Inclusive Teaching and Language Friendly Learning: Completion of the European Project Inclusive School Hub (ISH)

From 10-12 January, 2024, director of the Rutu Foundation, Ellen-Rose Kambel travelled to Athens for the final conference of the EU-funded Inclusive School Hub-project. She was accompanied by Yvette van der Kolk, educator of newly arrived migrant children at the Huibersschool, one of the 8 certified Language Friendly Schools from Amsterdam. The trip to Athens marked an enriching experience of exchanging ideas and perspectives on inclusive teaching. 

The Inclusive School Hub project is an initiative to develop guidance and support tools for teachers and schools on diversity and inclusion in the classroom to improve the teaching practices. It brought together the Rutu Foundation, the German School of Athens (DSA), and the 11th Primary School of Pafos (Cyprus), along with the project leader Dimitrios Vlachopoulus from Skills Up Training. 

Embracing Inclusive Teaching Practices

At the conference organized by the German School of Athens, Dimitrios Vlachopoulus delivered a meaningful talk on the intricacies of inclusive teaching practices, highlighting the importance of creating accessible learning environments and welcoming students from all backgrounds. The collaborative research of the project team on inclusive learning environments brought the opportunity to share ideas and have meaningful discussions on the impact of these environments on student engagement and success.

Educators had the chance to learn about the importance of developing intercultural competence and creating language-friendly school environments. As Dimitrios Vlachopoulus explains, “In our increasingly interconnected world, the ability to understand and navigate different cultural dynamics within the classroom is not just an asset but a necessity. It prepares our students for a globalized future and fosters a culture of mutual respect and understanding”.  

Language Friendly School-concept

Ellen-Rose Kambel provided an introduction of the Language Friendly School-concept – a quality label for schools where all languages are welcomed and valued in the whole school. Yvette van der Kolk explained why and how her school joined the Language Friendly School and highlighted the various activities their school has undertaken since becoming a member. For instance, all children and teachers create language portraits – indicating which languages they speak and what their relationship is to the language. This gives teachers valuable insights into the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of their students and allows them to align their classroom activities with the knowledge and interest of their students.The portraits are hung up outside the classroom, so it is clear for everybody which languages are spoken in each class.

The Huibersschool-library also boasts a comprehensive collection of books in different languages, allowing children to read in their home language, along with Dutch. 

 

 

 

 

 

The colleagues from Cyprus presented compelling insights on how they implemented the knowledge they acquired from the training session on inclusive teaching hosted by the Huibersschool in Amsterdam, last June. Among others, at the European Day of Languages in September, the school celebrated all the languages present.

Beyond the conference room, being able to visit the German School of Athens and learning about their bilingual education concept (German/Greek) with the beautiful city of Athens in the background was a fascinating experience. 

All the project outcomes, including a Guide on Inclusive Teaching and a gamified e-learning course (Escape Room) are freely available on the website.

The ISH-project is the fourth Erasmus+ (E-funded) project in which the Rutu Foundation successfully participated. Language Friendly Schools are always invited to join the project and exchange knowledge on inclusive language friendly learning. Visit the link to find out how your school can join as well.

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