COMUNICArte: A welcoming school programme for immigrants developed at museums and other urban and natural spaces

Abstract

One of the most remarkable teaching objectives of the school welcoming programmes for immigrants is designing new methodologies and innovative proposals in order to develop students´ linguistic, communicative and intercultural competences. COMUNICArte is a school program focused on the use of the Fine Arts Museums, historical buildings and other spaces such as libraries, art galleries, gardens and parks as didactic resources. The activities have been designed by the author bearing in mind student´s target language level and age. The activities are related not only to language acquisition but art, natural and social science, music and literature. Social, cultural and educational integration are promoted as well as tolerance and racism refusal. COMUNICArte is aimed at students of the welcoming classrooms in Primary and Secondary schools who present specific necessities. All the activities have been planned attending to the use of one sense: sight, hear, smell, touch and taste forming five different blocks. This program pretends to improve the students´ linguistic skills, to favor a curricular approach thus a cultural and artistic awareness. Creativity, connection with the community, critical thinking, cross-curricularity and task-based projects are some other pillars on which COMUNICArte rests.