Science without borders – Foreign language sub-project
New school year, new project. The focus of the 2022/23 school year project is Exploring Science without Borders. The foreign language sub-project will be implemented at 3 language levels in English and 2 language levels in German. We also have secondary school students who already have a C1 complex English exam, for whom Spanish as a second foreign language is taught at the Pécs Community House.
English A1-A2: “After the team-building sessions, three micro-groups were formed on the basis of repetitive-summative worksheets, according to the group’s highly dispersed level of knowledge, which will progress throughout the school year with the help of differentiated learning materials. In line with the theme of the Science without Borders project, the category of animals and plants was chosen as the first revision of the year, as everyone already has some level of knowledge of this topic. In order to facilitate the “re-acclimatisation” to structured education, the first few lessons were mainly skill-building exercises: reading and listening comprehension, vocabulary games and communicative tasks. The primary aim of the year was to bring the group’s very heterogeneous levels of proficiency as close as possible to the level of their potential, and to consolidate their knowledge using jointly taught language units and a newly introduced course book. The project within the Foundation will provide a suitable framework for the choice of vocabulary and topics.” Gabriella Andókné Pörnecz, language teacher
English B2+ level: ‘English language development for the students of the Pécs Community House takes place one weekend a month in blocks. In this framework, students at the lower levels (A2-B1) are now grouped together with students preparing for the B2 exam. This will hopefully encourage them to put more effort and time into their language learning, as they can see from their peers how wonderful it is to be able to speak effortlessly in any situation. And by the example and support of their peers, they can overcome some of their inhibitions. “No learning without mistakes. It’s good to speak up!” These are the phrases I chose as my mottos for the year. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of background work at home. However, the summer camps abroad made the students realise how cool it is to be able to initiate and carry on a conversation with someone from an other country. The varied tasks of preparing for the language exam also prepare for this, so that the next time you take the test, things really do go smoothly. We will work on this throughout the year.” Éva Pálffy, language teacher
English C1 level:” The language project started on the third weekend of October 2022 in the Csányi Foundation’s Pécs Community House. In the group preparing for the C1 level language exam, we started working with the students, now in grade 11, with great enthusiasm to pass the exam this school year. Over the weekend, the topics covered and discussed included having children, housing rights and the home environment. Tamás Pap, language teacher
German B1+ level: In the German B1 exam preparation group, we learned about explorers, scientists and discoveries that have the most impact on our lives in German. Of course, the top 3 all included some kind of technical development, for which the internet and electricity are essential. Through internet research, we found out who invented it, when and what circumstances led to the invention. After the scientific background, we looked at their personal relevance, how they use the invention in which area of life. From this, the students prepared a presentation which they gave orally. The topic was supplemented with Reading Comprehension and Listening Comprehension exercises over the weekend. The language skills, which have been a little frayed since May, were dusted off in terms of vocabulary and the use of the past tense. The methods learnt, such as forging sentences into paragraphs and creating cohesion in the text, show the thorough work of recent years. I hope that the successful language examinations this academic year will bear witness to this.” Csilla Czimondor, Language teacher
German B2+: During the weekend, the German B2 group discussed the impact of the world of technology and science on the present, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of the constantly emerging innovations. Over the two days, everyone worked enthusiastically on the various tasks, which not only served to develop oral expression skills but also complex problem-solving skills. An important objective for all the students in the group during the school year is to successfully complete the intermediate language exam at the end of the year. Looking at their work, this goal will certainly be achieved.” Kata Jobbágy, Language teacher
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