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.

My umbrella can turn into a balloon

FAIRY TALE

Main element: Air

Language of the original: Slovenian

Date of origin: 1955

Author: Ela Peroci

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

Jelka is a little girl who lives in town and does not go to school, yet. She is imaginative and playful. Most of the time she lives in her imaginary country called Klobučarija (Hatland). This is a beautiful country where children can play without constraints as much as they want. The adult members of Jelka’s family are waiting for Jelka to come back from her unreal country, but Jelka is a dreamy girl with two worlds: the real one and the other one, the unreal world to which she is taken by her umbrella. She can be in each of them at any time while all the time adults have to remain in just one world forever. The story is about adult and child ego states. Adults have contaminated their child ego state and therefore are not able to be emotional, imaginative and creative any more. They have difficulties playing with children and expressing their emotions. They may like their children to be imaginative and playful, but at the same time they are eager to see them grow up and become responsible adults.

Moj dežnik je lahko balon

PRAVLJICA

Element: Zrak

Jezik izvirnika: slovenščina

Datum nastanka: 1955

Avtor: Ela Peroci

Več o legendi lahko preberete tej povezavi.

Jelka je deklica, ki živi v mestu. V šolo še ne hodi. Rada in veliko se igra in živi v svojem izmišljenem svetu, v deželi, ki se imenuje Klobučarija. To je lepa dežela, kjer se otroci lahko igrajo, kolikor jim srce poželi. Odrasli člani Jelkine družine čakajo, da se Jelka vrne iz svoje namišljene dežele, a Jelka je sanjava in ima kar dva svetova; resničnega in namišljenega. Še več, njen balon je njen namišljeni svet, kamor lahko zmeraj odide, medtem ko morajo odrasli za zmeraj ostati v svojem resničnem svetu. To je zgodba o spopadu dveh ego stanj, ego stanja otroka in odraslega. Včasih odrasli zgubijo ego stanje otroka in niso več čustveni, ustvarjalni, nimajo domišljije. Težko jim je igrati se z otroki in izraziti čustva. Morda imajo radi, da so otroci igrivi in imajo domišljijo, a hkrati si želijo, da bi postali odgovorni odrasli.

Peroci, E. and Stupica, M. (2018). Moj dežnik je lahko balon. 8th ed. Ljubljana: Mladinska knjiga.