Connect-ed Issue 46 January 2019 | Page 5

Talking together: Bratislava & Prague KS3 German project Learning a new language is about communication, which is enabled by collaboration. To ensure future development, the German department of The British International School Bratislava and Prague British International School have come together to start a much closer cooperation, relationship and collaboration between both of their German departments. the Goethe Institute in Bratislava (a German cultural institute providing professional development for teachers), German teachers from Bratislava and Prague came together for training on the use of iPads in German lessons. In a six-hour session we learned which different apps we can use to make our teaching more interactive for Michala Bartosova, Head of MFL in Prague and Sona Slobodova, Head of World Languages in Bratislava, came together and organized a collaborative German project where students in Key Stage 3 could practise their German language skills, come together, exchange ideas and teach other students more about their school, city or country. Year 7 students produced and presented a video in German about their school in Bratislava and set up questions for their fellow students in Prague. Year 8 students from Prague showed us in a video message how their school works and what their favorite places in the school were. Interesting tasks and activities based on the video helped the students consolidate their knowledge within the topic, 'School and free time'. To expand the international mindedness, Year 8 students from Bratislava taught in a video presentation about the historical sides of the Slovak capital, Bratislava. All tasks enabled the students to grow in confidence, further their German expressive skills, expand their German vocabulary and expressions as well as learn more about the city of Bratislava. Not only students but teachers used this opportunity to come together and develop their teaching techniques. In close collaboration with students and how to improve their communication, presentation and knowledge in German. Practical tasks which we had to do on our own showed us new approaches to teaching and led to the exchange of ideas. This workshop has had a positive impact on our teaching and the development of our faculties, since the apps can also be used in the teaching of other languages in our schools. The first stone of the cooperation has been set and hopefully in the future we will improve and enhance this to ensure the development of international mindedness, communication and inquiry in our schools. For more information on how you can further your communication skills, try our quick course on Business Report Writing Skills on NAU. So?a Slobodová German Teacher/Head of MFL The British International School Bratislava