Strategic Plan for Internationalisation
Considering that the new socio-educational scenarios give the international dimension pre-eminence in training and educational actions, the IIS ‘Quinto Orazio Flacco’ intends - with this Plan - to define its formative role in international education, creating educational experiences that prepare pupils to become citizens of a multicultural Europe, favouring mobility projects abroad and international cooperation aimed at strengthening the European identity of its pupils (for an active and responsible citizenship).
Moreover, having a strong vocation for innovation and experimentation, which has always allowed it to react promptly to changes in the educational context, the IIS ‘Quinto Orazio Flacco’ intends to strengthen its long tradition of exception in adopting measures and actions aimed at training all members of its school staff (Headmaster, Administrative Manager, teachers and ATA staff).
The Strategic Mission of our Institute
The architecture of the internationalisation programme of IIS ‘Quinto Orazio Flacco’ concerning
the last five-year period has strengthened the process of the international opening of educational pathways through the actions listed below.
For learners :
Language certifications of level :
B2/C1 for the English language, issued by Cambridge Assessment English;
Dele B2/C1 for the Spanish language, issued by the Cervantes Institute on behalf of the Spanish Ministry
Spanish Ministry of Education;
Delf B2 for the French language, issued by the French Ministry of National Education;
A1/A2 for the German language, issued by the Goethe Institut.
- CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) teaching paths that promote the enhancement and strengthening of language skills. Aiming at the integrated teaching of language and content, the CLIL courses, which start in the first year of the second two-year period, aim to build intercultural knowledge and insight between the various disciplines. They are particularly privileged in our institute since Clil activities are a fundamental requirement for students to access the Certilingua certificate. It should be emphasised that the Clil project plan is drawn up by the class council, which identifies the discipline(s) and content(s) to be offered in one of the foreign languages that make up the class curriculum.
- CertiLingua® project (Excellence Label of Plurilingual and International Competences) which aims to promote international/European cooperation in our Institute. Born from the initiative of the Ministers of Education of various countries in the field of cross-border cooperation to meet the need for an international certificate to support multilingualism and student mobility, CertiLingua® certifies the students' ability to interact in an international context in two or more languages, in addition to their mother tongue. It is a true ‘European Certificate of Excellence’ that constitutes an ‘added value’ to the State Diploma, by virtue of an international agreement, both to incentivise excellent results in linguistic and intercultural competences, and to facilitate access to foreign universities and to the various work environments, in anticipation of an increasingly accentuated European mobility. The project envisages the awarding of an acknowledgement to secondary school students who, at the end of the training course and by means of appropriate documentation, prove that they meet the following requirements :
- Language skills of at least level B2 or higher of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, ascertained by an internationally recognised certifying body, in at least two languages other than their mother tongue;
- Attendance of CLIL courses in one or more non-language subjects for a minimum of 70 hours in the last two years;
- European Citizenship skills acquired through participation in international cooperation projects (in our Institute, therefore, international cultural exchanges, language stages, Imun et Muner projects / long-term study abroad - three-monthly, six-monthly, annual) are encouraged.
It should be noted that our Institute is part of the Campana Certilingua Network, contributing to the recognition of the importance of the project with a significant number of annual applications:
6 (a.s. 2018/19); 12 (a.s. 2019/20); 7 (a.s. 2020/21); 5 (in both a.s. 2021/22 and a.s. 2022/23); 3 (a.s. 2023/24).
- IMUN and MUNER (NY) projects, which aim to foster global understanding, cultural diversity and global citizenship among students;
- Language internships abroad, intended for third and fourth-year students, in order to enable them to strengthen foreign language skills and acquire intercultural competences;
- Adhesion to projects and initiatives of Italian and European Universities and Bodies having as their objectives the learning of foreign languages and the development of the European dimension of the school (National Championship of Languages - University of Urbino / European day of languages promoted by the European Commission);
- Projects on the Etwinning network and Esep platform, with the aim of encouraging twinning with foreign school institutions as an opportunity for pupils to develop language and digital skills and the awareness of belonging to a multicultural community. In our Institute, all etwinning projects have been awarded the National Quality Label / European Quality Label. In 2019-2022, the Institute was awarded the eTwinning School Label. The implemented and awarded projects are shown in Table A, which is an integral part of this document.
- International learning mobility projects for pupils, through our Institute's participation in Erasmus partnership projects KA229 (Ready for Europe - Convention n 2018-1-DE03-KA229-047407; YoungstEUrs - Convention 2020-1-De03- Ka229-077535); The mobility partners were; United Kingdom, France, Germany, Portugal, Romania and Italy.
- International Cultural Exchanges. The transnational mobility dimension is among the strategic priorities of our Institute. Since the success of the first cultural exchange carried out in cooperation with the Lycée International ‘Ferney-Voltaire’ of Ferney (France), in the year 2020, the planning of project experiences aimed at learner mobility has become a constant in the educational policy of the IIS ‘Quinto Orazio Flacco’, which has taken as one of its founding values the overcoming of monolithic cultural uniformities and has chosen as an architectural form of language teaching the educational itinerary that promotes education to multiculturalism in a perspective of cooperation with other institutes from other countries. The project ‘The Food and Eating Habits of the Ancient Romans and Germanic Peoples’ carried out in cooperation with the Gymnasium in Bad Nenndorf in the school year 2023-24 is an example of this. It combined the reading and analysis of literary texts (in Latin) with the reading and analysis of archaeological sources in the two cooperating countries as representative of local identity.
- Reception of foreign pupils moving to our country. Our Institute supports the formation of an educational environment that promotes constant comparison with other cultural realities. Two initiatives are therefore emphasised :
- Short-term study experiences of pupils from abroad. They are intended as a privileged tool for the growth and development of all school components, stimulated to open up to the knowledge of languages and cultures other than our own. In school year 2023-24, two French-speaking students, one from Belgium / the other from Normandy (France), were hosted in two third classes of the Liceo linguistico for the duration of a term.
- hosting foreign pupils in mobility from Erasmus+ countries.
In February 2024, 10 pupils from the Colegiul Economic ‘lon Ghica’ in Târgoviste (Dâmbovita- Romania) participated in the didactic-educational activities proposed in the classes that welcomed them.
- Reception of foreign expert teachers for training activities :
- From 18 to 22 December 2022, our Institute hosted Prof. Sandro De Gregorio, a lecturer at the Col.legi Diocesà Santiago Apòstol in Cabanyal (València), for a teaching project designed to promote a new vision of learning that - in line with the paradigms of our digital age - enhances extended reality technologies. The project consisted of 5 workshop interventions (2 sessions of 2 hours each, in each class involved), aimed at stimulating learning motivation, encouraging self-regulation of learning, stimulating reflection on procedures (meta-cognition).
- 22 February 2023: the head teacher and the coordinator of the Erasmus+ programme of the ‘IES Velasquez’ institute in Seville, visiting our institute for job shadowing activities, gave our pupils a lecture on ‘Andalusian culture and traditions’.
For school staff :
- International mobility projects funded by the Erasmus+ programme and aimed at strengthening the European dimension and quality of teaching, through professional development, language learning, sharing and transferring best teaching practices. The following actions were carried out :
Job shadowing - Structured courses :
- Erasmus+ project ‘E.E.T - EuroEducation and EuroTeachers’ - Convention no. 2019-1-IT02-KA101-061274 : the job shadowing activities carried out in France included the experimentation of new didactic approaches in foreign language learning and the strengthening of knowledge of European administrative and management procedures / the structured course on language in Portugal was aimed at experimenting new didactic approaches and new strategies to make foreign language learning more engaging;
- Erasmus+ Project Convention no. 2022-1-IT02-KA121-SCH-000054878 : both the job shadowing activities carried out in France and the structured courses held in Ireland and Finland focused on innovative teaching methods.
- Erasmus+ Project Agreement No. 2023-1-IT02-KA121-SCH-000114637 : English language course for teachers with language skills level A2/B1 / structured course in English language around the theoretical foundations, methodologies and techniques of Artificial Intelligence for teachers with language skills corresponding to level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference.
- Hosting of foreign teachers and experts for observation activities and sharing of teaching practices and methodologies (job shadowing)
- From 10 to 14 February 2023, our Institute hosted 4 French inspectors who, as part of the job shadowing activities, observed our operating methods, focusing on aspects of assessment (Clil / Emile / PCTO / Civic Education / UDA competences second classes / Invalsi / Credits in the Three-year BA classes / PTOF / RAV-RS / SNV), inclusion (PAI / PDP / PEI), and ICT- PNSD.
- From 9 to 11 February 2023, 3 teachers from the Colegiul Economic ‘lon Ghica’ of Târgoviste (Dâmbovita- Romania), participated in the didactic-educational activities proposed in the classes that welcomed them.
- From 21 to 27 February 2023, the head teacher and the coordinator of the Erasmus+ programme of the ‘IES Velasquez’ Institute in Seville, attended our lessons in Mathematics/Physics, Italian Letters/English Language and shared their methodological experiences as well as the organisation of the curriculum in their Institute.
- From 9 to 11 October 2024, two teachers from the I.E.S. ‘Emilio Ferrari’ of Valladolid were hosted at our Institute for a job shadowing experience in the Greek classes of the Liceo Classico and in the Spanish Language classes of the Liceo Linguistico. The experience favoured the achievement of the following results:
- The comparison between different educational systems and different teaching strategies;
- The promotion of the use of languages as a tool for communication and research.
- The enhancement of pluralism and multiculturalism as key elements for the enrichment of European identity.
- Active participation in the online community of European eTwinning teachers / webinars and seminars offered
- Participation in European (and non-European) initiatives to celebrate Francophonie week.
The Strategic Vision of our Institute
The educational philosophy of the IIS ‘Quinto Orazio Flacco’ envisages, for the year 2024-25, expanding its international portfolio through the implementation of the following projects
Etwinning projects
1. Overcoming nomophobia / Vaincre la nomophobie / Overcoming nomophobia
in collaboration with IES Atenea of Ciudad Real (Spain)
*Objectives : to train pupils to identify the signs and symptoms of nomophobia to understand the causes and negative effects of excessive dependence on mobile phones / to introduce and motivate participation in recreational activities that do not involve technology / to facilitate self-assessment and critical reflection on personal mobile phone use and its impact on daily life
*Languages spoken : French / Spanish
*Class involved : IIH /
* Referring teacher : Prof. Anna Rapacciuolo
2. Green your games
in collaboration with Turkey, Tunisia, Romania
* Objectives : To create a more widespread and effective ecological awareness through games / to accustom participants to adopting responsible eco-sustainable behaviour
* Vehicle language: English
* Class involved : IIM
* Contact teacher : Prof. Marina La Posta
International cultural exchanges :
1. Romans and Germanic peoples : military life
in collaboration with the Gymnasium of Bad Nenndorf (Germany)
* Objectives : to train pupils to select and use sources and documents / to develop the ability to make personal interpretations
* Vehicle language: English
* Class involved : Third C
* Referring teacher : Prof. Lucia Menichelli
2. Voies de migration / voix de femmes
in collaboration with the Lycée François Rabelais de Chinon, Orléans
* Objectives : Through the reading and analysis of literary works (Anglophone and Francophone), the learners will reflect on the risks and dangers of female migration, the experiences of integrating migrant women in the host country, and the social phenomena emerging from the interactions between different cultures.
* Vehicle language : French
* Classes involved : IVH / VH
* Referring teacher : Prof. Immacolata Paparo
3. Goethe's Italian Journey
In collaboration with the Gymnasium Nordenham (Germany)
* Objectives : combining cultural impressions and arts (figurative / literature)
* Vehicular languages : German / English
* Class involved : Fourth E
* Referring teacher : Prof. Roberta Borrelli
4. Cinema and Democracy
in collaboration with IES Velazquez (Seville)
* Objectives : To educate to democratic values through cinematography
* Vehicular languages : Spanish/English
* Classes involved : IIH / IIG
* Teachers involved : Prof.ssa Maria Carrozza, Prof.ssa Rosanna Chieffo
Finally, supervision of the internationalisation programme is envisaged in order to ensure the achievement of the objectives envisaged by the international portfolio activities. Therefore, the following actions are identified as functional to the programme :
Organizational
- monitoring of experiences and activities addressed to students and staff
- completion of the ‘Internationalisation’ section of the website;
- communication and dissemination of the results within the school community and the territory.
addressed to the Staff (teachers and administrative staff)
- surveys of staff training needs;
- self-updating through ‘cascade’ training by teachers and staff who have participated in mobility and job shadowing experiences.
addressed to trainees :
- surveys of trainees' training needs;
- implementation of authentic tasks and civic education paths aimed at promoting European key competences;
- individual mobility experiences abroad;
- PCTO experiences in transnational mobility.