Using New Language Outside the Classroom (UNLOC)
BACKGROUND
January 2009
A group of representatives from Hayle Community School, Fowey Primary School and Cornwall Council on the Cornish side, and C.E.I.P. “Pintor Félix Revello de Toro”, I.E.S. “La Rosaleda” (Málaga), I.E.S. “Reyes Católicos” (Vélez-Málaga), Fundación Museo Picasso, Centro de Ciencia “Principia” y Delegación Provincial de Educación meet to set up on writing a joint partnership project to work on.
The project focused on using a foreign language to work in different venues, that’s where the title sprang from Using New Language Outside the Classroom (UNLOC).
We must say that the schools involved in the project on the Málaga side are all bilingual and in both High Schools the vocational courses run in the school are involved in the project in the case of I.E.S. “Reyes Católicos” along with the groups in Secondary Compulsory Education.
The project is funded through the European Programme Comenius Regio with a lumpsum of 45.000 euros on both sides (British and Spanish) that makes a total of 90.000.
That lumpsum will cover mobility expenses as well as expenditure on hardware material, publication, etc.
2nd March 2010
10.00 The Regio team meets for the first time, since the project was approved, in Málaga.
We have become so much involved in the project that we have even reproduced the Cornish weather. It rains heavily all day.
On this first day we hold a general meeting in which the representatives from Cornwall and Málaga meet and discuss on what we have been doing this last term as well as discussing new activities.
D. Antonio M. Escámez-Pastrana, Delegado Provincial de Educación and Dª Eva Moreno-Romero, Jefa de Servicio, booked some time in their very busy agendas to greet everybody. They congratulated on the fact that this project was approved by the European commission and encouraged us to keep on working.
Then we proceeded with our work.
Some very interesting projects are growing already.
I.E.S. “La Rosaleda” has made a design of a new ice-cream flavour. It sounds delicious. It will be a flavour based on one of our local products torta de Algarrobo and avocados. It’s a cookie made up of olive oil, almonds and some spices. Algarrobo is a small town in the Axarquía area, where this product originates from.
I.E.S. “Reyes Católicos” is working in two directions:
With the secondary school students they’ve already designed (with the help of “Principia”) an activity based on Maths and Social Sciences departing from an insight into Astronomy.
With the vocational students they have designed an activity that will lead into Trekking for a Reason.
C.E.I.P. “Pintor Félix Revello de Toro” has designed activities that will take students into the lives and facts of some famous characters from Málaga, such as the painter that gives the name to the school and Picasso.
13.30 We call it a day. Well not exactly…
In the afternoon the English side walk through wind and rain towards the Picasso Museum where they will be welcomed for a visit. Later on we meet to go for some tapas at some places. Through the rain again, but not through the wind this time.
Some people even ventured afterwards towards the hotel in, through and under the rain, so that they could get a Spanish soakthrough, something not many people can boast of.
3rd March
The seven of us get into the car and drive through rain into I.E.S. “Reyes Católicos” in Vélez-Málaga. (yes, seven, that’s my car!, yes, through the rain again)
They make us welcome with some refreshments to get ready for the activities.
We were most impressed at the presentation of the activities.
First we had a short insight into Astronomy (observation of our sky) that linked smoothly with the presentation of the Solar System, and even more smoothly with the calculation of the orbit of our planet Earth with some Maths calculations. All, of course, was conducted and done in the English language with the students in their first year of bilingual education in the school. It was a real and impressive example of CLIL teaching!
Then we try the video-conference equipment and software and …it works. The system is inexpensive. The connection not too bad. We can see Hayle School at the other side. Communication is established. Houston, we have achieved it.
Meanwhile the activity with the students of the vocational group begins.
Jacquie Ashton has to fly back. She won’t be able to get soaked in the rain in Málaga the following day. What a shame!
4th March
Good news. The sun is out for the first time.
We head towards I.E.S. “La Rosaleda” very early in the morning. There we have the chance of observing all that they have achieved in entrepeneurship. Also there´s a preview of the ice-cream. It’s lovely now. Wait till it’s finished.
