Rüth Tack and Grieke Terryn, final-year students at VIVES University of Applied Sciences, completed an internship at a primary school in Masaka, Rwanda. This school teaches pupils from the first year in four languages: Kinyarwanda, Swahili, English, and French. However, the teachers noticed that the pupils struggled to speak these languages fluently. Therefore, the headteacher introduced the subject of ‘debate’.

Debating to learn

Every Friday, the school holds debates in two large groups. One week they debate in French, the next in English, to promote speaking in these two global languages. This subject helps learners express their opinions, and they are sometimes allowed to choose the debate topic themselves. This way, the learners become familiar with various social issues that they discuss with each other.

Inspiration for Flemish Education

Rüth and Grieke found this initiative inspiring and see the potential for applying it in Flanders. The language proficiency of Flemish learners is declining, and this debate subject could offer a solution for both language skills and personal development.

The curriculum of Catholic Education Flanders emphasises not only language development but also cultural and social growth in the subjects of English and French. The aim is to make learners more communicatively competent and to teach them to critically understand and process information. However, in practice, verbal communication is often limited to class discussions. While some years in secondary education include oral exams, the assessment of language skills usually remains within the classroom.

A school could choose to add the subject of debate to encourage learning a new language outside the classroom. One hour each week different classes can come together to debate current topics. The learners are divided into two groups: proponents and opponents. One week they debate in English, the next in French. The learners do not need to prepare anything; everything happens on the spot. This activity takes learners out of their comfort zone and familiarises them with the global languages of French and English, while they learn to substantiate their viewpoints effectively. The assessment of language skills thus extends beyond the classroom.

Video

To introduce this subject to Flemish schools, Rüth and Grieke created a video in which one of the teachers provides additional explanations, combined with footage from practice.

In Suriname, young children are introduced to the letters of the alphabet through sounds and sound gestures. This approach surprised and inspired Merel Homblé and Lotte Tack, two education students from VIVES University of Applied Sciences, during their international internship.

Sound gestures in early childhood education

Merel and Lotte discovered that sound gestures are widely used in both the second and third preschool classes, as well as in the first year of primary school. This method helps young children correctly learn to pronounce and recognise the sounds and corresponding gestures. This visual aid later supports them in learning to write.

The use of sound gestures offers various benefits:

• Improved left-right orientation: 
  Children learn to recognise the difference between left and right from an early age. 
• Support non-native speakers: 
  Children with a different home language can visualise the letters more quickly and easily automate the corresponding sounds.
• Enhancement of hand-eye coordination:
  The use of sound gestures promotes hand-eye coordination.
• Daily repetition: 
  Regular repetition helps learners to remember and apply the sounds and gestures effectively.

‘We want to inspire early childhood teachers in Flanders to teach sounds and sound gestures from an early age, making the transition to learning to read and write in the first year of primary school a bit easier. Therefore, we created a clear and playful video where children can recognise the sounds and sound images in the form of a song. Teachers can also see which sound image corresponds to a particular sound. 

– Merel Homblé and Lotte Tack

Pauline Van Belegem and Vere Bevernage, two final-year students in the Bachelor’s program for primary education at VIVES University of Applied Sciences, completed an internship at a primary school in Suriname in the spring of 2024. During their internship, they participated several times in the ‘Flag Parade’ and witnessed its positive impact on the students. They decided to further explore this topic as part of their eduSHARE project.

The Flag Parade

The Flag Parade is a moment of gathering and unity for the entire school. Students and teachers assemble, observe a moment of silence, sing the national anthem, and thus start the day together in a perfect way.

Link to practice in Belgium

Although Pauline and Vere are convinced of the many positive effects of the Flag Parade, they concluded that this is not feasible in Belgium. Belgium lacks the sense of duty and national unity required for such a ceremony. However, what they do take away from their experience is the importance of unity and the joy of shared activities.

1. Picture book of the month
   
   Every week, all classes come together to thoroughly discuss a picture book. Afterwards, the students return to their classrooms and work on the picture book for a week or even an entire month. This doesn’t have to be a daily activity, but it should certainly be discussed.
   
   The teacher can re-read the story and discuss its meaning. Then, the students, together with the teacher, can come up with activities related to the book, such as crafts, plays, or drawings. At the end of the month, everyone gathers again to discuss what they have done, fostering a sense of connection between the students and the different classes.
    
2. Object of the month
   
   This concept is similar to the previous one but with an object instead. All classes receive an object, such as a flowerpot, a wooden spoon, or a towel, and they work with it.
   
   For example, kindergarteners can paint the flowerpot and plant flowers in it. First graders can creatively explore the word ‘flowerpot’. The sixth grade can make a large scarecrow for the garden. At the end of the month, the classes present their creations to each other.
    
3. Learning a song
   
   Kindergarteners all learn the same song at their own level. At the end of the week, they sing it together. This enhances the energy and unity between the different classes and helps the school grow as a whole.

In 2023, Barbara Vauterin and Lisa-Marie Deman, two final-year students of the Bachelor of Primary Education at VIVES University of Applied Sciences, went to Durban in South Africa. They did a three-month internship at Mthombeni Primary School.

eduSHARE pioneers

As they are one of the pilot students and the eduSHARE flow is going to be further developed, the eNSPIRED team traveled to South Africa together with Justine Pillaert, a teacher trainer at VIVES University of Applied Sciences, to support Barbara and Lisa-Marie in creating their eduSHARE.

Multilingualism in South Africa

After a few weeks, Barbara and Lisa-Marie found out that the way they deal with language in South Africa is different from Belgium.

South Africa has no less than 11 official languages. Apart from English, which is mainly used in public life, such as the media, politics, etc., there are another ten languages: South Ndebele, North Sotho, South Sotho, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Xhosa, isiZulu and Afrikaans. In other words, a country with a multilingual context.

English and Afrikaans are spoken all over the country but for many citizens this is not their first language or home language. For example, in KwaZulu-Natal, the province where Barbara and Lisa-Marie did their internship, the home language of most people is isiZulu.

As they believe in South Africa that good proficiency in the home language ensures that pupils learn better, the language of instruction is the home language of the children in the first three years of primary education. Although there is still room for the home language in the classroom afterwards, the language of instruction is English from the fourth grade onwards.

A mix of isiZulu and English in the classroom

eduSHARE video on home language integration in the classroom 

The integration of the home language at school and the code-switching in the fourth grade is definitely food for thought. With some extra support from the eNSPIRED team, their lecturer from VIVES and a videographer, they interviewed some teachers, the school leader and an education expert on this subject. You can watch the result below.

This eduSHARE was developed by Lise Delbeke and Febe Deschrevel, two final-year students of the educational bachelor of secondary education mathematics and economics at VIVES University of Applied Sciences. During their internship at a secondary school in Rwanda, they interviewed four students about how to get girls more interested in technical education.

Marjolein Guldentops and Ciska Lecluse conducted a duo internship in the preschool classes of Kamwala Primary School in Serenje, Zambia. Their eduSHARE is a product or game (dice) that allows to test and reinforce content diversity, knowledge, and skills. The game is very varied, mainly because when you roll the dice (a mix of a subject, a body part, and a task), you get a wide range of challenges. This creative game can be self-made (possibly with recycled materials) and has a very universal character. It is a didactic tool for teachers, rather than a product that ‘internationalises’ their own education.