EU Projects - dialoge sprachinstitut - Learn German in Germany

Project Website: www.primalingua.info

A web-based learning platform enables primary school children from all over Europe to work on multimedia-based, interactive learning units. They create multimedia-based portraits of themselves, their school and their environment – and exchange views with other Primalingua pupils throughout Europe. 

The pupils communicate through the languages they have in common: English, French or German. In addition they present their results in their native tongue.

The children are introduced to

• the creative use of media such as cameras, recording devices and PCs
• the authentic use of a foreign language as a means of communication
• the linguistic diversity as well as cultural similarities and differences within Europe.

Teachers working in our 50 European Primalingua primary schools acquire new methods and competence in both early foreign language teaching and in media application and didactics. Furthermore, both the Primalingua network and the learning platform offer the basis for further common projects and for the exchange of learning and teaching experience throughout Europe.

Primalingua benefits from the funding of the European programme “Lifelong Learning”, receiving € 305,000 (75% of its overall budget) from this source.

Project Website: www.montanalingua.com

The main focus is on Outdoor Learning, i.e. physical tasks in the open air, team challenges, group experiences and co-operation, equality and tolerance working in a team. Montanalingua offers outdoor adventures to teach a language as well as group values. The learners work together in a range of challenges such as rock-climbing, ravine-crossing or orienteering. The activities are designed to promote communication between participants, cooperation, team spirit, equality, as well as creativity and initiative in problem solving.

The language work is intrinsic to the team challenges. The activities are designed so that the learners must communicate effectively with one another, in order to achieve the aims of the tasks and solve the problems. They must co-operate as a team, using their foreign language knowledge as a group, thereby picking up vocabulary and grammar, and using them in a genuine context with a specific goal to reach. It is essential to use the target language to succeed in each challenge, and therefore it gives motivation to learn to be able to take on further challenges.