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 Buckwheat seed brought the slovenian people to the sunny side of the Alps

LEGEND

Main element: Earth

Language of the original: Slovenian

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

A national tourist slogan “On the sunny side of the Alps” is currently popular in Slovenia. Moreover, buckwheat is still appreciated as a main dish accompanied by sauerkraut Hungarian-style. Please note, buckwheat is appreciated only by Slovenian people. Do not offer it to guests of other nationalities.

Despite their mostly Austro-Hungarian culture (architecture, music, literature, cuisine, etc.) the Slovenians are Slavic people and Slavic people are believed to live in the East and to have come from the East.

So, once upon a time our Slovenian forefathers lived in a country far to the East. Over time, their country became too small for too many people, too crowded, so they set off to find another place to live.

Before they left, the goddess who loved them gave them buckwheat seeds, saying: “Wherever you go, plant this seed. Where it comes up green in three days, there will be your future homeland.”

The Goddess’s seed did not come up on the shores of the Black Sea, on the Polish plains, or in the German mountains, but when they planted it on today’s Slovenian territory it grew green in three days.

Ajda je Slovence prinesla na sončno stran Alp

LEGENDA

Element: Zemlja

Jezik izvirnika: slovenščina

Več o legendi lahko preberete tej povezavi.

Četudi so Slovenci pod vplivom avstro-orgske kulture (arhitektura, glasba, književnost, kuhinja), so slovanskega porekla. Za njih se verjame, da so živeli na vzhodu in da prihajajo z vzhoda.

Tako so nekoč predniki Slovencev živeli daleč na vzhodu. Pa je lepega dne njihova domovina za tako veliko število njih postala pretesna, zato so odrinili drugam.

Preden so šli na pot, jim je boginja, ki jih je imela rada, stisnila v dlan ajdovo seme in rekla: »Kamorkoli boste šli, posadite to seme! Tam, kjer bo čez tri dni zraslo in postalo zeleno, tam bo vaša nova domovina.«

Božičino seme ni vzkalilo na obalah Črnega morja, na Poljskih ravnicah ali v nemških gorah, a ko so ga posadili pri nas, je pognalo v treh dneh.

Kunaver, D. (1998). Slovene folk tales. Ljubljana: Samozaložba.