This week I would like to introduce you all to an interesting E-mail project that I found on http://www.gesamtschule-ruhrort.de/projekte/email_projekt-f.htm. It is called „the image of the other“.
What is the main idea of the project?
The main idea of “the image of the other” is to encourage cross-cultural communication and through that intercultural learning. The first step when starting this project in-class is to find a partner class in a school abroad. The second step is the organization of a meeting in one of the countries, where some members of each class have one day to get to know each other and to get in touch. The time they spend together is the foundation of the project that will connect them for at least one school year. Now the pupils start writing E-mails in-class. They are supported by the teacher and by lessons dealing with writing E-mails. So they can learn step-by-step how to do it. The participating pupils get to know each other and the foreign culture by writing about topics like family and life situation, school and leisure time activities. To complete the project after one school year the pupils from both schools meet again, now in the partner country and exchange their experiences during the project. The ambition of “the image of the other” is to motivate the pupils to keep in touch with each other furthermore and make friends across the world without any schooling intervention.
What is the aim of this project?
As already mentioned this project was invented in order to encourage cross-cultural communication and through that intercultural learning. The pupils get to know pupils from foreign countries, their school life and leisure time activities. In addition to that the project strengthens tolerance and understanding and breaks down cultural boundaries. Furthermore, the children can improve their English in speaking and writing. Another important fact is that the students get used to the new media by writing E-mails with lesson- and teacher-support.
What is the content of the E-mails?
The content of the first E-mail is an introduction of the writing pupil. The following E-mails deal with the topics “my home”, “my family”, “my school”, “my hobbies” and “my country”.
What activities are planned during the project?
The most important activity is the communication between the pupils via E-mail. Additionally the mentoring teachers stay in contact to exchange ideas and experiences throughout the school year. The first and the last activity of the project is a meeting with all the participating pupils and teachers. After the meetings the pupils can exchange pictures that were taken there and collect them in a kind of book. They can also add some experiences and E-mails and document the project in a “reader”.
What is the role of the teacher?
The teacher is the organizer of the whole project. He has to find a class in another country, which wants to take part in the project. During the project the teacher has a tutoring function. He helps his pupils with writing E-mails in the foreign language and guarantees that they are written correctly and frequently.
What do I personally think about the project?
I like the new idea about this project, which in my opinion is, having the future “pen pals” meet before and after the E-mail project. I think it is very motivating for the pupils to write E-mails to people they have actually met. That way it is more fun and a lot more authentic than writing E-mails to total strangers. Another thing I like about the project is that the involved pupils learn a lot about different cultures and improve their speaking and writing skills in English. But I do not know if there is enough time to involve the project at school, because it seems to be very time consuming, especially in lower grades. Additionally, it is not that easy to find an appropriate class abroad. Nevertheless, I would give it a shot with my future pupils and try my best to make it work.
What do you think about it? Would you use it?
