Program Overview

Introduction to the University Program

The university program is designed to enhance multilingual skills through performing arts. It is a pioneering European Initial Teacher Education (ITE) project that leverages the performing arts as a tool for acquiring multilingual skills.

Program Description

The program, known as BLABL.ART, aims to bring together student teachers aged 18 to 28 from various countries, integrating English and local languages to create a rich, multicultural educational experience. The project is grounded in the scientific paradigm of embodied cognition and aims to develop professional skills among participants.

Program Duration and Timeline

The program spans the first term of the academic year (September to December) and may extend into the second term (January to May) depending on the availability of participating countries. Interested students will engage in weekly collaborative sessions.

Future Projects

Looking ahead, BLABL.ART envisions expanding through a potential Erasmus+ project to create a multilingual theatre festival, bringing participants together to showcase their collaborative work. Additionally, possible partnerships with multicultural drama companies may further enhance the project's impact.

Course Offers

The university offers a course centered on advancing project-based learning skills and intercultural communication for the sustainable mediation of different formats of transnational learning environments. The course covers the basics of educational project management, engaging and cooperating with EU student teachers via the eTwinning platform, and developing and implementing self-designed projects.

Course Goals

The course goals include:

• Mastering intercultural competence skills to teach and learn sustainably in a diverse educational environment.
• Developing project management skills for teaching and learning.
• Advancing English-language linguistic skills and multilingual awareness through arts.
• Fostering effective engagement, productivity, and performance in the chosen context.
• Enhancing critical thinking, multiperspective interpretations, and creativity.
• Introducing healing pedagogical practices by allowing students to express their inner voices through calming and relaxing art practices.
• Promoting teachers' activism and global citizenship education through community-based, national, and international project-based learning.

Course Sub-Goals

The course sub-goals include:

• Training the effective use of intercultural competence skills within specifically developed contexts and situations.
• Modeling sustainable teaching and learning art-based practices within the offered course and self-tailored scenarios.
• Fostering empathy, tolerance, multiculturalism, and embracing cultural diversity.
• Enhancing English-language skills required for international communication with a strong focus on effective communicative outcomes or deliverables.
• Effectively involving course participants and eTwinning partners for efficient productivity and performance in the course and beyond.

Assignments

The course assignments include:

• Presentation & Written Assignment
• Creating a cooperative project-based learning product in the form of digital narrative maps, plurilingual dynamic stories, and peer-to-peer activities within self-tailored intercultural and multilingual scenarios.
• Cascading the project-based product by creating MapPins – "pinned" stories about the cultural identities of course participants, or their chosen piece of art or any other cultural artifact.

Course Term and Credits

The course term and credits are as follows:

• AM (Aufbaumodul)
• 5 ECTS for Gymnasium student teachers
• 6 ECTS for Realschule student teachers

Required Texts and Materials

The required texts and materials include online learning materials, such as texts, multimedia files, and interactive digital tools.

Format

The course will be offered in a hybrid format to facilitate mediation and effective transcultural communication in a specific learning context.

Partners

The program partners include:

• Maria Eisenmann (JMU)
• Nataliia Lazebna (JMU)
• Jana Birova (University of Charles, Prague)
• Adele Pellitteri (University of Enna Kore, Enna)
• Daniela De Simone (European University of Rome)
• Francesca Favino (University of Padova)
• Jennifer Connan (INSPÉ de l'Académie Versailles)
• Delphine Heller (Université Paris Est Créteil)
• Dominique Armoogum (IMSPE, Université de Le Réunion)