographs. We had exhibition in our scool . I have got new friends from diffrent countries. I am going to continue emails exchanging. I got to know many new English words thanks to Comenius project. I want to have Comenius project next year.
Michał Daszkiewicz (Year 7 student)

In my opinion Comenius was a great project. I think that every participant of Polish Comenius Team learned something interesting. And I hope our friends from other countries know a little more about Poland and our culture. Before I joined Comenius Project I thought that only Polish people had difficulties in using English. But while I was exchanging emails I saw that everyone was doing mistakes J. During a visit in Castro Daire I realized that my English isn't as perfect as British folks, but it isn't bad as I thought. Nevertheless we understood each other. Now I know that German guys have "interesting" accent and Portuguese dudes are very friendly (British too:). I'm still going to exchange emails (if guys from partners countries want to too), 'cause it's good way to make my English better. And I can find out many peculiar things about life in different parts of Europe. So I think Comenius Project was a wonderful idea. Through this project I learned many interesting things about some European countries and mastered language.
Radoslaw Waberski (Year 8 student)

I think the project was very useful because we could learn about lives in other countries. I learnt how teenagers spend their free time in European Union countries. When I was writing with my friends from Portugal and England I didn’t see big differences in my friends’ lives. We live in different countries but we spend our spare time similarly. While taking part in the project I have learned a few things about our partner countries. I found out about History and Geography as well as traditions. I made new friends, two girls and one boy. Thanks to the project my English knowledge is better. - I can easily express myself.- I know more words.- Writing with my friends they thought me to use casual language.- By e-mailing them I couldn't have a chance to forget words because I had to use the language all the time.I will continue being in the project hoping to meet new friends.
Marek Wojcik (Year 7 student)

I think Socrates Comenius Project was a very good experience for me. It taught me not only language but also it taught me what tradidtions there are in other countries. I found out theses countries have got the same or very similar holidays what we have, but only names are different. I realized that when I speak with somebody from the other country it is really easy. First I thought I couldn’t do this but when I came to the Portugal I understood my English wasn’t so bad. People from there were on the same level that me so it was funny. Sometimes while speaking we just used easy words. I am happy I could attend this Project. Thanks it I could feel my English Power and started to meet new people.
Jakub Kwacz (Year 8 student)

I think this project is very good. I met new friends from diffrent countries. I know more about their life, school, family. I learnt more English because it was our comunication language. I have more information about Greece, Germany, Portugal, Spain and England. My opinion changed about these countries. I know how different these countries are. I could travel to Portugal and meet with friends from foreign countries. It was my adventure of the life. I'll never forget that. This project is ending but I will be writing emails with these people. I hope that in a new school there will be a new project with different countries. I'm sure I will join it.
Ewelina Wruk (Year 9 student)

For two years of participating in the Comenius project (under the slogan "Let's get to know each other through photography. Knowing me, knowing you.") I gained quite a lot. I learned many interesting things about schools and traditions in Greece, Portugal, Spain, England and Germany (our neighbors). I learned a few words both in English, German and Portuguese. During the meeting in Duisburg (Germany) I could live in true luxurious hotel, of which I could not even dream. I met also many friendly and interesting people with unusual interests and sense of humor. During stay in Germany could I also see how learning in schools in the country looks like. I also saw interesting places and traveled the German public transport. It was an amazing experience. During corresponding by internet with members of a project I had a great time while learning the (unknown to me yet) English words. I am glad that I could take part in it. I would like to continue participation in this project. I think it will be another great experience.
Natalia Brzezinska (Year 9 student)

Project Comenius was something best in my life, I think. I'm sure that I learned a lot. I met fantastic people. Thanks to this project I could write e-mails with them. I read for example about traditions of other countries, their schools, interests. I met my best friend -Carla. Now, I can write with her everyday about everything. She has the same interests and she writes me about her life-it's very nice and I can learn something new. I think comenius opened door in my life, because I could educate my English. In March I was in Portugal. It was a fantastic adveture. And I could talk with teenagers from other countries. There I met new people, too and of course I could see how world looks like there. I would like to turn time back and join to the projeckt again. I'm realy happy and thankful that I could be in Comenius project. I thank you teachers!This was my life adventure.
Michalina Witkowska (Year 9 student)

posted by R.P.

Conclusions from Portugal

"Let's get to know each other through photography - knowing you, knowing me" was the purpose of this project carried out by six schools of different countries. Students and teachers worked on several activities aimed to demystify people's stereotypes and enlarge our knowledge about other cultures, traditions, ways of thinking and acting as well as to enrich our perception of ourselves.
According to the Portuguese students' feedback, the activities were quite satisfying and motivated them to participate actively in them being the visit of our partners considered the highest point of the project. One of the activities our students liked the most was the e-mail exchange although they agree that they haven't always followed the suggested topics of conversation because of the fact that they don't like being forced to stick to an imposed theme. They also stated that they preferred to chat via MSN instead of writing e-mails. Some of them admit they haven't participated as much as they would have liked to.
During the visit to our school our students had the opportunity to practise their communicative skills. They used the English language and recognized that there are really no language barriers. Through photos, exchange of different traditions and research on different kinds of issues, our students got acquainted with cultural differences and discovered that they share a common youth culture. In spite of the differences between the peoples, there are similarities concerning problems, taste, clothing, idols, values, etc. Thus, we think that the project fulfilled its purpose and our students and teachers not only got to know others but achieved the aim of getting to know themselves: knowing you, knowing me. So, we hope the friendships we built during this time will not come to an end...

E-mail exchange topic from Portugal

- How dependent are you on technology?
- How often a day do you use your computer/ mobile phone/ other gadgets?
- What do you use them for?

The new topic

The students from gimnazjum school in Krajenka have chosen the following topics:

1) Do you like going to the cinema? How often do you go there? What films do you like the most? The film you have seen recently - some comments.

2) Do you like reading books? What kind of books do you enjoy? The book you have read recently - your impression, comments. Do you have "set books" at school? Do you have to read them all or the chosen fragments?