Innovative Technologies for Active Language Class is a three-year ERASMUS+ strategic school partnership. It involved eight secondary schools from Czech Republic, France, Greece, Lithuania, FYR of Macedonia, Romania, Spain and Turkey. These schools were located in urban underprivileged areas where education and the fighting of failure was first priority. An important number of learners in these schools came from families with low opportunities for learning, self-educating or traveling. They often lacked motivation, were ICT illiterate and ignored the importance of foreign languages in the labor market. Therefore, our partnership primarily focused on these learners.On the one hand, we first intended to enhance these learners’ motivation and to allow them to develop their spoken English communication competencies. On the other hand, we wanted to offer them an opportunity to meet their European neighbors, to discover European cultures in native place, to put forward their own culture, and thus, build their European citizenship.To implement our partnership and hit our objectives, first we organized a five-day ICT workshop for teachers. They learnt how to use a variety of ICT tools. Then, we compared our teaching methods and exchanged our know-how. Besides, we organized four transnational project meetings which offered the teachers who attended them the opportunity to observe classes in the other partner schools and to compare. They had the chance to give innovative classes themselves to local learners and get their feedbacks. As regards to our learners, we first made preliminary assessments and rated their comfort/ability level on a number of skills. Based on the results we purposefully created small groups that blended abilities and backgrounds. Then, we incorporated team-building activities carefully adapted to their abilities and possibilities. Moreover, we incorporated learning activities based on the use of new technologies to facilitate the group work processes, and had them participate in video conferences and complete tasks using oral communication skills as well. Finally, learners participated in three ten-day language and cultural camps which were organized in different partner countries. These meetings put them in authentic communication situations amongst other European learners of their age. As a result, the partnership helped learners involved to develop oral communication skills in English and to acquire new competencies in ICT. It also helped them to broaden their cultural horizons, to foster tolerance and to build their European citizenship. Teachers involved were given the opportunity to develop their language skills and to learn how to incorporate innovative digital teaching tools in their practice to make their classes more engaging and more challenging for their students.

Culture against School Failure is a three-year Strategic Partnership for Schools Only. It involved eight secondary schools from Cyprus, Czech Republic, England, France, Greece, Poland, Spain, and Turkey. These schools educate and instruct pupils of diverse ethnic and cultural origins. Most of these learners came from underprivileged families with low opportunities for learning, traveling, and self-educating. They often lacked motivation, ignored the importance of foreign languages and ICT in the labor market. Many of these learners usually gave up when they faced difficulties in their learning. Therefore, our partnership primarily focused on these learners. On the one hand, we first intended to enhance these learners’ motivation and personal investment in learning thanks to a collaborative challenge, offered them an opportunity to acquire new skills in ICT and foreign languages. On the other hand, we wanted to offer them an opportunity to meet other European learners of their age, to discover European cultures in native place and to put forward their own culture, to develop intercultural skills, and thus, to build their European citizenship. To implement our partnership and hit our objectives we had shared tasks amongst us according to each other’s experience and expertise. We exchanged our know-how. Besides, a five-day ICT workshop was organized for teachers in November 2017. Participants learned how to use a variety of ICT tools, and how to share all created materials on a dynamic project website. Moreover, four Transnational Project Meetings were organized. These meetings offered teachers the possibility to observe classes in the hosting countries and to give ICT-based lessons themselves. Finally, they practiced foreign languages, got familiar with European cultural diversity, and acquired intercultural skills. As regards our learners, we first made preliminary assessments and rated their comfort/ability level on a number of skills. Based on the results we purposefully created small groups that blended abilities and backgrounds and incorporated team-building activities carefully adapted to their abilities and possibilities. Besides, we had them complete tasks that involved using ICT and oral communication skills that they would likely need in their future professional life. Finally, they participated in a twelve-day cultural language camp which was organized in Poland. This camp put them in authentic communication situations amongst other European learners of their age and gave them good opportunities to develop cooperation skills and team spirit. They gained a sense of responsibility, high up their self-confidence and self-esteem, enlarged their cultural horizons, made new friends, and fostered tolerance. To ensure the efficiency of our strategy, various evaluation tools were developed and used. Communication between partners via video conferencing took place every month to ensure the best follow up of the partnership activities. To disseminate our results as widely as possible we created a dynamic website, a Facebook page, and a YouTube channel. To sustain our partnership and its results we have agreed to continue our cooperation beyond the three years of the project via the Twinspace Portal. As a result, this partnership has not only helped our learners, about four hundred, acquire new skills in ICT, foreign languages, intercultural skills and to build their European citizenship, but has raised their future social inclusion opportunities as well. Teachers involved, around fifty, were given the opportunity to develop their language and intercultural skills, and learned how to incorporate innovative digital teaching tools and project-based pedagogy in their teaching and have made their classes more engaging and more challenging for their pupils.