Some Teacher Perspectives

A Romanian Perspective……….

In recent years, I participated in international projects organized to provide answers to the many questions posed by globalization, seen in its many aspects: the economical process of integration that has social and cultural aspects, the integration of national economies through trade, investment, capital flow, labor migration and technology.

A structural youth exchange project, under the title: “Youngsters of today, Europeans of tomorrow, let’s talk”, launched in Hague, on themes such as discrimination, inclusion, European integration, intra-European youth migration or media and communication.

Euroscola, a project in which students from the 28 EU member states are selected to become members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg for one day. They take the floor in plenary and committee sessions to debate and vote on resolutions on current affairs, all the while practising their language skills and making friends with fellow students from across Europe.

The European Moot Court competition for high-school students, co-organised by Justice Resource Center in New York and The Hague Municipality. It is judged a case, a hypothetical EU law problem, which is pleaded during each season’s competition and which is prepared yearly by EU law experts .

Erasmus plus project entitled Using Drama Strategies to teach English Language and European Values through Shakespeare that focuses on using drama as a teaching tool in education.

Different projects, different themes, different people...

Issues such as European integration, education, discrimination, justice, manipulation, migration, exile, longing for home, mental health, prejudices, gratitude and its lack have been always debated at the lawyers' bar, in parliaments, in classrooms, or in the classical works of literature. Temporary solutions have been offered for those problems, but they never disappear. The play is the same, only the actors playing it are different : All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances. (W. Shakespeare)

As a participant in the Erasmus plus project I played several roles: I was a teacher, a parent, a host. I 've had many emotions when my daughter, Julia, went to Denmark, as well as when Natasha, the little Danish girl returned the visit in Romania. I discovered with delight the Danish recipe of happiness, the Hygge lifestyle, and I hope that she felt good in my house, together with my family.

I met some wonderful people, The MMU staff and their coordinators, who taught high-school students to play as professional actors in just a few days of training.

As a teacher, I had opportunities to meet colleagues from Denmark, Greece and Turkey and exchange feedback about our classroom practice.

In England, as a teacher accompanying the students team, I also experienced various feelings: disgust before the horrors of war seen at War Museum, artistic vibration listening to the concert of The Marple Band in St. Paul's Church, the solemnity of the Remembrance Day religious service, curiosity about the sporting, charitable, educational activities of the Foundation during the visit to Manchester Stadium, the overwhelming impression in front of the Neo Gothic building housing the John Rylands library collection. A And, above all, the delight of rediscovering the brilliant works of William Shakespeare and the joy of teaching it to my young students and to my own child. I have experienced the excitement of seeing the differences in how they relate to people, problems, methods to solve them and their own perspective on these issues.

Even if the whole world is a scene, Shakespeare's wisdom can teach you how to play better your role and how to exit the stage gracefully and worthily.

Gabriela Cartaleanu

Erasmus Experience Feedback – a UK Teacher’s Story with MMU.

Impact on classroom practice?

Helping students to explore a text through drama has been a completely different way of teaching Shakespeare for me. Exploring the themes of the play in this way is something I would certainly consider doing in future with a class- using some of the drama activities I have learned could work well as an introduction to key themes/messages or to help students to get to grips with the plot, before introducing them to the language and to written Shakespeare. I have also seen benefits to allowing students greater freedom in their learning- what they produced each day, and overall, came almost completely from them, with only some guidance from us the teachers. Even with the written work they produced about their concept of what love is, I gave them the freedom to write in any form they wished (poem, monologue, speech) and the results were fantastic. It was very liberating as a teacher not to have to structure every step of their learning, and very refreshing to hear such beautiful things written about love. I was able to see ways to bring drama into my English teaching, and how drama and English together can be very effective (students reading out their written ideas about what love means to them, whilst other students performed physical theatre alongside- much more impactful with both!).

A key moment.

One girl was particularly shy and quite socially awkward during our ice-breaking session. When we went around the circle and it reached her, she would freeze up and fall silent. I also felt she was struggling not just to communicate, but to actually think of ideas or information to share. As the week went on she became more involved with discussions and was able to generate some ideas or thoughts to contribute to the group. I also noticed that she was becoming less shy, and would willingly come over to speak to me and ask me questions. Similarly, she seemed to have made connections with another girl in the group, from a different country, and would work with her really well. By the time of the rehearsals she had asked to make a musical contribution to the performance and worked confidently with the group up on stage for each of the acted sections of the performance. Following the final performance, she was visibly pleased, smiling and giving me a thumbs up, showing clear pride in being a part of the performance.

This was interesting because the girl I mentioned is Greek, and as that is where this mobility was based, that was the predominant language being spoken around us. Of course, this also meant she was in her home country and was not dealing with the added pressure of a different culture. I would therefore imagine that she is generally shy and less confident than many of her peers at school. The fact that she really came out of her shell and became so involved with the performance, to me, was even more rewarding to see than if it was a child from one of the guest countries. I wondered if being a part of the Erasmus programme has boosted her confidence in general, as she had pushed herself to make new friends, and pushed herself to be understood in English by non-Greek speakers. Possibly she found confidence in the fact that she was from the host country and wanted to demonstrate pride for her country.

Performance? How did that impact?

I think that for both teachers and for the students, it gave us an end goal and something to work towards. Pupils knew that parents etc would be coming to watch the final outcome of the week which meant they carried out the activities throughout the week with more purpose, rather than being tempted to mess about or take a backseat. I think it also gave them (and us) a ‘thing’ to be proud of, like a final product which could then be shown off and filmed. I didn’t feel that the idea of ‘doing a performance’ was particularly off-putting for the students. They didn’t seem to be very worried or concerned about performing at the end of the week, I saw more sense of pride and of them wanting to show off what they had created in a week.

‘Using drama strategies to teach English language and European values through Shakespeare.’

‘Exploring current issues in society through the themes in Shakespeare’s plays’- I feel that this represents what we did on our mobility slightly more accurately. For me, the main purpose of their learning was to explore and think about current issues in society, as opposed to teaching the English language or European values, or for students to learn about Romeo and Juliet specifically. It was significant that students were discussing issues relating to racial hatred and discrimination, mental health issues, and modern concepts of love. As mentioned, I also found that by marrying English as a subject with Drama as a subject, students then learnt from a variety of strategies and employed a wider variety of skills than they possibly would have if we had only used drama strategies.

Laura Kernan

A Turkish Tale.

İBRAHİM KILIÇLAR/TURKEY THE MUSIC TEACHER.

As a music teacher it was a great chance for me to be an international Project.I had the chace to see a different school in Denmark and how the music class is active during their early ages.I had also the chance to see my students succeding in such a nice Project like this.

As teachers we had a chance to Exchange cultures,to see differences and similarities between us.I am very happy for being able to be in this Project as one of the teachers

A UK Drama Teacher’s View.

Alice Webster: UK

This project has taught me how it is possible to work off the students’ ideas and by allowing them a little more freedom. Here I have not had to stick to rigid lesson plans and they learned far more from trying new things and experiencing different ways of working. Allowing that flexibility into my everyday lessons will create a more positive and more productive learning environment!

There was one particular student in our group who was very quiet and nervous at the beginning of the process. Any drama game or exercise I tried to do with the group she would shut down and say ‘I can’t do it’ ‘I don’t get it’. But as she got to know the other students and realised that it was okay to not know or not get it right all the time, her confidence grew. By the end of the week she was coming up with ideas and even asked for a speaking part. She truly flourished in this practical exploration!

What I found was that the native English speakers had a lot less confidence than the non-native English speakers. They didn’t always want to take part in discussions because they were afraid to get it wrong. They didn’t have the confidence to try new things. The native English speakers seemed to be so driven by results and getting it right that they almost felt bad for having fun and enjoying the process.

The performance gave them something to aim for. It was as much for the students as it was for the teacher’s and audience members. They were so proud of what they had rehearsed and they wanted to share it with everyone. The performance also allowed the group to come together as an ensemble and showed everyone how hard they had worked and what they had learnt.

The title sums up the experience for me. The drama strategies we explored allowed the non-native English speakers to understand the English language but also the themes within King Lear. We were able to link these themes to what is happening contextually in society. We discussed similarities and differences between countries. This then informed the work we produced. The mix of countries and teachers allowed for a truly enriching experience and I think that the students Learnt more through this way of working than they would through a 6 week hour drama lesson on King Lear.

Some Danish Observations…….

Allthough I only attended two of the mobılıtıes ıt has been very clear to me as an Englısh teacher, that drama ıs a very constructıve and posıtıve way to work wıth the students.

I’ve done Shakespeare before, but thıs gave me a lot of new ıdeas and ways to see drama as a learnıng tool.

The ınteractıng between students from dıfferent countrıes ıs a value ın ıtself, but the way the staff from MMU worked was an ınspıratıon for both the kıds and the staff.

- Per Clausen Englısh, teacher Soendervangskolen Denmark

Erasmus Trip Reflection – UK Teacher with MMU.

What impact if any, has the Erasmus experience had on your classroom practice?

This year I have been very strict in following and sticking to my lesson plan, making sure I have all the components of an outstanding lesson in there and following times religiously. I think I have done this because one of the aspects of why I failed in my first block A was down to not being able to structure a lesson.

However, during this Erasmus project, there were no lesson plans to follow and just had to go with it. It was nerve wracking but exhilarating at the same time. Having to think on the spot for ideas and tasks gave myself the confidence to trust in myself and my developed subject knowledge.

I have realised that for progress to be made isn’t from following a lesson plan so rigidly, rather than exploring a task with a group of students, having fun and really responding to their needs in the moment. Helping and supporting with ideas, with confidence and pushing all students for excellent standards. This is what I will take and develop in my classroom practice.

Can you identify and discuss moments of progression or transformation in any particular child you worked with?

A lot of the students in my group seemed very quiet and lacking in confidence at the start of the project. One student would not talk at all in the first session. Towards the second session she spoke a couple of times to help her peers. Third session she was bringing lots of ideas to the group, very enthusiastic and wanted to be involved in everything! She was working with lots of new people, more confident and comfortable with performing. After the event she came up to me and thanked me and said she had thoroughly enjoyed herself.

Overall on the interaction between all students on the first day when we tried a few ice breakers. Students were very nervous to stand in a circle and some still had their bags on, looking like they were ready to go. Whereas by the end of the project, students were chatting, laughing and crying with each other, swapping Facebook details, taking pictures etc. Again, total opposite to where they were at the beginning.

Is there a difference between your perception of this in native English speakers and non-native English speakers?

I found the English students very self-conscious at the beginning of the programme, nervous to join in and being judged by others. Whereas other students from Greece at the start seemed a lot more confident with giving every task or challenge a go. I felt that by the end of the performance, the reason a lot of students felt so comfortable was because of the teachers. We had to create that safe environment, we had to make fools of ourselves for others to feel comfortable, we had to reassure and praise students to build their confidence.

What, if anything, did the notion of ‘doing a performance’ bring to the Erasmus experience?

There is definitely something special about working towards a goal and having a group experience for students to build their confidence, interpersonal skills and enjoying yourselves. There was a real sense of support and unity from all three groups during the performance. This came across in their performance and achievement. Working together, communicating together in a whole ensemble.

I am very cynical about the progress of technology and what it is doing to children socially, so these projects are so important to keep that human interaction and to build on these personal and social skills.

The project title is – using drama strategies to teach English Language and European values through Shakespeare – Discuss…

European values were very evident and strong in everything that we did. Exploring and finding out about different cultures, how differently the students worked and their ideas and opinions. Through this, all students were accepting of each other and respected one another. They found new ways to communicate effectively with each other and built new friendships. But again, these European values were taught not through a presentation or a lesson, but through an experience.

I felt the confidence to speak with the English language improved. Within the project we shared phrases and words from our different countries to each other, so it wasn’t specifically just the English language we explored. But this may have been down to the balance of the Drama and English staff. I found if the English teacher wasn’t very comfortable and confident in a drama setting then they would shy away with suggestions or tasks for the project.

The experience is what students are going to remember. Not the written aspect or specific content and tasks, but rather their thought processes, feelings throughout the project, nerves just before they go on stage, pride for what they have just achieved, friendship and love for their peers around them.

I feel so lucky to have attended this project and on a personal note, I did not bite my nails at all when I was out in Greece, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and felt confident. As soon as I came back to the UK, I have started biting my nails. I am not too sure what this shows about myself, but it is a significant change.

Alice Croson

Some thoughts from Copley Academy…..an English Teacher’s observations.

As a teacher, I feel very privileged to have been a part of the ‘Using Drama Strategies to Teach English Language and European Values through Shakespeare’ Project as I have seen first-hand the impact that this has had on the pupils and MMU staff involved.

The majority of the success of this project has been down to the staff from Manchester Metropolitan University who created fantastic and inspiring activities for the pupils. The workshops they ran were fully inclusive and it was incredible to see the collusion between the countries and the final performances were a reflection of their and the pupils’ hard work. They all took different approaches but the end products showed the pupils’ dedication and enjoyment.

Arriving in Denmark, one of my pupils was extremely nervous – to the point where he was physically shaking. He had already expressed his fears of not being accepted by the other people involved in this project and especially by the person he was staying with. However, it soon became apparent that his fears were unnecessary and he grew in confidence throughout the week. This has been a life changing experience for him and he now wants to move out to Denmark in the future.

There was a reluctance at first from pupils to get involved in a project that was based around drama and Shakespeare as this wasn’t something that inspired or interested them. In my school, Shakespeare is taught by reading the script and analysing the language used and so I can understand why some pupils wouldn’t be attracted to this concept. As an English teacher, I was concerned with being a part of a project that was so heavily based around drama but this has changed my perspectives. The drama toolkit which was developed by the lecturers at MMU has enabled me to develop skills which I can now use in my teaching of Shakespeare in the classroom.

I am extremely proud of the pupils who have participated so far in the project, from all of the countries involved. For some of the pupils from the U.K., this experience was outside of their comfort zone and they were very nervous about performing and also working with people they didn’t know. The way that they have overcome this and grown in confidence, because of this project, has been very beneficial to them and has helped them develop as individuals. For many, it was the first time they were away from their family and even the first time on a plane. I really enjoyed being able to be a part of this experience with them as it was life changing. I can see that participating in this has given them self-reliance and also has built friendships across the cultures, which are still continuing and developing months later.

A highlight of the project for me was hearing the reflections of the pupils and reading their evaluations. I think that projects such as this one are vital in exploring the different cultures in Europe, and this project with drama skills really brought the pupils together. They learnt so many lessons from visiting different countries and gained a lot from working with different nationalities.

I know that my pupils who were fortunate enough to be part of this project will never forget it and it has changed their outlook on other cultures and has made them more ambitious to travel again in the future. They have grown in confidence and I know that they would participate again if they could! It is something they never would have got to experience without this amazing project.

Beth Clegg

Experience of the Mobilities……..Greek Observations.

As a main participant (Leader of the Greek Team) in Erasmus+ programme entitled “Using Drama Strategies to Learn English Language and European Values through Shakespeare”, I would like to refer to my experience concerning the mobilities 2016-2018. Different kind of mobilities were held in numerous cities. More specifically, I participated to the following:

1. Short-term joint staff training events

2. Short-term exchanges of groups of pupils

3. Transnational Project Meetings

To begin with, as key personnel of the Greek Team I participated to short-term joint staff training events together with university staff (The Manchester Metropolitan University, MMU) Rebecca Patterson and Alison Ramsey. We met to establish the working parameters and guidelines for the project. We shared competences, good practices, methodologies in order to maximize the project impact upon schools. The university staff took part in the lessons and trained us teachers of the host institutions leading workshops about how language, communication skills and other subject investigation can be developed through drama strategies and techniques. This was a remarkable introduction to the project’s core that prepared our actions and goals. It helped us interact, getting to know each other, depended our drama knowledge, provide us with new methodology ideas through improvisation that was really enjoyable!

Continuing with short-term exchanges of groups of pupils I will refer to my experience. A great assett was the participation of the MMU Drama and Literature Teachers that worked with our pupils on specific issues relating to Shakespeare’s plays through innovating ideas and strategies that helped them to express their inner world. All university staff and pupils spend a significant proportion of their time applying drama techniques to the exploration of common European Issues. Furthermore, both students and university staff participated in practical activities to develop specific transversal competences. The final product was a performance based on different Shakespeare’s plays enhancing common European Values as tolerance, acceptance , friendship, love, solidarity, etc.

As for the Transnational Project Meetings they were devoted to the practical matters and providing directions for the project. To begin with, we talked about several aspects as: financial planning and budget monitoring, timeframe of the mobilities, giving our approval of possible changes and adjustments in work plan, timelines and budget allocations, constructing the programme of the mobility, discussing the different activities during the mobility week, forming international groups of pupils, resolving issues that could preoccupied the partners always with good will and solidarity. We tried to anticipate any inconvenience that could be an obstacle in our collaboration. Additionally, we updated our website and resolved all bureaucracy matters.

In conclusion, I would like to testify that the project was based on a really well constructed idea in it’s conception and realization! It was really specific in it’s methodology and pedagogical goals that leaded to the maxium benefit for our pupils. I am extremely satisfied of the level and the quality of the education that The Manchester Metropolitan University Staff under the guidance of Rebecca Patterson and Alison Ramsay provided to the pupils modernizing education and introduced new methods in teaching drama activities. Their powerful educational contribution created a bridge between Secondary Education and University Studies. Generally speaking, the mobilities were characterized by excitement, flexibility, solidarity, collaboration and with a great sense of humor and moreover by positive attitude. The project organization provided a feeling of security and conviviality, thanks to the significant contribution and efforts of Mr. Mick Boyle, ErasmusPlus Co-Ordinator. Finally, that lead to a very successful number of mobilities that had both educational and human impact to pupils, school staff and all participants. We gained in self-awareness and empathy that consists a lifetime treasure.

Aliki M

An English Teachers Perspective with MMU.

Seren Elam-Morley

As an English teacher, this experience has made me much more confident in being able to use drama in my classroom. It has made me more aware of the different approaches to texts that drama can bring – and it is a great extra to traditional English teaching! Also, it has helped me build confidence with EAL students. I have many in my classes currently, and by getting to know the Erasmus students in a more casual environment has helped me to improve my communication – i.e. hand gestures and re-wording have been essential on the project and I now have the confidence to be able to implement this in my own classrooms.

I think that one of the students from Turkey made some of the greatest progressions in my group and it was to do mainly with confidence. I found that she was one of the quieter members with weaker English speaking skills that some of the older students, so her progression was quite physical. At first she seemed reserved and shy, didn’t want to put herself forward for many things, but during activities that we conducted on ‘witch movement’ she started to excel, perhaps because what she needed to do was modelled for her by myself and because there was no language barrier that needed to be overcome. She showed great progress in this area.

Personally for me, I have had little experience in this area of confidence progression through physical learning/drama as my lessons are in English, not drama (that doesn’t mean to say that drama is not used in English teaching). I think that I have had more experience in seeing how confidence can progress through other mediums than language on the Erasmus project than I have had in my own practice and therefore have little to compare it to. However, this is something I will definitely seek to improve upon in my own teaching, now that I have learnt that using drama can open so many doors of understanding for students, that typical ‘English’ teaching cannot. I feel as though the student in question on the Erasmus project wouldn’t have made anywhere near as much confidence if we had been studying the text from an ‘English’ perspective.

I think the performance gave us something to aim towards, that wasn’t based around any particular ‘learning goals’. In school, we are bound by the objectives for learning in our planning for lessons which help us to structure our teaching, for the Erasmus project the performance was the goal. I think that it would be very difficult to work on a project like this if there was no goal at all, not just from a teaching perspective, but for the students. What memories and accomplishments would they have to take away, needs to be the main focus, in my opinion.

The performance also bought us together as a group – we were all working towards the same thing together and it was great to share our passions and ideas with the students, and for them to share their own. It made the purpose of bonding and communicating easier as we were all working towards the same thing and had the same understandings. Not to mention the excitement and thrill of performing to our colleagues and friends – which is always a brilliant experience to share with a group of people!

I am unsure how the concept of European values was linked to the teaching in this project and I am also unsure to what extent the students were able to develop their understandings of English language. Personally, I think the students took away with them a love of the play, the ideas and the themes which should hopefully encourage them in this area in the future. Also, as I mentioned above with the progress of the Turkish student, a lot of the progress that was made wasn’t necessarily through communication in the English language, but through a physical and dramatic medium that enabled everyone to work together at the same level of communication.

European values I think were demonstrated more through the evening activities where we were able to share culture and interests with those from other countries – which was educational for all, and great fun.

I think that if I were going to give the experience we had a title, it would be more along the lines of ‘Using drama and Shakespeare to remove barriers to learning that might be implemented by language.’

Some additional comments:

I think that this project was fantastic and rewarding. It was enjoyable, emotional and some of the best fun in teaching I have ever had. Thank you so much for enabling me to be a part of this experience – I think this is now something I might want to consider further in my career.

A Turkish perspective

SELDA BEYAZİT(TAN ANADOLU LISESI/TURKEY)THE HEADTEACHER

The Project was a very useful and precious study which is really full of learning activities.

It was a great chance for both the students and the teachers of our school.

As the headteacher of Tan Schools, I am very happy about being a part of this Project. The school management supports all the activities our students accomplished.

We are happy and regard the importance of being internationalized with the schools around Europe.Through the Project our students had the chance of being a part of international team.They improved self confidence and exchanged different cultures.When I observed that even the shiest student is having great fun and learning something new and gaining very precious experiences I decided to be part of new upcoming projects.The partner schools were all getting on very well each other and contributed each other many things.

Thank you everybody for this wonderful Project.

UK Teacher Perspective

Rebecca Smith….with MMU

As great as the final performances were the project was really about European countries working together in an unfamiliar environment to produce a piece of art. There were language barriers and misunderstandings but this all added to the experience. I thoroughly enjoyed working with my colleagues and I learnt so much from them all. Although the project was about Shakespeare and drama it was a great experience in terms of meeting new people, new cultures and new friends. The Erasmus experience has had a huge impact on my own classroom practice. I feel much more confident teaching drama and applying it to texts. I feel capable of adapting a lesson freely to fit the needs of the students without worrying about the lesson plan.

I know that there will always be pupils who don’t engage and who take a little longer to involve themselves in tasks but here it was a case of building a rapport with them all and creating a safe learning environment where mistakes are encouraged but at the same time allowing them to improve in their own time.

There was a little friendly competition between the groups as each wanted to do something original. This also provided us with a goal to motivate the students, especially as it was them who designed the performance. I think if we as teachers had entered the project with a strict plan of what the performance was going to be like it would have changed the whole dynamic. Making it clear at the start the performance was for the students to create motivated them as they wanted to be proud of what they produced.

Another view from Turkey.

BERRİN BALKANLAR/TURKEY/THE THEATRE PLAYER ACTRESS AND DIRECTOR

When I was invited to the Project as the director to direct the play Macbeth in Tan schools I was very honored to be a part of an international Project.

The students wanted to display the play Macbeth in their schools in English.We rehearsed for a whole year and at the end of the academic year we displayed it to the school students,teachers and parents.

The play was played so proffessional that everybody thoght that they were watching a proffesional theatre play on the stage.They managed to act really proffessionally.

When I went to Greece mobility I had the chance to see how fine arts like theatre and drama collect the students from different cultures and backrounds.They acted very successfully at the end of 5 days .

Thank you for giving me the chance to be a part of this international Project.

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UK Drama Teacher perspective…………………

The ERASMUS PROJECT has been a very important thing for me to have done.

I have has an opportunity to try different teaching methods and to work without necessarily having a clear line of thought or lesson plan, whilst still being able to impart knowledge and extracting serious thought and polished performances.

It has been quite refreshing to be unburdened from the strictures of lesson plans etc, as it made the experience a real pleasure to take part in with almost no points of arduousness over the week.

I was slightly concerned at the beginning of the project when I saw some of the girls who were involved in my group, as 2 were very quiet, and 2 were more exuberant! As the project moved along, the quieter students seemed to come out of their shells with more and more practical work, and became the most involved of the whole group. I think that the exploratory nature of the work (rather than being based on a script or version of a script) meant that students felt they could do no wrong, and were more likely to involve themselves in the activities/work.

In addition, one of the more confident girls became much more interested in the play generally and understood the plot as a result of what we were doing. She came up with some very interesting ideas about honour and duty, connected to Lear.

The differences in the native and non-native English speakers in terms of working as a group seemed to me to be almost completely non-existent.

At first the non-native speakers seemed perhaps a little shy, but once we had established that they could speak/work in their own languages as well as English, and that we were in fact interested in learning a little about their languages and cultures, they settled into the group quickly.

Some of the girls were very perceptive in the themes of the play (for those that had actually read it), and the only thing they struggled with was the explaining of what they thought to people using a different language.

Having a performative element to this experience was valuable. It is always interesting to see how knowing that work will be performed and seen (especially by your peers) tends to sharpen the senses and give incentive to do "good work", and the whole group being able to do something "for show" that they had created felt like a truly rewarding experience. I am sure that if we were only (simply?) devising and creating, the students would have come away with many useful things (technique, group dynamics, emotional connection etc); but to have the work consolidated in a final performance gave them something that they could show to others and be proud of.

I would highly recommend this project to other teachers if ever they get the chance to be involved as working in this manner and with these people will give them a truly unique view of text and language within a familiar setting.

The Romanian section of this project has been a very interesting thing for me, as it has brought to my attention some things that I was not aware of at the time of the UK Mobility. I was instantly and excitedly recognised by face and name by some of the Romanian students who had been a part of the Manchester project, and this it seems was because I clearly have a love for what I do, and this is easily translatable and accepted by these students.

So, now I’ve got my ego-stroking over – on with the review!!!

Being a foreigner in someone else’s country made a huge impact on how I delivered content and worked with the students, as I felt that I had to be clearer in instructions/general interaction because I was already on the back foot with regards to language and communication. This was something that I hadn’t really considered in Manchester, as I saw the students’ lack of understanding more as an inconvenience, rather than something to be worked with and implemented into performance/discussion.

I found that having had time spent in another school before the Romanian mobility also enabled me to discover more of who I was as a teacher, and therefore enabled a more confident and affective teaching (and collaborating) style with the pupils. This was most evident in the use of improvisational techniques and exercises in order to explore key themes and topics of emotion in the text. Creating a performance that was fluid and representative, rather than something staid and locked-down was the key focus of our piece, and I think that this fluidity was palpable in the piece. This is not to say, of course, that it was a totally free-form piece of improvised art! There was careful planning and arrangement of bodies and props once we had discovered a path from the improvisation, but also with the knowledge that to change things during the piece was something not to be discouraged – and to go with what felt right, with regards to the emotions and intentions of the ‘scene’. Considering the amount of actual time we had to work with these young people, I feel that we achieved a lot, and I was impressed with the amount of dedication and concerted effort from the students themselves.

I would highly recommend this project (or similar). I think that the loose nature of the project (encouraged by RP) was one of the key elements of its success for the students and teachers alike. A more prescriptive and planned out scheme would have killed the very essence of exploration that was/is inherent within this project, and this idea of the journey’s importance over the destination could have so easily been lost if attacked from a different perspective.

Charles Swift.

More from Denmark

It has been ınterestıng ın so many ways to partıcıpate ın the Erasmus + Project.

I have learned a great deal from workıng wıth Shakespeare and attendıng drama lessons. It has been a huge success to see our Danısh pupıls work wıth students from other countrıes, and they have made new frıends for lıfe thıs way.

Personally speakıng ıt has been a pleasure to experıence the hospıtalıty ın every country we have been vısıtıng. Beıng part of an Erasmus + Project lıke thıs can help students and teachers buıld brıdges and create good relatıons between people ın dıfferent countrıes.

- Charlotte Sorensen, teacher Soendervangskolen and ınternatıonal coordınator from Denmark

Evaluation year 2

Hilal Doğu /Turkish coordinator

This project was just an inspiration for all our studies,for both students and teachers.The project contributed a positive effect on students' motivation to the academic success.With the start of the project a new excitement and joy started in the whole of our school as we were starting an international project with five different schools from different countries.This happiness even was spread over the parents.A locally work was decided to do in our school.A proffessional theatre player,actress and directer helped our students to demonstrate the play Macbeth in our school.At the end of the academic year all the students were on the stage,they played proffessionally.It was really incredible to see them on the stage so enthusiastic.Parents and the other students were the audience and it was amazing.This soul of Shakespeare continued in the second year too.All the students worked together in the mobilities and played internationally.It was a very precious project for all the students teachers and parents. Through the Project students gained huge experiences and had the chance to exchange different cultures from different countries

Below you can find an article written by a student who was inspired by the theme of our project.

Written by Arda Yeşildağ

All theworld’s a stage,

Andall the men andwomen merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts…

-As YouLikeIt / William Shakespeare

Ifyou ask thequestion of who is worthy of the title“the author of the authors” in an art circle, you’ll encounter man yanswers but surely not a single definitive one.Because there isn’t any .Some will say Joyce because of his revolutionary use of language. Some will say Proustfor his mind blowing account of expertly written descriptions and some’ll say FaulkerorDostoyevsky et cetera. Thelistgoes on likethiswithoutanyactualend. But actually, there exist a consensu swithin this endless debate: the one and only master of emotional portrayal of humanbeings. Even for people who’re not really into literature, the name who writes about our love, ou rhatred, our ambitions and our lusts most successfully is undeniably William Shakespeare. Thesignature“Shakespeare” is the collosus of the whole art history, the titan, the monument: never be forgotten. Because everybody knows that the single name itself carries the burdens of many: the passion of Romeo, the oath of Hamlet, the corruption of Machbeth…But really, who is the real person after this intensely influential signature? Who is the true responsible for the seliterar ytreasures? Is he real, or is he just a delusion of this signature? Who is William Shakespeare?

Mark Twain, the writer of Huckleberry Finn and one of them ostcelebrated American authors of all time once declared“As everyone knows and can easily prove, Shakespeare of Stratford-Upon-Avon had never written a play for his whole life.” in his hugely misunderstood essay“Is Shakespeare Dead?”. Also considering the names including Sigmund Freud, Charlie Chaplin andOrsonWelles, whosupport Twain on his belief, we’re left with a one crucial question: “How can we be so sure about the existence of this Shakespeare, despite all these gapsabout his life?”Themystery is stillaliveaftermanycenturiesandthispiece of writing of mine won’tanswerthosemysteriessinglehanded but will try to provide you somene win sights on this topic. At least, that’s my purpose. Solet’s get started.

William Shakespeare was born in a small town of England; Stratford-upon-Avon.Even his real birthday is still unknown, man yexperts take it as 23rd of April, three days before his baptism –whichis also his day of death. His father was a trader of leather goods, his mother was the daughter of a wealthy familyand William was the third of eight children and unfortunately one of the few to stay alive. Even through the first school he was registered in is still uncertain to this date, most of the predictions say that the most logical choice here is King’s New School, which is only 400 meters away from his house. But we’re certain that his lessons were mostly consisted of Latin language and culture. When he was 18, he accidently got a woman named Anne Hathaway pregnant andmarried her. His first child Susanna was born six months later. But other twins, Hamnet and Judith, died at young age, sharing the fate of Shakespeare’s siblings.

Starting from the twins incidentandending at the beginning of his London career, the years between 1585 and 1592 are named“TheLostYears”bythe Shakespeare scholars. A theory from Nicholas Rowe, the writer of the first Shakespeare biography suggests that he was actually a poacher, hunting in the lands of a famous politician named Thomas Lucy. Another theories suggest that he was a horsetrickster or a teacher but the seas sumptions are valueless compared to the theory of Rowe.

After he moved to London, he started gaining some reputation as the“brilliant newcomer”, which actually attracted some attention, some good some bad. Famous names of the London art circle vilifed him, naming him as a vulgar crowor a second-class repairman. But he rose with a terrific speedandbuilt his famous theate rwith his crew named King’s Men. They named the place“The Globe”. At that specific time, Shakespeare’s signature was in many real estatedeals, so he was probably getting richer. Also his plays were getting more famous and famous. His works such as Hamlet, Romeo AndJuliet, Machbeth, Tempestor A Midsummer Night’sDream were householdnames at London theaters. His reputation grew fast and soon he became the one and only king of London theate rcircle.

1. But his career as a writer andalso an actor (even his image, acting as the ghost of Hamlet’s father became iconic in years)were slowly coming to an end. He wrote three more playswith John Fletcher -a member of his King’s Men crew- and then ended his career. He went to his hometown Stratford to spend his last days peacefully and died after a heavy drinking night. The day he died, 23rd of April, 1616 was also his birthday and he was buried in Holy Trinity Church.

Arda YEŞİLDAĞ

• Giving students the ability to travel, meet and see other young students.
• Sharing their stories, learning from other stories, interacting with fellow students from all over Europe.
• "Shakespeare is actually pretty interesting".
• Learning to speak English ("I've spoken more English this past week, than I did in my entire time in school")
• Learning to express themselves and believe in themselves, through drama activities. Committing each other to perform/act
• The guiding and energy of Manchester Metropolitan University staff has created a very motivating and meaningful learning atmosphere.
• Giving tools to teachers to bring into the everyday classroom.
• Students learning about values, culture and life in general across Europe
• An important impact on a group/a community - prejudices about other countries, religions, sexual preferences etc.