SOME COMMENTS FROM THE TEACHERS

Ms Nathalie Faure- France

I found it very interesting and motivating for my students to deal with literature in a new way. Communicating with their partners via the Internet was also something they really liked. If I have the same classes next year, I am ready to do it again, but perhaps only starting in January on a shorter piece of work (poems, songs,...Well I don't know yet!). I would also like to use the European framework as we had planned this year but didn't have time to. (We can't do everything!!!)

 

Ms Wang Hong - China

Students are more interested in learning English. They can make friends with their peers from other countries. They can make use of English as a mean of communication instead of struggling for grammar matters. The online chatting is the highlight.

Once the students are interested, teaching becomes easier. I also get to know some fellow teachers from other schools and other countries, which has helped to broaden my vision. Reading books and appreciating songs together have dealt with

people's ideas, which provoke deeper thinking.

Difficulties: different education and school systems hinder a lot. We have too many exams while our partners have too many holidays.

Suggestions: maybe we should be more flexible. We should try to allow more unexpected interruptions.

Ms.Daniela Ianni (Coordinator)  Ms. Ernesta Cicini (Web Designer) - Italy

The collaborations  have been different in time and methods, but all the hypertexts created on the literary works read, analysed and discussed are the result of the contributions offered in terms of messages, presentations, writings, drawings by the students who have taken part in this project. The project's Website is the "place" that contains all the materials produced by the students and is the explicit form of this collaboration. Behind the books' websites there are hundreds of forum messages and emails from both students and teachers, sometimes chats and videoconferences. Interaction has been the heart of the project.

Any problems? A lot, of course: the forums have not worked properly for many weeks; some classes could not respect the time schedule they had devised with their partners at the beginning of the year because of the things they had to do in their schools; some partners have completed only some steps of the project; and then ...strikes, holidays, exams.....

The point is that the project has come to its due completion with a lot of original work created by the students of 16 schools from 9 countries who have worked together by using the potentials of the computers as means of communication.

Ms. Franca Zaccheo - Italy

The students read with a precise purpose, i.e. they communicate with other students; they had contacts  with students from very different countries; they used English for real communication

The project created more motivation in students

Difficulties: it was difficult to contact the other schools and to have a real communication because of objective problems such as different holidays. The age of students was also different.

Suggestions: if it is possible to have students with more or less the same age range

Ms. Tiziana Cignatta,  Ms.Silvia Valentino - Italy

.As they read and commented on the abridged booklet "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare, the students better knew the age, the work of the dramatist and its features;

  I had the students work on their own on extra work which otherwise they wouldn't have done;

 Difficulties: in communicating with the partner;

 Suggestions: maybe we could start ealier.

Ms. Maria Katia Gesuato - Italy

Positive points: Use of L2. Reading and discussing about a contemporary novel.

Exchanging ideas with the colleague partner, keeping in touch  with a foreign colleague

Dificulties: Timing; the project started too late

Suggestions: Possibility of chatting among students

Ms. Geeta Rajan - India

The students learnt to read the book extensively. They also learnt to think,reason and analyse the story.In the process they learnt to think creatively. Added to it,they read more about the author too.In the modern day scenario where students have stopped being creative and have stopped reading books, this project not only brought back the culture of reading a book but also helped the students in analysing a book.
For me as a teacher,the most important aspect was of knowing teachers from other countries.Apart from that I relived my student days by reading the book with my students and learnt to reason from a student's perspective.
Difficulties: not many only that sometimes I wouldn't be able to post my messages on the forum.
Suggestions:  I would love more schools from more countries to join this project and may be we all meet somewhere and invite a few writers so that our students get to interact with them too.

Ms. Semra Bozkurt - Turkey

The students  met different students, tried to develop the conscious of responsibility, tried to examine a book from different viewpoints.

I had new friends, learnt to organize the students.

Difficulties: It was hard to keep the student's interest on the project through  the end of the project.I think it is a special problem interested in Turkey's education system.Because there are so many exams and students want to be evaluated by mark for each work they do.We were a bit inexperienced for this kind of project.I faced the difficulty of organization during charging of students.

Ms. Shula Bashi, Ms. Haya Baror - Israel

The students enjoyed the project tremendously. They learned about their partners' way of living/studying, they learned about the geography of Italy, its cinematographic history and about current movies.

I enjoyed the contact with another teacher overseas and the realization that wherever they are, teachers are engaged in doing the same things for their students and striving to achieve the same goals in Pedagogy. It gave me the feeling of communality.

Difficulties: Getting all the students to respond on time and to write their entries according to schedule, as well as overcoming the frequent  reciprocal vacation periods which intercepted the working periods.

Suggestions: I suggest teachers let know ahead of time of their classes' schedule, vacation time, trip days, holidays and so on, so that both parties are able to better plan the project right from its beginning