4 ELEMENTS

Project logo
Improve the foreign language learning and intercultural competences of adults through e-learning

The project

FOUR ELEMENTS is an initiative called to raise awareness and appreciation of the importance of culture and heritage as well as to train educators working with adult learners who want to improve their skills and competences necessary in today’s EU labour market.

The project will take advantage of the potential of the common European cultural values associated to the 4 elements earth, water, air and fire) to empower adults to improve their digital, foreign language and intercultural competences.

The partnership expects to develop and deliver innovative teaching materials presented in a culturally accessible E-book consisting of European legends and stories – giving visibility to the underlying common EU values and principles, especially adapted to learners with special needs.

To achieved such objectives, partners will develop:

An interactive map: a collection of legends and stories related to earth, water, air and fire, in different EU countries.

Digital Books with national legends and stories related to the four elements.

Methodological recommendations for adult educators.

To find more information, access the Four Elements platform here.

Digital books

The nations of Europe all have rich cultures of myth and folklore which give the different regions their particular individual flavour. Here we have grouped traditional stories from Belgium, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, Slovenia and Spain according to the four elements: earth, air, wind and fire.

They are specially adapted to adult learners and can be used to develop language or ICT skills among your students while enhancing intercultural understanding.

Alongside the stories, this digital book contains interactive exercises and is in Easy Read format. All the material in it can be downloaded and printed. Teachers and trainers will find tips and suggestions for how to use it on the Recommendations section of this site.

European partnership

Four Elements is an Erasmus+ KA204 project designed to highlight the importance of culture and heritage at European Union level. It aims to train educators working with adult learners to enable them to acquire the skills and competences, including linguistic and digital skills and competences, required in the European labour market.

The project is coordinated by : CVO EduKempen (Belgium). The partnership also includes DomSpain Consulting (Spain), The Central Library of Võru County (Estonia), Les Apprimeurs (France), Istituto dei Sordi di Torino (Italy), Slovenian Third Age University (Slovenia), MyArtist (Greece).

Erasmus+ project

Erasmus logo The European Commission's support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

The Witch's Golden Hairbrush

LEGEND

Main element: Water

Language of the original: Catalan

To find more information about the legend, access the Four Elements platform here.

Once upon a time, there was a family living in a farm near a small village called Argentona. Every day, the daughter milked the cows and the parents travelled to Mataró, a town nearby, to sell it. The girl was engaged to a boy. Very often, he visited her at the farm and some days he stayed the night there. One day, when the father and the mother were selling the milk in that town, the daughter’s fiancé went to look for them so that they could go back to the farm together. On the way back, it started to rain heavily and as wild water was running down, the place quickly flooded and dragged the parents and the girl’s fiancé down towards the sea.

When the girl found it out, she decided to leave the farm, give it, together with the cows, to the poor and move near Burriac with her aunt, who turned out to be a witch.

The aunt loved her niece very much and as a prove of that love she gave her a magic golden comb.

After a long time, the girl went to live alone, but still close to Burriac. She used to attend witches’ gatherings, where they practiced witchcraft, and rites where they threw goat’s hair in large potions to call for rain and bad weather. People called her the Good Woman as she did not want bad weather because of the accident happened to her parents. So, every time she found out the other witches were doing witchcraft with goat’s hair to call the rain, she stopped the rain magically, and only during the dry season, she gathered the clouds in Burriac to send them to Argentona, so that people could harvest. People from the area started using the saying “Clouds in Burriac, rain soon”.

La bruixa de la pinta d'or

LEYENDA

Elemento: Agua

Idioma original: Catalán

Para más información sobre la leyenda, accede a la plataforma de 4element aquí.

Había una vez una familia que vivía en una granja dónde tenían vacas. La hija, que ya era más mayor, las ordeñaba y sus padres iban a vender la leche cada día cerca de Mataró, por Argentona. La joven estaba prometida con un chico y él, la iba a ver a la granja y muchos días se quedaba hasta el día siguiente. Un día, el padre y la madre fueron como siempre a vender la leche y el prometido de su hija fue a buscarlos para ir todos juntos de vuelta a la granja. Durante el camino de vuelta, empezó a llover muy fuerte y la riera se llenó rápidamente, arrastrando a los padres y al prometido de la joven, riera abajo hacia el mar. La chica cuando se enteró de la desgracia decidió que ya no quería seguir viviendo en la granja así que la donó junto a las vacas a los pobres y se marchó cerca de Burriac, a vivir con su tía, que resultó ser una bruja. Su tía bruja quería mucho a su sobrina y un día le regaló un peine de oro que era mágico.

Pasó mucho tiempo y la chica ya se fue a vivir sola también cerca de Burriac. Muchas veces asistía a unas reuniones que hacían unas brujas y dónde ellas tiraban unos pelos de cabra para llamar al mal tiempo. La Buena Mujer, como ahora llamaban a la joven, no quería que hubiera mal tiempo en Argentona, así que cuando las brujas tiraban pelos de cabra para que lloviera, ella hacía que no lloviera, y en época de sequía reunía las nubes en Burriac y las llevaba a Argentona, de aquí el refrán popular "Núvols a Burriac, pluja aviat" (Nubes en Burriac, lluvia pronto).

Hernàndez, J. P. (2002). Llegendes de Catalunya. Barcelona: Baula Edicions.