2nd ASIA-EUROPE CLASSROOM (AEC)
INTERNATIONAL TEACHERS' CONFERENCE

PROJECT EVALUATION FORM

NAME OF PROJECT
Ndolalak and Hambo
a cultural exchange between Sweden and Indonesia

NAME OF PROJECT CO-ORDINATORS
Ulla Dahlstrom (Sweden) and Nikmah Nurbaity (Indonesia)

NAME OF PROJECT MEMBERS
In Sweden, Torbjom Larsson and Jan Wickleus are both active as project coaches for the students actively taking part in the project. Torbjom Larsson is also the web master and Internet expert for the project.
At Senior High School 7 in Purworejo, Bambang Him, Setyo Mulyaningsih, and Widyas tuti are engaged in the project. All of them teach English. Bambang Him is a teacher of computer science as well.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION (OBJECTIVES AND CONTENT OF THE PROJECT)
Our project deals with culture in its various forms in Java and Sweden. The title refers to the names of two dances that may symbolise cultural life in the two regions/countries. Our students in Bollnas and Purworejo have worked with studies on the main elements of cultural life in Java and the province of Halsingland in Sweden.

• The students of the Swedish culture class have all got their own e-mail addresses making it possible to be in contact with the students in Purworejo. They have also been instructed about the ways of communication by ICT. The students on both sides will work in pairs as well as in groups. We think that it is most important to develop a motivation for them to communicate not only by sharing the outcome of their studies but also to exchange ideas and opinions by e-mail on a more personal level.

• The first theme of studies has been:
"Everyday life and customs in Sweden and Java."
A detailed list of assignments has been distributed among students in the two schools. The aim of this theme is twofold: (1) to learn about everyday life in a country that the students may not be very familiar with, (2) to make students of two different schools familiar with each other. The aim is to develop both their knowledge about the faraway country and their interest in communicating with a "pen-friend" in a faraway country.

• Each student in Purworejo and Bollnas will produce one page about a subject chosen among a list of optional subjects (what we eat, favourite sports, leisure time activities among young people, priority of interests among young students, marks of transition from childhood to adolescence and from adolescence to adultness, the opinions of young people on the most severe global problems, how young people describe their life-situation just now, the media interest among young people, the plans of young students for their future, their favourite subjects at school just now, their opinions on school work and their conceptions of an ideal teacher.

• Studies on handicraft (textile and wooden craft in Java and Sweden. The Swedish students have focused their interest upon handicraft traditions in northern Sweden - textile as well as wooden handicraft. Also old traditions concerning building of farm-houses have been of interest. In this region, people used to wear folk-costumes, specific for each village. Also these traditions have been studied by the Swedish students.

HOW DID YOU AND YOUR GROUP MEMBERS BENEFIT FROM YOUR PROJECT?
The main topics of our studies have been:
• everyday life and customs
• religious traditions and ceremonies and their impact on everyday life
• craft (especially wooden and textile crafts)
• folk-art, folk-music, folk-dancing
• regional literature (especially tales and poems brought from one generation to another by oral tradition)

The objects (aims) of the project:
• Learning about cultural varieties in Java and Sweden with an aim of making friends and developing understanding, respect, and positive attitudes.
• Learning more about teaching and learning methods in the two countries.
• Learning how to communicate with young friends in a faraway country.
• Preparing a future exchange of students between the two schools.

DESCRIBE THE PROCESS OF COMPLETING YOUR PROJECT
We will continue to complete the theme studies included in the project plan. We will also make a summary of the studies we have carried through.

DIFFICULTIES FACED DURING THE COMPLETION OF YOUR PROJECT
One difficulty is the differences with the time of each country's school year and each country's holidays.We start our schools on different dates (months) and stop the school year at different time as well.
That means that when our school is working at the most, then the school in Java is on holiday and on the contrary. Because of that we have had very short effective time together to be able to send our mails and results to each other.
It also took its time to arrange for the students to get their e-mail address and to start sending mails to each other.
It's important to give the pupils involved enough time to work with the different tasks and sometimes the time has been too occupied by "ordinary" school work, which has delayed the work with the project. In the beginning it was difficult to know if what we had sent to Java had reached them as we got no confirmation within reasonable time and the Java school had the same problem with us. That "problem" we have almost solved by now when I as the co-ordinator has asked all involved to confirm everything as soon a possible

PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES
Indonesia (Java) and Sweden

PARTICIPATING STUDENTS
There are only two schools involved in the project:
• Senior High School 7 in Purworejo on Java (Indonesia) "
• Torsbergsgymnasiet in Bollnas, Halsingland (Sweden)

The students involved in the project are of the same age - about 18-19 years old. They are all students of a secondary high school. They are all well motivated for this project work. The Swedish class of students (17 students) belong to a culture class, interested in cultural studies (art, literature, music, dance, traditions, cultural history).

HOW DID THE STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM YOUR PROJECT?
One effect of a project work like this is learning about a culture that is not your own. Learning about life and work of people who live far away from you own country may broaden your vision and your perspective.
Another effect of the project work is getting experience of communicating with people who live far away from your own country.

So far, we have worked with the following themes:
• A presentation of the two schools, the two school systems, the two regions and the two countries have been made and exchanged. Such a presentation is necessary as a background for the studies made by students. We hope that the students in Bollnas as well as in Purworejo are familiar with the regions and the countries that will be focussed on during the months to come.

• The students of the Swedish culture class have all got their own e-mail addresses making it possible to be in contact with the students in Purworejo. They have also been instructed about the ways of communication by ICT. The students on both sides will work in pairs as

ANY PLANS TO EXPAND ON YOUR PROJECT?
In spite of some problems during this first year we would like to continue our project for at least another year. As we have said, time has been too short, and it feels as if we have just begun to get the project working. We will involve more pupils to participate as well.

Ulla Dahlstrom
Project co-ordinator