Link to Europe with Léargas
Summer holidays can seem distant come September, and it might feel like a long time before you’ ll be away again … so why not bring Europe closer to you? Léargas manages European programmes on behalf of the Irish government, and all of them are about connecting people in different countries so that we can learn from each other and create a better future together. Read on to see how you and your organisation could join in.
The largest programme we run is Erasmus +, the European Union programme for education and training, sport and youth. You might know that many students do European exchanges at university, but did you know that schools, school organisations and youth groups can also take part? Adult Education groups as well as organisations involved in Vocational Education & Training can apply too! Erasmus + connects people from Irish organisations with their counterparts in more than 30 countries, either through mobility( travelling to another country) or strategic partnerships.
For schools, this means that as part of their European development plans they can apply for staff to job-shadow or go on training courses abroad. Alternatively, schools can organise projects where they collaborate with European partners to develop new ideas or materials on specific themes, and raise standards of teaching and learning as a result. Students and teachers can spend time learning in other countries as part of these projects too. Erasmus + projects often become a central part of school life, and bring benefits to everyone: in a recent project about inclusion, the teachers said they developed their understanding of the cultural background and individual needs of their students, while the students enjoyed more diverse teaching styles as the teachers put into practice the new skills they’ d learned in Europe!
As well as projects like these, Erasmus + supports other programmes and tools that can enhance school life. The School Education Gateway has many free resources, including a toolkit on tackling early school leaving, and an Erasmus + course catalogue. eTwinning links European schools online, so that classes in different countries can collaborate and create together. eTwinning projects can be in any subject area and really bring far-away places close to home: instead of reading about Pierre or Frieda in a text book, you can chat to and work with real-life students using the secure online‘ twinspace’. One student in Spain who’ d linked with an Irish school said she liked eTwinning“ because you work in a group and have fun with your friends, and you learn at the same time”. eTwinning projects can begin immediately after registration and be as short or long as needed, so they are well suited for individual class work. They also create new connections with Europe— in fact, many Erasmus + projects have come from the eTwinning network!
If you love languages you’ ll want to celebrate the European Day of Languages on 26 September, and enter our competition to mark the day. We’ re asking students, with the help of their language and geography teachers, to choose a country where the language they are learning is spoken and find out how climate change is viewed there. The prize is an environmental fieldtrip to a European country, and there’ s lots of time to enter – the deadline is 28 October 2016.
So, if we’ ve inspired you, why not find out more? Go to www. leargas. ie to find out about information and application sessions, and read about others who’ ve used Erasmus + to bring Europe into their daily lives on our blog‘ Insights’, www. leargas. ie / blogs. You can also follow us on Twitter or Facebook but be warned: if it’ s a rainy day, you might end up feeling just a little jealous!
Léargas King’ s Inns House
Parnell Street Dublin 1
01 873 1411 www. leargas. ie info @ leargas. ie www. twitter. com / Leargas
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