Stories from around the World – Greetings from Romania

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Lecturers
Students

Arts & Music

Autonomous learning
Classroom Context

Romanian

Any language

B1
B2

Audio
Guiding resources (online course/book)
Test

Vocabulary

Listening
Speaking
Critical Thinking
Reading

The audio recording and associated text offer an attractive presentation through images and sound of some Romanian cultural data related to arts (monuments, personalities). It also offers a demonstration of the use of authentic contemporary Romanian speech and can be used in the classroom or autonomously. The text and the recording can be used especially by students in the field of Humanities - Arts and Culture.

The 13 students in the preparatory year appreciated the resource “Povești în jurul lumii – Salutări din România/ Stories from around the world ", which was used in an on-site session – however, it can also be used in on-line mode. They considered the test useful and inciting as it offered a large amount of information about Romania, which some considered, however, too much to take in in one lesson and some found it too fast-paced. For most, the lexical items represented the main benefit. They also emphasized the funny, agreeable side of the way information was presented. In their comments they stated that they would not change anything, however, they would choose to have less new vocabulary, even if it helps introducing new content. Our students did not have the level aimed at by the resource (C1, rather A2, so this accounts for their response to the more difficult lexical items), but they were willing to work and, after they were provided additional information and support in English regarding certain terms related to Romanian civilization and culture, they managed to complete the tasks. It can used as a resource for individual learning if the text is adapted (by the lecturer) – for instance, the verbs in the present of the Indicative can be turned into the past tense. It is accessible and friendly from a technical point of view, the colourful images are an element of attraction for the students: their attention and interest were captivated and their interest in finding more about Romania increased. Rînciog Diana Carmen Mirela, Universitatea „Petrol-Gaze” din Ploieşti, Facultatea de Litere şi Ştiinţe, Departamentul Filologie.

Comprehension of oral specialized discourse and related vocabulary, level B1 - B2
1. Warm-up activity: Questions eliciting the students’ knowledge about Romania and its artistic background: What do you know about Romania? Do you know any elements of Romanian culture (e.g. artistic personalities, architectural landmarks)
2. Listening the recording / reading the text
3. Post listening activities Topics for conversation suggested to the students
a. The most frequently used greetings formulas in Romania
b. The map and he flag of Romania
c. architectural styles in Romanian historical buildings
b. Romanian artistic (and scientific) personalities
e. other Interesting facts about Romania
4. Students are invited to talk about elements of their own culture.
5. Assessment (online quiz with key)
Results achieved:
- Improvement of specialized vocabulary in the field of Arts and Culture.
Risks to be taken into account during the use of the resource:
- some terms may belong to (sub)domains unknown to students or to the general language.