During the session ‘‘Grenzüberschreitendes sprach- und kulturbewusstes Lernen in Interreg-Projekten’’, various European cooperation projects were presented that contribute to neighbouring-language education and intercultural learning. Attention was paid, for example, to a project within Interreg Brandenburg-Polska, in which Polish and German social workers jointly learnt professional terminology and working methods through tandem courses. Experiences were also shared from an INTERREG VI project within Interreg Deutschland-Nederland, aimed at school pupils in the border region. The presentations made it clear that language acquisition and cross-border cooperation offer valuable opportunities for mutual understanding, but that conscious reflection on cultural differences and similarities does not arise automatically. In doing so, they underlined the importance of educational concepts that explicitly promote language and cultural awareness.
Against this backdrop, the new Interreg project KraMe presented the first concepts for educational materials. The aim of the KraMe project is, amongst other things, to strengthen the image of the neighbouring languages German and Dutch among young people, and to spark and increase their interest in these languages and in cross-border contact. The teaching materials developed help pupils to become more aware of their existing language skills and to apply these in a targeted manner when learning German or Dutch, for example by comparing the languages with one another. Both analogue and digital teaching methods are used for this purpose. During the conference, an initial version of the so-called ‘Language Game’ was also demonstrated, which is currently being tested at various schools.
Following this, the KraMe advisory board met to discuss the initial materials. The advisory group assesses their usability and alignment with educational objectives, thereby supporting the further implementation of the methods developed. Among other things, the experts emphasised the importance of taking regional dialects into account, ensuring open-access availability of materials, and providing good support for teachers. These recommendations will be taken into account in the project’s further development.
The KraMe project is being carried out as part of the Interreg VI Deutschland-Nederland programme and is co-funded to the tune of €957,666.02 by the European Union, MWIKE NRW and the Provincie of Gelderland.
