Border Crossing

Summer School in Przesieka, 19-26 August 2007

In August 2007 in collaboration with Culture in ELT SIG, Autonomous Learning SIG, Jelenia Góra Region and Radom Region organized, in partnership with IATEFL Poland and British Council Warsaw the Border Crossing Summer School in Przesieka.

The summer school in Przesieka was the third in a series of activities planned within the framework of the Border Crossing Project, developed by Culture in ELT IATEFL SIG in partnership with British Council Poland. The main aim of the Border Crossing Project was to stimulate intercultural awareness by looking at images of “the Other” in drama, films, media and literature.

The summer school in Przesieka was a great opportunity for its participants to explore the following issues:

• Multicultural Britain
• Urban Culture of Today´s Britain
• Religion, ethnicity and the division of modern Ireland
• Irish Gaelic today; a minority language that might survive
• Inside the Celtic Tiger: Polish culture in Dublin - a new Irishness?
• The images of “the Other”in contemporary British films
• Media narratives of immigration, exile, displacement and acculturation

The summer school facilitators included:Michaela Čaňková, teacher, teacher trainer and the author of numerous books on teaching culture and 20th century English and American literature, conducted two sessions on Multicultural Britain and Urban Culture of Today´s Britain.The course participants explored both topics in a practical and interactive way with the use of literary texts, music, new language items, historical background and information. Both themes were dealt with and seen through the latest literary works published in the UK.

Micheal ua Seaghdha, Gaelic-speaking, English language teacher from Dublin, the author of a recently published, “A Short History of Ireland and its Culture”, gave a series of presentations on Celtic and Irish culture. The first session presented a historical review of the changes in ethnicity within Ireland with a particular emphasis on ethnic divisions in Northern Ireland. The next session, which was devoted to "Irish Gaelic today; a minority language that might survive” highlighted the difficulties and possibilities for the preservation of minority cultures in the new multi-media world. The participants got also acquainted with the situation of Poles living in Ireland today.

Anita Dębska, British teacher trainer in drama, poetry, storytelling and literary translation, based in Teacher Training College in Toruń developed a series of interactive drama activities involving all participants in many ways. The participants explored criss-crossing borders between cultures, languages, the arts, fact and fiction exemplifying the practices of educational drama culminating in final ad hoc performance – The Poet Prince of Przesieka

Małgorzata Zdybiewska, coordinator of Culture in ELT SIG, IATEFL Poland and teacher trainer based in Teacher Training College, Radom used in her sessions film and media narratives of immigration, exile, displacement and acculturation to give insight into the picture of “the Other” in various cultures. She also facilitated sessions during which the participants of the previous stages of the Border Crossing Project i.e.: the Kazimierz seminar and film showings, presented their ideas for didactic materials based on a series of media materials; “We are British but .......”.

Ida Baj – teacher trainer from Karkonoskie Kolegium in Jelenia Góra, conducted circle dancing sing-along sessions. She also developed the shadow theatre event.

The participants expressed the following opinions in their feedback:

• „The course has exceeded my expectations. It was the week of many inspiring workshops in a beautiful place.”
• „Many, many activities I can directly apply in my teaching; some must be a bit simplified”
• „I've learnt a lot about the minorities living in Britain, I can't say to what extent, because it is such a wide area that we always need more”
• „ I expected to have a high level of the course and it has met my expectations”
• „ I found Irish issues and evening activities the most interesting”
• „Actually , it was the best course of all those organised by the same team. The spectrum of topics matched my interests and the speakers were excellent”
• „In fact I didn't know what to expect before, I'd never been to a similar course before. Lots of nice people, interesting topics, beautiful countryside, a nice experience”
• „I think I caught up with what was going on in British Studies and developments in British literature and society”.

Border Crossing - The Arts and Governance Seminar

Kazimierz Dolny n/Wisłą, 16-18 March 2007

In March 2007 in collaboration with Culture in ELT SIG, Autonomous Learning SIG, Jelenia Góra Region and Radom Region organized, in partnership with IATEFL Poland and British Council Warsaw , the Border Crossing seminar in Kazimierz Dolny n/Wisłą.

The seminar in Kazimierz was the first in a series of activities planned within the framework of the Border Crossing Project, developed by Culture in ELT SIG IATEFL Poland in partnership with British Council Poland. The main aim of the Border Crossing Project is to stimulate intercultural learning and communication in the context of the globalised, multicultural world by supporting intercultural training through drama, films and literature. The project will:

• foster teacher training and teacher development through integrating language instruction with elements of intercultural competence training
• look at ways how international encounters can go sour and create tension and conflicts instead of understanding
• raise awareness and self-awareness of enrichment resulting from intercultural exchange, enhance creativity and spontaneity in our approach to otherness and the unknown
• increase awareness and knowledge of intercultural approaches in English language teaching in countries taking part in the project
• and hopefully result in a better mutual understanding of the cultures concerned as well as in establishing the ongoing network of multilateral contacts

The seminar in Kazimierz was a lively and inspiring event during which 30 participants had an opportunity to get acquainted with the UK today in terms of multicultural issues, gender and social class.

The seminar facilitators:

Ruth Cherrington, BC speaker, gave a presentation on the role of reality TV in contemporary TV programming.

The seminar participants were also able to get involved actively in interactive drama activities organised and conducted by Anita Dębska. The performance “Schlemiel goes to Kazimierz” presented the life of Jewish community in pre-war Poland revealing various cultural references and issues connected with the life of two communities : the Polish and the Jewish ones.

The participants got acquainted with the role of ethnography in learning about “the Other”. During afternoon activities they worked on ethnographic field tasks connected with the local places, e.g. Kazimierz. The ethnographic study tour was prepared by Małgorzata Zdybiewska, a teacher trainer from NKJO in Radom.

The course participants took part in circle dancing sessions conducted by Ida Baj – teacher trainer from Karkonoskie Kolegium in Jelenia Góra. The sessions combined movement, music and knowledge of group dances coming from diverse cultural backgrounds.

The Arts and Drama Summer Course
"ONLY CONNECT"

held in Przesieka near Jelenia Góra, on 21-27 August 2006

In September 2006 in collaboration with Culture in ELT Sig and Jelenia Góra Region, Radom Region organized, in partnership with IATEFL Poland and British Council Warsaw , the Arts and Drama Summer Course "Only Connect" in Przesieka, near Jelenia Góra.

The aims of the course were:

1. to explore links between language teaching and the use of the creative arts in the language classroom;
2. to facilitate intercultural exchange and the sharing of ideas in the area of creative teaching;
3. to broaden the range of creative techniques and activities which can be applied to language teaching;
4. to enhance teaching that combines aesthetic pleasure and language acquisition.

The arts develop creativity and imagination, provide rich sensory experience, encourage co-operation, problem-solving and discovery learning. They are crucial for holistic learning, the process which involves not only our students’ intellects, but also the physical, emotional and spiritual levels of their experience. Many current trends in language teaching point to the creative arts as a source of motivation and support for students whose talents and interests are not purely academic.

The experience of beauty in its many forms can help teachers and teacher trainers to fight stress and burn-out and find a deeper meaning in our profession.

However, once our students have reached puberty, language teaching often becomes one-sidedly conceptual, focused on explaining, informing and analyzing. Playfulness and pleasure are frequently considered marginal to the process of language acquisition. The course provided an opportunity to develop such skills as drawing, dancing, singing, storytelling, and the use of drama techniques. The 30 participants coming from all educational sectors were encouraged to create links between the creative arts and their classroom practice.

The course facilitators included:

1. DRAMA AND POETRY: Anita Dębska, British teacher trainer with varied experience in drama, poetry, storytelling and literary translation, based in Teacher Training College in Toruń.
2. MUSIC: Josh Skjold, American teacher trainer and musician based in WSHE in Łódź, experienced in songwriting and teaching Academic Writing and Applied Linguistics.
3. VISUAL ARTS: Małgorzata Zdybiewska, teacher trainer based in Teacher Training College in Radom, experienced in teaching British Studies and American Studies, coordinator of Culture in ELT SIG of IATEFL, Poland
4. Michaela Cankova, teacher trainer from the Czech Republic and the author of "Open Channels - A Course of 20th Century British Literature" and "Open Gates – A Course in 20th Century American Culture and Literature" was a guest speaker
5. Ida Baj, teacher trainer from Karkonoskie Kolegium in Jelenia Góra, conducted a series of activities devoted to circle dancing.

Workshop: STILL FRESH, March 25, 2006, TTC Radom

In March 2006 Radom Region organised a workshop, called "Dyslexia in ELT- why fear?". It was devoted to the problem of dyslexia in teaching of English practice. The workshop conducted by Barbara Skrok, an experienced young learners' specialist, was attended by 30 participants. As more and more ELT students suffer from dyslexia, this problem has attracted a lot of interest among teachers of foreign languages in recent years. Barbara Skrok offered in her workshop some practical hints and pieces of advice how to deal with the problem, based on her current teaching experience.

Workshop: New Year, New Ideas, January 22, 2005, TTC Radom

35 participants attended the workshop. The meeting began with a report on a pilot project: Ethnography in ELT” , which involved an ethnographic study tour of Wales in July, 2005. The reporters were Danuta Gocławska, Magdalena Zawadzka and Małgorzata Zdybiewska who presented the web materials on Wales written on the basis of their study tour. The materials are now available on-line at: http://elt.britcoun.org.pl

Ewa Klęczajtalked about problems of multicultural education in the United States. She presented the state–of-the art research in this field. Multicultural education has arisen a lot of interest in the context of increasing globalisation and mixing of different cultures. If you want to find out more download: MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION - text.doc

The last session conducted by Ewa Lichwierowicz called, “European Language Portfolio- a burden or an aid?” was closely connected with the general topic of the workshop that is intercultural studies in ELT. The session was very useful for those who would like to use the European Language Portfolio in their classrooms. The participants had an opportunity to assess the portfolio in detail.

The 13th International IATEFL PL
CONFERENCE - Radom 2004

17-19 September 2004 - Conference website

Workshop: The Taste of………., November 22, 2003, TTC Radom

35 participants attended the workshop. The first session was conducted by Izabela Czapińska from TTC in Włocławek. She talked about the use of literary texts in the classroom which are often abused and misused.

Małgorzata Dyszlewska and Małgorzata Samsonowicz presented a new textbook for young learners: ”Follow Me”. “Follow Me” is a refreshingly unusual textbook on the Polish market as it introduces intercultural elements in ELT in the Polish context.

Danuta Gocławska presented process writing as an effective and practical solution to teaching writing to College students. As teaching writing skills is one of the most difficult tasks for teacher trainers this session was received with great appreciation by the workshop participants.

Report on "The Motif of Journey in American Culture" course
held in Janowiec on 24-30 August 2003

Participants
The course included the group of 27 participants coming from different parts of the country and different educational levels: primary, secondary and tertiary education. In spite of the difference in age and background, the Janowiec summer course gave them an opportunity to exchange different ideas and viewpoints. The participants hope to continue their American Culture exploration next year.

The course description
Content
The course run by 3 trainers and a guest speaker entailed 8 hours/day of training sessions (plus informal evening activities) for five days.
The journey issues were implemented in all three components of the course. These were:

• Methodology of teaching cultural issues
• Development of classroom materials
• American literature

During the sessions the participants were able to express their opinions and viewpoints and talk about their own experiences while travelling. This in fact led the participants into the journey issues and raised their awareness of various aspects of American Culture concerning the motif of journey, in particular.
On Thursday, 28th August 2003, the participants had an opportunity to meet the representatives of the American Embassy of Warsaw: Anna Wilbik, Magdalena Wącisz and Peter Sawchyn. Magdalena Wącisz talked about the Speaker Bureau Office, which offers teachers and their students the chance to hear from Americans first-hand on the topics of interest while Peter Sawchyn in his talk entitled The Clout of American Culture, stressed the significance of American Culture and the need to promote it abroad.

Trainers
Sherill Howard-Pociecha from Wrocław University; in her sessions: American Cultural Attitudes gave her impressions about Poles and Americans. As one of the participants put in the feedback: "It was very interesting to listen to Americans talking about their own culture". The participants got very much involved in the discussion about Polish and American stereotypes, conducted in the form of classroom activities
Richard Benesevich from Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa in Wałbrzych devoted his sessions to the American literature starting with Shakespeare's Tempest and then leading to the Beat Generation, Jack Kerouac and Walt Whitman. The way he combined it with American Folk Music and the Road Movies gave the participants the chance "to brush their knowledge of the American literature and bring to light some factors from the American culture" as one of them mentioned in the feedback.
Małgorzata Zdybiewska from Teacher Training College in Radom focused on the practical approach. The mini-lectures concerning American National Parks, American painters and travel in America within a historical outline were presented as classroom tasks that can be easily incorporated into classroom situations. Mrs Zdybiewska also tried to interest trainees in the role of ethnography in ELT by giving them certain tasks to explore the Palace in Kozłówka and the Museum of Social Realism while visiting those two places.
Ida Baj from Teacher Training College in Jelenia Góra mostly concentrated on exploring American song lyrics and their use in the classroom. In addition, Mrs Baj put a lot of emphasis on cultural stereotypes while comparing Polish and American texts. The participants also enjoyed evening sessions conducted by Ida Baj; Circle Dance Session, in particular.

Socializing
The participants and trainers worked together with visual stimuli, poetry and songs during evening sessions, including Circle Dance Evening. They had also a chance to watch some films e.g. Dead Man, O Brother Where art Thou', The Straight Story and a film about Marlene Dietrich.
The participants had a wonderful time during the short trips by gondola across the Vistula River to a nearby historical town, Kazimierz Dolny. Apart from sightseeing they spent many enjoyable afternoons in cosy tea and coffee houses.

The course venue
Janowiec with its wide open spaces, located in the middle of the forest, has excellent facilities to flee from a hustle and bustle of city life. It turned out to be a relevant and creative framework for a course for practical teachers of English who are interested in incorporating elements of American Studies into their classroom practice.

Possible outcomes
It is hoped that the participants will try to introduce the elements of cultural studies into their teaching to raise the students' awareness of cultural differences, develop or change their attitudes towards other cultures and encourage them to learn the language from different perspectives.
The majority of participants expressed their willingness to continue their investigation into American culture issues such as: Afro-American culture, contemporary American literature, film, music and entertainment, mass media in America, American education, cultural aspects of language and some showed keen interest in the culture of other English-speaking countries such as: Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the Republic of Ireland etc. We hope to include these areas of interest in another future event.

Workshop: Magic Lantern, October 19, 2002, TTC Radom

21 participants attended the first workshop and it lasted 3,5 hours. The meeting began with Marlena Apanowicz's presentation – a revision of classic grammar techniques such as dictation, and applying them to modern teaching once again. Marlena convinced the audience that that ‘evergreens' may be upgraded and successfully used in the classroom.

Our next speaker, Malgorzata Zdybiewska, introduced us to the topic of culture by presenting “Pictures of Women in American Movies”. Starting with American movie stars of the golden Hollywood era, she discussed different types of women characters in films, concluding with portraits of contemporary stars such as Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts.

Magdalena Zawadzka, inspired by the British Council summer school for web writers, in Puławy , explored ideas for using the internet in the classroom. Materials presented by Magda can be found on the British Studies Webpages

Workshop: Some Ways, Some Rules, Some Ideas, February 22, 2003, TTC Radom

20 participants attended the workshop. The first session: “Some Golden Rules of Lexical Teaching” was conducted by Ewa Lichwierowicz and dealt with lexis, and ways of teaching new vocabulary. Ewa's practical approach to teaching vocabulary was greatly appreciated by the participants.

Jolanta Szatan in presentation of collocations focused on how best to teach them and then revise them with a variety of different games.

Anna Bąk, on the other hand, presented some theoretical aspects of  text analysis  focusing on its structure and cohesion.

Workshop: Spring in the Air, May 17, 2003, TTC Radom

20 participants attended the workshop. The meeting began with Marlena Apanowicz's discussion about the metaphors in teacher training. In her sessions Marlena encouraged the audience to work on the metaphors that exist in teaching, learning and education system generally.

Clare Walker in her speech "Alien in Radom" talked about English and Polish stereotypes and her experience of teaching as a native speaker in a foreign country. She also focused on the use of colloquial language and the need to encourage students to be aware of different registers.

Małgorzata Zdybiewska took the audience on a journey to explore the cultural aspects of English, in particular, the Pre-Raphaelites as lovers, painters and poets. The presentation included a variety of different visual and drama techniques which can be incorporated in teaching cultural studies.