“As the world seeks new paths to peace and development, we must release the power of culture and cultural diversity. Arts education is one of the keys to unlocking this potential, for the benefit of all. Art and creation must take their rightful place at the heart of society”
- Ms. Irina Bokova, Director-General, UNESCO
Our Mission
InterACT English gGmbH is a leading practitioner and advocate of arts-integrated language education. We believe that the arts and intercultural exchange aid students in developing the sensibilities required to perceive, interpret, reflect and inscribe their experience of the world.
Our work reflects our conviction, experience and research which demonstrates that the teaching and learning of traditional ‘core’ subjects, like English, can be greatly enhanced when combined with creative projects and immersive language experiences.
Our Mission: is to provide all students, regardless of their social-economic or educational background, access to cultural education, foreign languages, cultural exchange and the arts.
Our Vision: Through this engagement, we seek to develop pupils’ tolerance for cultural diversity, international communication skills, to foster an appreciation of the arts and to help students become conscientious global citizens.
“Arts Integration is an approach to teaching in which students construct and demonstrate understanding through an art form. Students engage in a creative process which connects an art form and another subject area and meets evolving objectives in both.”
— The Kennedy Center, US National Arts Center
ARTS INTEGRATION
What exactly is arts integration and why does it matter to English education?
Learning in and through the arts is an effective way to draw on students creativity, interests and desire to communicate. We’ve seen that combining creative project work and the English language motivates students to communicate in English and empowers them to express themselves in an art form.
There is a growing body of research that links the efficacy of multi-disciplinary learning approaches, especially those which engage students emotions, to student achievement, both in terms of test scores but also in the development of core social competencies and collaborative behaviours. The arts are a great way to get students emotionally engaged in the subject.
Arts Integration is not about training students to become artists. Rather it is about introducing students to artistic habits-of-mind, like: innovative thinking, creative problem solving and collaborative team work. Skills, that along with their English, will serve them in the future.
OUR ENGAGEMENT
We work in three engagement areas. Student programs, Professional Development for Teachers and Educational Initiatives. By working together at all levels of education from classrooms to teacher training centres to initiatives with private and government funders we seek to provide contact and context for our unique approach to teaching and learning.
OUR IMPACT
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVES
We bring our mission to life in educational projects and initiatives across Europe. Working with a range of funding and operative partners we develop and facilitate programs for underserved and at risk groups.
THE REPUBLIC OF URBANA w/ SchlaU-Schule Munich & Alan Brooks
The Republic of Urbana is a cooperation between SchlaU-Schule which is a part of the Trägerkreis Junge Flüchtlinge e. V. and InterACT English gGmbH, along with Alan Brooks, renowned choreographer and director of „Tanz in bayerischen Schulen“. The annual project includes a series of in-school workshops with students focused on an exploration of culture and its diverse meanings and representations. The focus of the workshops is to ‘re’-invent the artefacts, rituals, art forms, stories and traditions of the lost Urbana culture.
LEAP - InterACT Film Festival
For four years InterACT worked with schools in NRW and Berlin on English short film projects. Focused around an annual theme like Territory, Futures 2050, or What Unites us & Divides Us - LEAP brought professional filmmakers and actors into over 20 parter schools to work with 400 students in making high quality original short films in English.
interact.online
In March 2020, COVID-19 forced schools across the world to close. With dozens of projects scheduled and thousands of students expecting a creative English program, the InterACT team got busy developing digital alternatives. Launching an English Filmmaking and Creative Writing course in a matter of weeks. This digital pilot program has led to the development of interact.online a platform (in development) focused on creating and supporting the development of high quality digital content in cultural education.
