Oratio Mix teachers training

Oratio mix is a European cooperation project supported by Erasmus Plus. It was launched in 2020, with the aim of working on the issue of intercultural dialogue, eloquence and public expression, through artistic practice.
The project is open to the whole school spectrum, from kindergarten to high school. It proposes the design of new methodological tools aimed at fostering eloquence and the ability to express oneself with the aim of questioning, in class, the intercultural issues of today’s Europe.

The Oratio mix project, which gathers partners from France, Germany, Italy and Portugal, is currently in its implementation phase. After this first test phase, it is now time to train the teachers to implement the methodology!

From 29 October to 1 November, the Oratio Mix teachers training took place in Paris and Le Raincy (France). The company La Transplanisphère welcomed the teachers and representatives involved in the project, in order to allow them to familiarise themselves with the method. The aim will then be for them to implement it in their respective classes, in autonomy.

In this context, we received 23 people, including European teachers and representatives of artistic structures, a nice mix of skills and culture. The objective of these 3 days of training was to present the pedagogical sequence proposed by Oratio Mix, to put it into practice and to exchange the first feedbacks.

The training was led by Bruno Freyssinet, artistic director of the project, and Noémie Laurens Besace, actress and drama teacher, in English and French.

The first day of the meeting took place at the Relais Culture Europe, and it was an opportunity for all participants to meet for the first time!

The programme included a study of the project theory with the presentation of the methodology, the pedagogical tools and the objectives of Oratio Mix in its entirety.
Several presentation sessions took place, in order to answer any questions the teachers might have before the start of the programme.

A first day that took place in a good mood and in a spirit of encounters and exchange!

In the evening, the participants were able to enjoy a trip on a boat on the Seine, in a friendly atmosphere.

The next two days took place at the Albert Schweitzer High School, Le Raincy (93).

On Saturday, 7 students of the Master 2 Intercultural Communication & Project Engineering of the Sorbonne Nouvelle were present. They work all year long on Oratio mix as part of a tutored project led by La Transplanisphere. They will contribute to the survey on intercultural education, to the evaluation of the method’s impact and on the creation of a platform for experience feedback.

Saturday was all about exercises and practice! The teachers had the opportunity to try out the training exercises for a day. This was a must, as they would then have to implement the exercises in class, with their students. At the end of the day, we collected feedback from everyone, and it was time to discuss their feelings and the areas they wanted to improve.

The last day followed the rest of the method.
In the morning, we focused on the content of each sequence. As the methodology is aimed at the whole school spectrum, different modules adapted to the levels are proposed. Group workshops were therefore organised according to school levels, from kindergarten to high school.
The afternoon was the time for exchanges between the teachers. The training managers were present to answer the last questions before the launch of the Oratio mix workshops in autonomy.

These days allowed for a nice mix of cultures and exchanges since teachers and artists from 4 European countries participated in this project. It was a time to exchange on practices, working environments, issues and experiences of each one!

We would like to thank all the teachers and artistic representatives who came to this training. We would also like to thank the Relais Culture Europe and the Albert Schweitzer high school for hosting this sessions.