Achizitii in proiect

230313-CP-1-2006-1-UK-LINGUA-L1PP1 | 2006 –2009

Voices for Inclusion, Voices for Access to Language Learning and Cultural Education

VIVACE is a Lingua 1 Socrates project that aims to make language learning accessible to disadvantaged learners. VIVACE aims to increase confidence and self-esteem, improve social and communication skills and spread the message that “language learning is fun for everyone” to as many social and community providers as possible. At the same time, it also investigates ways in which the barriers of finance and attitude to providing these opportunities can be overcome. This will be achieved through shorter taster sessions rather than full language courses. The tasters will be based on the learners’ own interests and tailored to their particular needs.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Romanian team working in the Vivace project has already organised four project activities. The first one was on the 9th of August and the second was on the30th of August. We selected our target group with the help of Bethany Foundation, an ONG providing social services. Their focus of attention is on orphans and disadvantaged families.

The target group was represented by single parents, persons from families facing financial difficulties and young people from orphanages. Our target language was Italian and the reason for which we chose Italian is the fact that people from this social category often go to Italy to find employment.

At the first meeting we tried to capture their attention by presenting them some images from the most important Italian cities. In the beginning of our presentation of Italy we presented a quote regarding Italian civilization.

Our civilization was born from the intertwining of several cultures, whose opinions on human existence were so different that an enormous historic upheaval accompanied by fanatic faith was needed to create a perennial synthesis. This synthesis consists of elements of different origins   that were transformed and re-interpreted according to the principles of the dominant culture: the culture of a defeated people, the Greeks, brought back to life by a conquering people, the Romans.

Ioan Petru Culianu – Eros and Magic in Renaissance, 1484

The presentation entitled, l’ Italia  uno meraviglioso paese (Italy, a marvellous country), continued with some geographical and historical information on Italy. Before guiding our guests on a visual tour of Italy we offered them an Italian poem by Giuseppe Ungaretti:

Of all these houses/There’s nothing left/But some/Pieces of walls/Of all the things/ That belonged to me/There’s nothing left/Not even tiny pieces/But in my heart/No cross is missing/My heart/The most shattered place.  

We chose this poem because all our guests were persons with shattered hearts.
After we introduced the participants to some elements of Italian culture we offered them the booklets that we produced for the event, booklets containing useful words and expressions in Italian, and we learned some Italian together, including the names of the ingredients needed to cook Spaghetti alla Carbonara, an Italian traditional dish, which we were actually cooking during this activity. At the end the guests also had the chance to taste the delicious spaghetti.

The second activity in the Romanian Vivace sub-project was dedicated to Romanian cuisine. The guests revised the Italian words taught in the previous meeting and they learnt the Italian names for the ingredients needed to prepare "Tochitură moldovenească", a traditional Romanian dish specific to the north-eastern part of Romania. While cooking this Romanian traditional dish they also had the chance to learn how to describe the cooking process in Italian. At the end of the workshop, the guests declared they were satisfied both with the taste of the delicious "Tochitură moldovenească" and with the fact that from that moment on they would be able to describe that Romanian traditional dish to any Italian tourist visiting Romania.

“Andiamo al mercato” activity with the target group from the Bethany Foundation took place on the 18th of July 2008, and it was followed by a picnic activity, also with a target group identified with the help of Bethany Foundation. The guests learned how to name the groceries bought and also how to describe some of the activities going on at a picnic in Italian. They had a brochure specially edited for this sub-project as back-up and learning support.

The fourth activity took place on the 16th of December 2008. The activity included a dialogue between the project coordinators and part of the congregation of the Church of the Saint Martyrs in Iasi, which was selected during the previous stage, dialogue in which they could learn very common words and phrases in Italian; the entire activity was filmed  and followed by a Christmas gifts donation, an activity with the collaboration of the artist Mariea Boz, painting teacher.