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had a proficiency in teaching foreign languages, so they were not solely mother tongue teachers. In some of the subjects the pupils had projects in common e.g. solar energy in physics. Here the aim was to develop solar collectors which should be put up on the roof of the schools. The pupils have discussed the process and the choice of products via e-mail and video-conference and have met personally. In voluntary music two modern compositions were instructed for a Danish-German choir and orchestra and several joint rehearsals were made. Finally two twice two concerts were given, one at each secondary school.
The two foreign languages as subjects were most successful. Here the pupils themselves had chosen the foreign language. So most pupils were positive towards the cooperation. Projects within the subjects art, music and sport also succeeded, though some of the pupils were opposed to cooperation. But on the whole, pupils with no or little knowledge in Danish or German as foreign languages managed to interact in these subjects. In other subjects, such as physics and biology the linguistic barrier was greater because language was a necessity for solving the tasks. The pupils stayed with their own language group and the interaction was almost zero.
The teachers report that they have gained a fruitful knowledge of another school system, and the acqaintance with the new colleagues had been inspiring. It had even led to personal friendships. The feeling of community was widespread among the teachers. The pupils were divided in two groups, a pro and a contra. The positive evaluation was due to the development of communicative competence and international understanding. The negative pupils
mentioned the language barrier and disinterest in partners they had not chosen voluntary. In spite of this, the cooperation has been an eyeopener to intercultural understanding for many pupils. The transboundary cooperation is going to start again in the year 2003 in a reorganized form. A Danish-German line will be established, and the pupils can choose it voluntarily as they can choose between an additional European line, an industrial line, and an IT-line in the Danish school and an additional bilingual German-English line in the German school.
In Latvia, the prejudices and stereotypes towards other national groups and the barrier
between the Latvian and the Russian schools could be broken down by using the same model as this majority model in the Danish-German border region. Though it was put into practice in secondary education it will also be possible in primary education. Furthermore Latvian and Russian could be taught as second languages by native speaking teachers and the pupils could acquire the second language through tandem work between first and second language
speakers.
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language - however, overlapping each other both thematicall and linguistically. The reading-process is integrated in the themes and takes place in the two languages. First one step in the mother tongue then followed by the minority language which is most children’s second language. This learning process is also an advantage for metalinguistic awarenes. The attitude being produced is that the pupils are lucky that they have two languages.
Although the two languages on the whole are separated, the instruction breaks down the limits between the different subjects and the majority language and most children’s first language is no longer just a subject, it is an integrated and important part of instruction. The cooperation between two or more teachers within thematically based instruction also breaks down the isolation of the teachers, differences in professional traditions are clarified and the
pedagogical dialogue between the teachers is a necessity. The attitude to the political, social and educational context is being discussed.
Perspectives
Models and programmes, initiatives and future developments are dependent of the teachers’
commitment. It is determined by their opportunities for development and selfrealization. The bassis for that is confidence by the government and the school in the teachers’ experiments.
Furthermore reduction in lessons for time used for curriculum development and cooperation is a necessity. And in-service teacher training is a must. The teachers have to be qualified for cooperation within subjects and for opening the door of the classroom. They also have to learn to break down the walls between minority and majority schools. Another important thing is knowledge about bilingualism, identity and multiculture. That is the conditions of developing an intercultural education. Its aim is an intercultural society where the
individuals, and not ethnic or national communities as groups, meet each other and have a common interest. They become involved and influenced by the cultural and linguistic diversity.
Intercultural learning is not only a question about minority - majority relations in a society. In an economic globalized world a lot of people spend periods of time in more than one cultural context. Intercultural learning is a general necessity that might be acquired by the introduction of an intercultural dimension across a curriculum. A dimension which is not static, but open to changes in a changing world with Internet, satelite media and new technologies.
The key word in intercultural learning is solidarity or to say it in other words: respect, a sense of community and responsibility for your neighbour and learning to act according to that attitude both at a local as well as at a global level. Solidarity and responsibility are attitudes that exclude ethnocentrism and prejudices, but they include respect for diverse life-styles and belief systems, for linguistic and cultural diversity, all in all for an identity different to one's own.
Ten years ago an in-service teacher training course in intercultural education for majority and minority teachers came into existence in the Danish-German border region.The intention was to let them jointly develop ideas for an intercultural dimension across the curriculum. After one year we had to realize that only the minority teachers were interested in exploring the opportunities for teaching methods for cultural and language awareness leading to an understanding and a wish to maintain cultural and linguistic diversity. May be time was not ripe for such an idea among the majority but it has a future.
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