1. A human - centred project
The world we live in is assuming more and more clearly and in every realm of life – social,
economical and cultural – a ‘cosmopolitan’ quality, calling for new capacities in the younger
generations who now need to communicate, understand and interact purposefully and with
confidence with people from other countries in every kind of social intercultural connection.
All effective educational methods today include foreign languages in the curriculum right
from the early years of primary schools.
This trend is part of a widespread change in consciousness today and shows that the
opportunity for people of different nationalities and cultural backgrounds to meet is a
fundamental means toward reciprocal knowledge, breaking down barriers and prejudices,
and leading potentially to tolerance and peace.
In our time the English language has become in fact the prevalent mode of communication
internationally. A good knowledge of English has long been a must for upcoming
generations worldwide, and is going to play a central role in any educational project that is
to be truly relevant for the immediate future.
The art of learning
The “Active English Learning” project takes up this educational challenge; it goes beyond
the traditional approach -which regards English as a foreign language-, providing the
central experience of English within a context where it becomes an active means of
communication closely integrated into life situations, that are the fertile ground in which
the language lives, develops and makes sense.
Different though foreign language learning is from the process of learning the mother
tongue, there are remarkable discoveries to be made when we observe this learning
process from its beginning in babyhood. We can observe what could be called a creative
aptitude for language learning which follows naturally from being included in a social
context.
If we consider babies as people coming to earth from a different world where they
communicated in a quite different ‘language’, we can see how the new mother tongue at
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2. the outset represents a kind of ‘foreign language’, which the newcomer has to acquire by
living with others in a family and imitating gestures and sounds from those in its
environment.
They learn in full-immersion conditions by listening first, by reproducing sounds, by
connecting sounds and gestures with meanings and - long before speaking properly - they
achieve a clear understanding of the language and its logic, even though no formal
lessons and no direct logical teaching have been given, by activating their natural
resources and aptitudes for imitation, imagination and intuition.
So far the “Active English Learning” project as a human-centred educational process
brings into account various elements -such as the naturally artistic creative side of each
human being, the joy and the aptitude of learning from the experiences of real life, the
relevance of “unconscious learning”, the fundamental role of self confidence and other
psychological factors. As result of this approach the students simply enjoy the acquisition
of the new language while living with it.
The joy of learning
The whole learning process of this so-called ‘foreign language’ becomes a real ‘breathing
process’, a significant educational path that sparks the creativity of the students, furthering
their personal development as well as their faculties for self expression and understanding
other people.
In the “Active English Learning” project, participants are involved in a range of activities -
such as arts, crafts and the outdoors- and in different situations –school life, family life,
social and cultural life -, all of which are integrated to achieve the purposes of the project,
so that – for instance - these activities and situations replace the usual scheme of “English
lessons plus social program” or “entertainment” to acquire the same ‘dignity’ as formal
lessons, the activities themselves become ‘English lessons’.
The rhythm of learning and the intensity of teaching are related to the age and the level of
English of each student and there is great care to respect the individual learning strategies
and pace of learning.
While their knowledge of the language improves, the students deepen their grasp of the
grammar and structure of the language without losing the fluency and vitality of spoken
English.
An educational step for everyone
The structure of the “Active English Learning” project is based on three courses:
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3. “Junior Active English” - an educational programme for teenagers that improves their
responsibility, self confidence and social skills as well as their English language.
“Learn&Play” – for children under 12 to improve their confidence in spoken English and
to establish a foundation for written English and grammar. Accompanied by their own
parents, a family friend or a teacher, the children become familiar with the English
environment, culture and life style while playing and enjoying their lessons and activities.
Parents who are happy to be involved in educational experiences with their children are
welcome to join in lessons, workshops and excursions.
“FreeMind” - a thematic course for adults, designed as an opportunity to learn and
improve English while transforming the holiday time into a meaningful time of personal
development and social interaction.
The “Active English Learning” courses -even though focused on the second language
acquisition process- may offer everyone an opportunity to recover from the exhaustion of
modern life, a time of self awareness and transformation to look forward to the future
through joy of learning, love for life and social development.
The environment
Environment and culture:
learning English as sustainable project
It was quite common only a few decades ago that the life style of farmers and city people
was inspired by basic principles of sustainability:
"Produce your best,
consume just what you need,
recycle all you can"...
Either suggested by common sense or enforced by historical circumstances, these
guidelines were still alive in the attitude of many people until the present ‘bubble-gum’
economy came along with global warming in its wake.
Awareness of the human-induced threat of climate change and concerns about financial
instability have nowadays widely spread and the concept of sustainability has become a
key word for everybody, moving from being a virtuous choice of the few to a necessary
direction for all.
At "Active English Learning" sustainability is about a genuinely responsible life style which
inspires all the details of our daily practice and organization, closely related with the
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4. educational aims of the project: in fact we believe that there is a significant connection
between the health of the natural social economical environment we live in, and the efforts
of the project to integrate the students with the host families, to discover the social cultural
historical background of local people, to explore the local customs and attitudes as part of
the identity of local communities, to compare local conditions with those in the visitors’
countries.
Here you will fire
your inspiration and creativity
with arts, crafts and the outdoors
enjoy the magic of nature,
explore the traditions and the culture of the local communities!
Here you learn English
naturally
with joy
from real life
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