1. Attila Ender: Reflections on equal opportunity, intercultural competence and democracy education
Attila Ender hails from Turkey. He has been living in Vienna for 33 years, teaching HLT Turkish classes and working as voluntary probation officer.
Although much depends on the respective class composition and school atmosphere, in view of everyday school life and the pedagogical triumphs and defeats of a native language education instructor, certain things may be generalized, however. I shall limit myself to three considerations.
Equal opportunity
Equal opportunity only rarely exists in daily life at school. Most families of Turkish background live in low-rent small, old apartments. I have hardly ever seen books or musical instruments, for that matter, in these dwellings. On the other hand, almost every apartment has an oversized television set.
Most of the parents speak either no German at all or only inadequately. Aside from few exceptions, the mothers are housewives. Due to their lack of German language ability, they are hardly capable of helping the children in school-related matters.
All this means that with reference to parental inclusion, there is absolutely no chance of equal opportunity in comparison with middle-class Austrian children, for example. It is therefore all the more important what the school or HLT can offer in terms of compensatory support.
As a countermeasure, I initiated with a female colleague a few years ago a highly successful project for mothers. This included regular home visits to discuss important pedagogical themes. After initial resistance, the mothers opened up and participate eagerly. Two of them even took a course in German which enables them to better help their children.
Promoting intercultural competence
In this context, it is absolutely imperative to mention the role of local mosques and religious associations. In the last 10 to 15 years, most of them have expanded their influence on many parents, primarily for political and financial reasons. This led to a fundamentalist world view on the part of some parents. Owing to this world view, quite a few children distance themselves from their classmates. The tendency to self-imposed isolation sometimes takes on painful dimensions.
In my capacity as soccer coach of the school, I form mixed teams, both as a countermeasure and to create a new corporate identity and foster the establishment of new commonalities.
Democracy education
I believe this topic is the culmination point of all efforts. A successful democracy education could solve the majority of all actual problems. Since most of the parents were simple peasants before migrating, a democratic mindset on their part is however not always present.
For democracy education, I often implement role-playing games. For example (who makes the decisions: only one person, or should everyone speak their minds?). Or we play games about the roles of men and women and experience in so doing, that both genders should have the same rights. The children love these role-playing games; and they are undoubtedly also educationally significant.
2. Nexhmije Mehmetaj: planning a double lesson about gender equality, that is gender – appropriate for three groups in terms of age and educational levels
Nexhmije Mehmetaj hails from Kosovo/Kosova. She has been living in the Canton of Jura in Switzerland since 1993, where she established and directs the Albanian HLT classes; in addition she has authored learning resources and pedagogical factual texts.
Overarching theme and goal for all three groups:
Awareness of gender equality and questions of gender (equality for boys and girls, men and women). Additionally, level-specific linguistic and social objectives.
Content and goals for the three groups according to age and educational levels:
- Lower level (classes 1–3): Theme “Girls play soccer, too” (from the Albanian HLT material “I myself and the others I”). Pedagogical aims: raise awareness of gender- and role-based conceptions and biases and discuss them. Linguistic goals: reading and oral expression competence, work on grammar and syntactical awareness.
- Middle level (classes 4–6): Theme “Rights and obligations of boys and girls in our class”, see worksheet with impulses for discussion. Goals as above, with respect to one’s own situation as a student.
- Upper level (classes 7–9): Theme “Our rights as children and adolescents”, discussion based on a copy of the Charter on the Rights of the Child (selection of 9–12 rights). Goals as above; linguistic competence with emphasis on textual analysis, concept formation and written expression.
The course of a double-lesson
Grey = activities in which the teacher participates.
| Time | Lower level, level I | Middle level, level II | Upper level/level III |
| 10‘ | Joint introduction to the topic; moderated discussion: what is “typical” for boys, what is “typical” for girls; is that really true? (Prepared prompts by the teacher) |
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| 5‘ | Explanation of the assignments for the students of the middle and upper levels | ||
| 20‘ | The teacher reads with the groups the text “Girls play soccer, too” and clears up ambiguities in terms of content and language. |
Task-related group work: Discuss in groups of two the concepts on the worksheet “Rights and obligations of boys and girls in our class” and write down the opinions. |
Task-related group work:
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| 20‘ | The children discuss in groups of two the text-related questions listed on the worksheet. | Reading and discussion of the text, discussion of the results with the teacher. Deeper analysis of the topic: who has what rights and obligations at home? | |
| 10‘ | Break | ||
| 20‘ | Continue worksheet assignment, then a creative task (for one or two): a drawing of girls and boys who each play or make something that is considered atypical for their gender-based roles. |
New assignment: create a text with the topic “This makes me happy/ angers me about my role as a girl/boy” or “If I were not a girl/a boy”. |
Check if the presentations are ready and ok. The teacher refers to the document with all 42 rights (internet-link), asking students to study them at home . |
| 5‘ | Some students present their drawings to the class. *) |
Listen to the presentations. | |
| 5‘ | Listen to the presentations. | 2–3 texts are read to the classes*) | Listen to the presentations. |
| 5‘ | Listen to the presentations. | 1–2 groups present and comment their poster*) | |
| 5‘ | Explain homweork assignments; closure with a song. | ||
*) Those children who did not get to present their work will present as an introduction at the beginning of the next double lesson.
3. Arifa Malik: The principle of interculturality through the example “colors”; a lesson outline
Arifa Malik is from Bangladesh. She lives in London, working as HLT instructor for Bengali.
Goals
- Content: the students (three age groups) should describe the colors and adjectives of color in their culture of origin (Bangladesh) and in England.
- Linguistically: practice the vocabulary of adjectives of color in Bengali and English. For advanced students: improve the written form of Bengali; compare the formation of compound adjectives of color (blue green, light red, etc.) in both languages.
Materials
- Cards (note pad size) in different colors; cards with the respective adjectives of color in Bengali, cards with adjectives of color in English.
- Pictures from Bangladesh, i. e., traditional clothing, if possible with original pieces of clothing from Bangladesh, clothing from England, e. g. pictures of Queen Elizabeth in different variecolored costumes (available on the internet)
Process
| 1. | 5‘ | Short intro activity: All students are up front with me. I determine which children will be grouped together, letting them guess, what my criterium could have been. (Solution: the color of their sweaters or shirts). |
| 2. | 5‘ | Information about the topic and the goals of the lesson. For starters, the students name all adjectives of color that they know in both languages. |
| 3. | 10‘ | I display the colored cards; the students place the matching word cards in English and Bengali next to them. Those who have not yet mastered the Bengali writing system listen to an older student who will read the Bengali cards to them and then repeat the words. |
| 4. | 25‘ |
Work on three tasks relative to level of learning: a) Clothing (or pictures thereof) with “simple” colors (only 1–2 colors, no patterns or simple patterns). Task: name colors and write them down, possibly in both languages. b) Clothing (or pictures thereof) with more complex colors and textures. Task; as above, closest possible description. c) Clothing (or pictures thereof) with still more complex colors and textures. Task; as above, with closest possible description and, possibly, a personal commentary. |
| Break | ||
| 5. | 10‘ | Each group makes a short presentation, the others offer comments. |
| 6. | 10‘ | Linguistic input: How to describe different shades of a color in English and Bengali (word formation, e. g. light blue, dark blue, etc.)? Maybe show pictures of Queen Elizabeth in different costumes, name the nuances in both languages. |
| 7. | 10‘ |
Discussion/class conversation about the topic “colors in the Bengali culture and the English culture”. First preparation & discussion in 4 mixed-age groups: a) Which colors are typical for nature in Bangladesh and in England? b) Which colors are typical for cities in Bangladesh and in England? c) Which colors generally predominate in Bangladesh and in England? d) Which colors would best characterize your mood when you think about Bangladesh or England? |
| 8. | 15‘ | Discussion/class conversation about the above four topics. End of lesson. |