MYSTORY – SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE
MYSTORY – SPEAK THEIR LANGUAGE

Summary/Abstract: There has been a tremendous emphasis placed on the difference between teaching and learning foreign languages. Many of us teachers have been made aware of this. Some have even managed to take it in and make it work. But does it all come to a happy ending if we simply focus on learning as opposed to teaching? Are our students better at using foreign languages if we do this? Or is there something more that actually triggers successful foreign language learning and prior contextualized usage. Integrated in our daily life, language has become a much more complex tool than the one being studied in the classroom. There are a number of other aspects and dimensions it connects to in order to become functional. Just like going to the mall is not about visiting the building itself but about buying, socializing, sharing and getting informed, the same dynamics act in the case of foreign languages. Grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation are but the mere structure which provides us with the “can” component. Even though this is a must have it is nonetheless meaningless without the “what” part. “What can I do with that foreign language now that I can use it?” The MyStory project is the WHAT to foreign languages and more. It shows that teaching and learning can be equally important and efficient as long as students have the WHAT in view. MyStory enriches learning not by contextualizing it but by turning life experience into a self-discovery journey. MyStory is about people and the language of their life, the one language we should all look more into to be able to put our foreign language knowledge to good use.

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