Hints:
- The focus in HLT is the realization of the project in the first language (although many students feel more secure in the language of the immigration country). The version in the second language or language of the host country will follow in a second step.
- A cooperation with regular classroom instruction for these projects is particularly productive and useful. The bilingual texts that are created lend themselves very well for a bilingual expansion (see ideas #21 and #22 in the volume “Promoting writing in the first language”.
Procedure:
- The class is informed about plans for a bilingual or multilingual writing project, followed by discussions of the arrangements, theme, and the kind of text and product to be created. The students should understand that the project aims to utilize their competencies in two languages.
Possible themes and products:- Lower level: creation of a bilingual picture book (the text in the first language at the bottom, the text in the second language at the top). The pictures are either drawn by the children themselves (for a story invented by them or a story read to them by the instructor), or they paste pictures into the text, following a template provided by the teacher (e. g. a picture book). Variant: create a “mini book”, as described in # 21.2 and 22.4 in the volume “Promoting writing in the first language”; Link: http://www.minibooks.ch/.
- Lower and middle level: bilingual poems about a topic or a literary form (e. g. “Elfchen-Gedichte” or “eleven poems“ as described in the volume “Promoting writing in the first language”, #21.1). The created texts can be artistically enhanced on colored paper and fashioned into a little booklet.
- Middle level: creation of a bilingual adventure book, see “Promoting writing in the first language”, #21.2).
- Middle and upper level: a bilingual collection (recipes, instructions for handicrafts, jokes, riddles, etc.), compiled in a booklet or binder, possibly duplicated and decoratively enhanced.
- Middle and upper level: creating a book cover and jacket blurb (either in a bilingual version or parallel in the first language and the language of the school); see http://www.sikjm.ch/literale-foerderung/abge-schlossene-projekte/mein-buchumschlag/ and http://www.sikjm.ch/ medias/sikjm/literale-foerderung/projekte/mein-buchumschlag-didakti-sche-anregungen.pdf.
- Middle and upper level: creating a bilingual or multilingual “photo comic” or novella with self-created pictures and speech bubbles. Computer generated assistance recommended, as described in the volume “Promoting writing in the first language”, #21.3.
- Middle and upper level: bilingual student paper (wall newspaper, stapled newspaper A4 size, electronic newspaper).