Renaissance  News  Service  –  a  project  in  a  non-­‐native  language  school    Project  participant  –  Center  Secondary  School  of  Vilnius.  Creative  agent  –  Paulius  Tamolė,  actor.  Creative  practitioner  –  Gabija  Vitkevičiūtė,  communications  specialist.  Coordinating  teacher  –Violeta  Lauciuvienė,  Lithuanian  language  teacher.  Project  participants  –  22  tenth  graders.    

Enquiry  question  

The  project  was  created  to  increase  the  self-­‐esteem  of  non-­‐native  language  speaking  young  people  by   employing   methods   of   journalism,   art   criticism,   communication,   and   by   analysing  multiculturalism  in  Vilnius  during  integrated  lessons.  

Participating  students  had  poor  grades  in  history,  Lithuanian,  and  ethics.  Surveys  revealed  their  low  self-­‐esteem.  These  young  people  did  not  think  they  as  Lithuanian  citizens  could  change  anything  in  their  environment.  

The  project  aimed  to  “awaken”  their  curiosity  by  creating  a  TV  show  in  Lithuanian  and  for  this  goal  involved  teachers  of  Lithuanian,  Russian,  history  and  ethics.  

 Project  activities  

A  half-­‐hour  TV  show  about  Renaissance  in  Vilnius  –  the  project’s  end  result.  It  took  one  full  day  to  film  the  TV  show  in  the  Center  Secondary  School.  Communications  specialist  Gabija  Vitkevičiūtė  and  actor  Paulius  Tamolė  worked  for  half  a  year  to  prepare  non  –  native  language  speaking  students  for  the  filming  in  Lithuanian.    

Vilnius   city   tour.   Project   activities   aimed   to   reveal   the   multicultural   history   of   Vilnius   to   the  teenagers.  A  Lithuanian  guide  gave  participants  a  tour  of  the  town.  Students  became  more  familiar  with   Vilnius   history.   Through   experiential   learning   they   became   aware   of   the   city’s   multicultural  environment  and  the  fact  that  multiple  nationalities  and  religions  co-­‐existed  here  for  centuries.  

A  visit  to  a  newsroom.  The  students  organised  a  press  conference,  visited  the  editorial  office  of  a  popular  online  news  portal,  and  met  the  editors.  During  their  stay,  students  had  the  chance  to  hear  a  different  manner  of  spoken  Lithuanian  than  the  one  they  hear  in  school,  developed  their  spoken  language  comprehension,  prepared  and  asked  questions  in  Lithuanian.  

A   business   woman   of   Russian   background   was   invited   to   the   school,   and   talked   to   students   in  Lithuanian  about  being  Russian   in  Lithuania:  how  she   feels,  how  she   learned  Lithuanian,  and  how  the  development  of  her  business  is  going.  

Gathering   historical   information.   Tenth   graders   gathered   historical   information   and   learned   to  adapt   it   to   and   present   it   as   TV   news.   Students   had   to   re-­‐enact   some   historical   events   and  dialogues.  Participating  tenth  graders  needed  to  read  a  great  deal  of  texts  and  learn  to  adapt  them.  

Though  the  majority  of   the  project’s  creative  activities  had  to  do  with  the  Lithuanian   language,   in  preparation  for  the  filming  of  the  TV  show  lessons  in  three  subjects  –  Lithuanian,  history,  and  ethics  –  were  integrated.  

Getting   acquainted   with   the  etiquette   and   traditions   of   the  Renaissance.  The  ethics   teacher  gave  participating   tenth   graders   an   insight  into   the   etiquette   and   traditions   of  the   Renaissance.   Integrated  Lithuanian   and   history   lessons   were  held   to   discuss   material   about   the  Renaissance   that   was   gathered   by  students  and  teachers.  

Students   learned   to   prepare  information   for   selected   news  sections   (Current   Issues,   Fashion,  Weather,   etc.),   learned   to   present  news,   write   a   classic   message   and  complement   it   with   interesting  historical  facts.  

Project  impact  

At  the  beginning  of  the  project,  the  participating  class,  10a,  was  divided  into  groups  with  very  little  communication   between   them.   After   having   prepared   the   “Renaissance   News   Service”   TV   show  together,  the  teenagers  became  a  friendly  team:  they  sat  at  one  table  at  lunchtime,  created  a  social  media  profile.  

This   project   was   a   method   of   teaching   Lithuanian   to   non-­‐native   speakers.   When   learning   a  language,  all  activities  –  speaking,  listening,  reading,  writing  –  are  equally  important,  and  all  of  them  have   been   used   in   an   interesting   way   to   encourage   student   participation.   The   result:   project  participants  are  now  far  more  comfortable  with  communicating  in  Lithuanian.  

Project  reflections  

“The   project   allowed   students   of   this   class   to   feel   at   home   in   their   city.   By   gathering   historical  material,   writing   news,   they’ve   “tamed”   the   history   of   Vilnius.   They   now   want   to   participate  everywhere.”  Coordinating  teacher  Violeta  Lauciuvienė.  

“All  trips  and  guest  visits  were  organised  with  a  specific  aim  in  mind  –  we  chose  them  as  teaching  methods.   These   activities   helped   develop   all   four   language   skills:   listening,   speaking,   reading   and  writing.”  Coordinating  teacher  Violeta  Lauciuvienė.