How to make integration more efficient through language teaching focusing on intercultural awareness

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How to make integration more efficient
through language teaching focusing on
intercultural awarenessA Grundtvig 2 Project
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Social aspects

• The objective was to give the participants an
  impression of the cities of Odense and Svendborg
  and the region of Funen as such. They were
  introduced to historic Odense.

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Social aspects

• In Svendborg the participants visited the local
  Poor House Museum.
• The programme was spacious enough to give time
  for the participants to experience the local
  scene. For social reasons all participants and
  both co-ordinators took part in all meals during
  the week.

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Education
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Education

• The participants reaction to the teaching
  practised at VUC FYN Odense
• The educational level appears to be very
  high. There is a good interaction between the
  teacher and the students. Our Spanish colleagues
  liked our focusing on values and norms. Some
  participants noted that the female students in
  particular were very active.

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Education

• AOF Svendborg
• AOF Svendborg Language Centre/
• Kirsten Kristiansen
• During the visit to AOF Svendborg the
  participants were given an introduction to the
  Danish educational system on the primary and
  secondary level plus the basic level at AOF
  Svendborg.
• Danish 1 The students are illiterates and people
  who are not familiar with the Latin alphabet.
• Danish 2 The students have received only limited
  education in their home country. The objective is
  to get a job.
• Danish 3 The students have more than 9 years of
  education from their home country. These students
  are aiming at further education.

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Co-oporation

• One very essential conclusion that we can make
  after the first meeting in Odense is that the
  working spirit in our project group is positive
  we are all determined to work toward our common
  goal of creating improved tools for the teaching
  of immigrants by being critically positive
  towards the theories and practises used by our
  colleagues and the experiences they have made.

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The participants

• Finland
• Adult Education Centre of Jyväskylä/
• Ritva Palviainen and Carita Rouhiainen
• Italy
• IPSSCT Marisa Bellisario, Inzago,
• Milano
• Rosa Giacomobello and Roberto
• Spain
• Centro de Education de Adultos Manolo
  Collado, Seville/
• Cristina Rodriques and Pepe
• Denmark
• The visit was arranged by the coordinating
  institution VUC FYN Odense,
• represented by Bent Funder and Kurt Brath
  Jensen
• AOF Svendborg Language Centre/
• Kirsten Kristiansen

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Finland

• Adult Education Centre of Jyväskylä/
• Ritva Palviainen and Carita Rouhiainen
• Objective To enable the students to
  enter the job market.
• The Finnish school runs short-term courses in
  Finnish and IT.
• Practical courses like cooking combined with
  getting familiar with the practical use of the
  Finnish language. Various themes civilisation
  and family.
• The teachers try to avoid dangerous subjects
  like sex, religion, and the position of women in
  society otherwise some Muslim students might
  leave the classroom. One experience that has been
  made is that it is difficult to change the
  students sets of values if they do not master
  the language.
• The teaching is financed by the Ministry of
  Labour and consequently (perhaps) there is much
  focus on the job market as a goal.
• Excursions are made. The school has a sort of
  tutor programme according to which the teachers
  produce CVs for the students for applications
  for jobs, further education and when contacting
  authorities.
• The school has 9,000 students and the lower age
  limit is 16 years.
• The Finnish school seems to be very much similar
  to AOF Svendborg
• Illiterates are taught for 8 months, others are
  taught for 5 months, more advanced students get 3
  months before they enter the job market.
• Kurds, Albanians and Afghans make up an
  important part of the students.
• If you want to apply for Finnish citizenship you
  have to pass a test.

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Italy

• IPSSCT Marisa Bellisario, Inzago, Milano/
• Rosa Giacomobello and Roberto Vitale
• Objective To give the students an
  introduction to the job market.
• The teaching is free of charge for the students.
• The school has a tutor programme in which
  teachers serve as the students guides to the job
  market or further education.
• The students have jobs and the teaching is in
  the evening. The courses are short-term and
  experts from the job market and businesses are
  used to strengthen the introduction to the job
  market.
• The students need to have a residence permit in
  order to go to courses and in order to get a
  residence permit you need to have a job.
• The school has students from all over the world,
  in particular from North Africa and the Middle
  East.

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Spain

• Centro de Education de Adultos Manolo Collado,
  Seville/
• Cristina Rodriques and Pepe Vázquez Gómez
• Objective To counteract racism.
• Our colleagues from the Spanish school stressed
  that conditions in Denmark are better regarding
  facilities such as number of classrooms with big
  windows, conference rooms etc. in Spain the
  teachers make many efforts to ensure sufficient
  heating, computers etc.
• The school has approximately 200 students and
  also runs a small kindergarten.
• The students are illiterates and the courses are
  in Spanish for foreigners. The teaching is late
  in the afternoon and in the evening. Events are
  arranged to give the students the opportunity to
  meet people from the local community and vice
  versa.
• It is a public school with 4 teachers there
  are 13 similar centres in the Seville area.
• The students mainly come from Morocco, Sahara
  and Eastern Europe.

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Denmark

• The coordinating institution VUC FYN Odense,
• represented by Bent Funder and Kurt Brath Jensen
• The visitors from Finland, Italy and Spain were
  introduced to the Danish school system at work at
  VUC FYN Odense.
• They were told about Danish on the primary level
  where the objective is to enter the job market or
  further education.
• Danish and English on the secondary level is
  Danish for foreigners with a background of 12
  years of education. The objective is to enable
  the students to achieve a higher education.

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Denmark

• AOF Svendborg Language Centre/Kirsten Kristiansen
• AOF Svendborg is one of many adult centres in
  Denmark offering
• education to adults both in the daytime and in
  the evening. The aim
• is to point out all the values and opportunities
  in life. Therefore the
• number of items offered is very large. Every
  course costs money,
• but certain groups are supported by the state
  

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The near future

• Finally, it was agreed to continue the
  discussions in Seville in March 2005.
• To be continued