A Lot to Learn from Our Elderly (Year 1) - Getting a Deeper European Conscience

Isidro Almendárez, Spain

Isidro Almendárez has been teaching EFL to adult students for thirty years now at two Escuelas Oficiales de Idiomas. He has also been a lecturer in ESP (English for students of Economics) at the faculty of Economics and Business Administration (Complutense University in Madrid). Currently he is the head of the English department in his centre in Leganés, Madrid and he participates in the European Gundtvig project that is described below. Furthermore, he has always been interested in methodology and he is the author of several books for the teaching of EFL. E-mail: ialmendarez154@gmail.com

Menu

Background
Why this project?
General description
Objectives
Methodology
Materials
Scope
The project…
Our Wiki
European added value – examples
Decalogue
Conclusion

Background

“The Memories of the Elderly help us build our future” is the title of a Gundtvig project that will be developed in two years. It made its start in November 2010 with the participation of eight European countries.

Grundtvig is part of the European Commission's Lifelong Learning Programme and therefore it gives the opportunity to adult education organizations and adult learners to participate in partnerships throughout Europe. The participant countries are the following:

• Spain (Coordinator)
• Sweden
• Bulgaria
• Poland
• Romania
• Cyprus
• Belgium
• The United Kingdom

The organizations representing these countries are quite varied and are the following: The Official School of Languages of Leganés (Madrid-Spain); the Folkuniversitetet (Kristianstad - Sweden); KRUG, a youth art movement (Kardzhali - Bulgaria); ARIADNA –The Romanian Women Journalists Association (Budapest - Romania); Euroculture- Adult education and culture events (Cyprus); CVO DE BARGIE- Languages and ICTs (Gent - Belgium); The Mosaic Art and Sound Ltd.(London - U.K.). All these centres are coordinated by D.A.T-Sur Leganés (Madrid-Spain), a regional educational body in charge of organising non- university educational studies in the south of Madrid.

Why this project?

It is common nowadays to hear sentences like “Any past was better than the present we are going through” or “our youngsters are a disgrace” or “we don’t have values or manners nowadays”. These are typical statements uttered by some older people. There are lots of insights into this topic but it is true that not everything from the past was good or everything from the present is bad. There are some good things from the past as there are good things from the time we are currently living. Many of the good things we enjoy nowadays are the result of an evolution from the past and the project may help us to reflect on what we have gained and what we have lost.

General description

The final aim of this Grundtvig Project is to create a new/innovative Decalogue of ways of living combining good things from the present and the past through all the participants.

The research we have already done is by means of surveys to our elderly (from 70 onwards) and youngsters (from 15 to 30) and by looking for information by other means in order to reflect how life was lived in the past and how it is lived nowadays. Questionnaires are an essential tool used in the surveys carried out for the development of this project.

The research covers the following topics:

• Winter celebrations
• People's behaviour (at school, at work at home, when flirting, when meeting older people, etc.)
• Customs and ways of life: clothes, food, currency, studies, jobs, children’s games and songs.
• War, post-war, emigration, love and hope stories after the 40s.

By comparing past and present we should be aware of how much we have won and how much we have lost all through these years.

After the two years running the project we shall have the final Decalogue, not a national one but a European one agreed by the member countries. Its first four conclusions have been reached and will appear in writing at the end of this article.

This is not a sociological study because we lack the scientific training to reach relevant conclusions, but it is not the typical language activity that we would do in a language school. We should not forget that only three of the organizations participating in the project deal directly with the teaching of foreign languages.

Since the project was approved by the European Agency some minor changes have been introduced, for example the Christmas celebrations questionnaire had to be changed and adapted to the new situation created by having a member who was established in a Muslim area in which the religious figure of Christ and the celebrations around His birth meant nothing to them.

Objectives

• Enhance motivation for language learning and improvement by offering adults of all backgrounds and ages opportunities to practise languages ability through international contacts.
• Promote intercultural understanding and a taste for diversity by exchanging information and experience on a direct and personal level and by providing language learners with opportunities to visit each other’s countries.
• Improve awareness of national differences in social customs by doing a research on participants’ countries. This will be visualised through a booklet and a Decalogue.
• Create areas of reflection that lead to awareness of the importance of our past, to respect it and value it.
• Be aware that our present realities are the result of a historical evolution and therefore in order to understand our present it is necessary to analyze our past.
• Investigate our immediate past through interviews to our elderly as the major figures of our history.
• Establish analogies, differences and sequences between uses and ways of life (clothes, diet, games, songs, studies, jobs, customs, etc…) of our immediate past and present.
• Compare and value the results among the different countries according to the changes produced in uses and ways of life, verifying and respecting the cultural differences.
• Analyze the changes produced, appreciating what can be considered as an improvement and what we have lost with the pass of time.
• Produce a Decalogue of “an ideal way of life” from the previous analysis, with those aspects from the present and the past that could be considered ideal.
• Compare this ideal way of life across different countries and finally develop a global one with the contributions of the different partners.
• Develop and improve basic skills such as using the foreign language and ICTs as the main means of communication among participants.

Methodology

The questionnaires for the surveys are agreed by the partners. First, we elaborate a draft and then we discuss the different contributions and we agree on the final version that will be used in the interviews with the elderly (aged 70 or more) or with the young ones (aged between 15 and 30). In the Leganés meeting that took place in November 2010 the first questionnaire (Winter celebrations) was given the go-ahead. For questionnaires 2 and 3 we exchanged information via e-mail and we approved the final version in the Kristianstad meeting (Sweden – March 2011) and in the Kardzhali meeting (Bulgaria – May 2011).

The learners have been trained to administer the questionnaires and to prepare their conclusions. Once all the information has been gathered by each country, a final report is produced and the different activities carried out appear as well in the wiki created for the project, whose site is http://elderlymemories.wikispaces.com/

After analyzing the final reports of the participants we discuss what to include in the final Decalogue. The first part was done in Mikolow (Poland) in June 2011.

The learners administer the questionnaires in their mother tongue when the people interviewed do not understand English but their reports should be produced in English, which is the lingua franca for the project.

The use of ICTs is a must and PowerPoint presentations, videos, digital books and the social network facebook constitute an essential part in our project.

Materials

The materials collected within the interviews will be not only narrative, but also photos, personal letters, music. Visit our wiki and click on the activities tabs to see postcards, recipes, digital books, compositions, cards, poems, PowerPoint presentations, etc.

The collected materials can be displayed in some public spaces like local galleries, exhibition centers, museums, local pressrooms, etc… and of course we are uploading our materials on the EST (European Shared Treasure), a new web space for Comenius, Leonardo and Grundtvig partnerships in all countries participating in LLP.

Scope

We share our experience and materials with the centres of our Local Area. We have presented and we will present the products and results achieved to our respective organisations and other learning institutions interested to encourage international activities and language learning among other places, on our web-site.

The project…

As a language school we should say that the project is really interesting in the sense that the students participating in it (63) have to use their English when

• they have to translate into English the information obtained in the questionnaires.
• they have to prepare their reports after analyzing the questionnaires they have administered.
• they communicate with other participants (learners or staff) via e-mail or the facebook group created to enhance communication.
• they search the web for materials.
• they travel to some of the countries participating in the project as part of the mobility programme included in the Grundtvig projects.

It is true that apart from the use of English, in our case, that language schools should have as their main goal, the project in itself is really fascinating because it is allowing the participants to reflect on the lifestyles we lead nowadays compared to the ones our elderly led.

As we mentioned before in the case of our centre our students have the possibility to do activities they would never do in the language classroom. Furthermore, as many of them are in their 40s or 50s they are really motivated because they have lived enough to compare what their parents told them and what they lived themselves when they were young and what they are experiencing with their children.

Our Wiki

To get a real idea of the project and its scope you should visit our wiki:
http://elderlymemories.wikispaces.com/

By clicking on the different tabs you will have access to the reports and activities uploaded by the participant countries and nowadays that we live in a globalised world you can see that as Europeans we are so different and so equal at the same time. Some of the stories you can read that describe the situation in the past in one country have a great resemblance with the situation in your country at a later date. It is really moving to read the materials uploaded by some elderly people who suffered the oppression of a Communist regime or the role played by women sixty or seventy years ago, who were deprived in many cases of the access to education.

European added value – examples

One of the positive aspects of working with other European partners is that you get to know them better and some of the clichés and stereotypes we sometimes have disappear and we get to know lots of new things about them that help us to understand each other much better. When reading the Spanish report on the Christmas celebrations our partners can learn about a Spanish tradition that is so different from the rest of the Europeans participating in the project: The Magi. You can read “The 6th of January is really special for all in Spain because of the arrival of the Magi with their presents. The previous day there is a parade all over the country with the Magi arriving at villages, towns and cities”

In the case of the Swedish report young and older people alike think that “Christmas has now been commercialized and has gone from being a quiet family celebration, a hysteria about buying expensive gifts for unruly children, and to deal with various family fights and divorces. We have lost the original meaning of Christmas”

In the case of our Bulgarian partner we have to take into account that geographically they are located in an area that has a very important Muslim population and this has an important implication, the figure of Christ so present in the celebrations held at the end of the year (Christmas) is not relevant for them and they have other celebrations to cater for other ethnic groups: CHANUKAH of the Jews December 1st – 9th ,MUSLIM ASHURA December 16th, CHRISTMAS EVE December 24th, CHRISTMAS DAY December 25th, NEW YEAR´S EVE December 31st, ARMENIAN CHRISTMAS January 6th and ROMA NEW YEAR January 14th. We learn from our Bulgarian partners that “the legends say that the prophet Noah, looking for a way to feed the believers who climbed on his ark, appealed to everyone to empty all the food they had in possession into a big pot in order to cook a meal. All products poured in the pot turned into the dish Ashure – a dish that is prepared this day to honor the day on which humankind was reborn.”

In the Polish report you can read “In the old times, the one and only way to celebrate winter holidays, especially Christmas, was staying at home with family and friends- and the places to see the most number of relatives and neighbors were churches, streets and as for towns, main squares (people were too poor for voyages, and transport was too rear and expensive). If so, only journeys were concerning meeting family.”

It is also true that communism has played a very important role in the lives of some of the participants in the project or their relatives. That would be the case of the Bulgarians, Romanians and the Polish. In the Romanian report you get really moved when you come across the following passage: Sad memories from the Communist times are also those of the Bucharest inhabitant A.A. He treasures back in his mind his father’s fears, both a Party member and Army colonel, that someone may find out that Christmas was being celebrated in his house (or even in the houses of his relatives in the countryside). Women’s memories are even more vivid. D.C. aged 70 remembers the winter times of 1952-1954, when her wealthy family in Transylvania was deported to Moldova and when she was sentenced to forced labour in a factory. Another lady in Constanta remembers that in 1949 the herd of singers of which she used to be part, was attacked by a group of communist atheists who beat them up and took all their money.

As time goes by what used to be a delicacy is now considered ordinary and in the Belgian report we come across the following statement: “In the past, the best food was served on Christmas day, but it’s remarkable to see that what was the best food then (rabbit, chicken,…) is considered a weekday meal now.”

For the Cypriots when looking back in time they say that “There was not any money at all and especially on Christmas holidays it was an important thing if you could have one coin to buy new shoes.”

Finally in the British report we learn about the importance of different plants in the decoration of houses. This comes from the old days: “Families in the past used holly to protect their houshold from the evil spirits and they would not spend Christmas time without holly. In the past, bay and rosemary could also be found in Christmas decorations.”

Apart from the reports published by each country, every questionnaire has different activities to complete the work done in each term so we can see in the case of the winter celebrations examples of Christmas cards, Christmas text messages, pictures, recipes, Christmas carols, traditions, Christmas advertisements, Christmas presents the Elderly used to receive and a few more.

The second questionnaire was about “Ways of behavior: At home (family rules), at school and at work” and in the Spanish report it is surprising to read “The relationships they (children) had with their parents for example or older people were based on respect and everybody coincides that when your father set your eyes on you, you got frightened, he didn’t need to say any word, his look was enough. Everyone had to obey their mother and father without questioning their commands. Sometimes they addressed them as “usted” (a very formal way to address people) and one old lady wrote about her childhood the following: In those days the children went to school just to learn to read, write and use the four basic mathematical rules (adding, subtracting, multiplication and division). Some children did not even learn that and either they didn’t go to school at all or they had to leave it when their parents needed them. Once you learn that, that was it. In my case as I was the eldest girl I had to look after my younger brothers and sister and keep an eye on the food that was on the stove”

Going through the reports and activities country by country you really get fascinated by the job done by the participants, who have interviewed their relatives, friends and sometimes they are the real characters portrayed in the stories. A Romanian lady wrote about herself “In 1950 I was in my final study year of the Pedagogical School in Craiova. My father was a primary school teacher in our native village and a member of the National Peasants Party. He was arrested on the false grounds of having antigovernment political leaflets and of failing to give his agricultural quota of ten wagons of wheat to the State. I was removed from school as being the daughter of" a people's enemy. In the same year my mother was fired and my two brothers removed from the universities where they were studying”.

It is obvious that if we want to develop a European conscience we need to learn more about our fellow-European citizens and their lives, their stories and the evolution they have gone through to the present and projects like this contribute to a better understanding of the different peoples living in Europe.

Decalogue

The Project has covered its first year and part of the Decalogue has been agreed by the participant countries.

Winter Celebrations

1. Festivities should be focused on family relations, whichever the kind, and recover old traditions as a way to stop our routines and to reflect on ourselves.

2. Giving and receiving gifts is good, but consumerism should be held back. Any simple thing given with love will provide beauty and joy.

Studies and ways of behavior

3. The concept of authority, not authoritarianism, should be enhanced both within the family and at school. A sense of family belonging made of rituals such as dining together every evening, is much healthier than our hectic lifestyle.

4. Relationships must be based on understanding and closeness.

Men and women, as human beings, should be treated equally and children respected.

School systems today are increasingly using collaborative learning and are generally far more open compared to the past. This is a positive achievement, nevertheless, students should be taught where the boundaries lie for a respectful relation with their teachers.

Conclusion

To conclude we should say that this kind of projects help to develop a European identity by enabling the participants from different European countries to meet and work together towards a greater integration and to realize that in the end we are human beings condemned to understand each other.

Please check the Creative Methodology for the Classroom course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the British Life, Language and Culture course at Pilgrims website.
Please check the Methodology and Language for Secondary Teachers course at Pilgrims website.