Analysis on the visit in Hungary/English version/

Analysis of questionnaires and survey, carried out to evaluate the 2^nd working meeting in Mako, 22^nd- 28^th September, 2011

Parents` and local community members` viewpoint

   The visit has been discussed in detail with family members, relatives, friends and neighbours . According to them , the students have been strongly impressed and influenced by what they  experienced – crossing borders, the extremely warm and well-organised reception , the good relationships among partners, the interesting and meaningful events and activities and especially by The Invisible exhibition where they stepped in the shoes of blind people.

  All answers to the question whether the visit has changed the kids in a way are affirmative. The visit has changed the kids for the better. It has made them more responsible, willing to overcome, to beat hardship and difficulties in general, more self-assured and respectful of other people` s  opinions,  culture and lifestyle. It has also enriched their general culture and broadened their minds.

  The participants in the survey and especially the parents are introduced to the main ideas and aims of the project. They regularly read the information in both the project and the school websites.

  The general conclusion is that students` participation in international projects is of great benefit for mainly:

-         Improving speaking skills in English and communicative skills in general;

-         Enriching students` general culture, broadening their minds and horizons;

-         Overcoming communication difficulties – students speak more openly to parents, teachers, classmates, people from other countries, ethnic groups and religions;

-         Raising students` responsibility to tasks assigned;

-         Students` ability to deal with unusual situations, alone, without their parents/ incl. dealing with their budget/.

-         Enhancement of motivation and initiative, participation in activities, striving for improvement and self-expression;

-         Openness to the world and the European initiatives.

The students have visibly become more tolerant to everything around them.  The project has influenced their upbringing in a good, positive way and helped them develop their intellectual interests.

  Parents wish work on projects could go on. They appreciate teachers` work and relate their gratitude for the opportunities given to their children.

Students` opinions

  All the students are extremely satisfied that they have succeeded in dealing with unusual situations alone, taking responsibility, “handling themselves”, that they have learned to work with people from other cultures ,ethnic groups and religions, people with different viewpoints and way of life. They have also learned to respect differences, to be more tolerant and work in international teams.

   What they say about their partners is that they are

-         Friendly and polite;

-         Different in cultural backgrounds and lifestyle but their interests are alike – the interests of all young people in the world;

-         “COOL” and the time spent with them is unforgettable.

They all think the Hungarian school is big, beautiful and interesting. The Hungarian partners know how to work and have fun as well.

   As for the advantages and shortcomings of working in a team and an international team, despite differences at times, they learned to understand and respect others` opinions and mutual work brought them great satisfaction.

The advantages and strengths are that they have learned to work together with other people. They found out the Bulgarian slogan “Unity means power” to be true. And though a team needs time to become a good one, they all think that if everybody follows the motto/maxim/ “One for all, all for one”, they can climb mountains together. All the above counts for work in both national and international teams. Everybody agrees that it is necessary to learn foreign languages as they help communicate better with the rest of the members on the international team. Everybody should have at least language competences at working level, especially knowledge of the working language of the project, English in our case.

   What students experienced exceeded their expectations. Some say that although Mako proved to be smaller than they had expected it turned to be a great town, better for living than big cities. All students define their experiences with the partners from Hungary and Poland as “unique” and “unforgettable” and would like to repeat them.

Teachers` viewpoint

  Teachers` opinion coincides with that of students and their parents, relatives and friends. Despite the workload and many responsibilities, they have also improved communicative and IT skills, exchanged useful experience with colleagues from other countries and education systems. Relationships with their students improved, moving on to higher, more productive levels and they are convinced in the benefits of such projects.