How can children and students playfully learn to use their school library and have more fun reading books at school and during their leisure time? And what kind of specific wishes and interests do children in the Emirates have regarding their school libraries? In a series of workshops and lectures, these questions will be dealt with by Emirati teacher trainees and Emirati school children, working under the direction of Ute Hachmann, a German expert on school libraries.
Ms. Hachmann, from the city library in Brilon, Germany, has innovated approaches for the creative use of school libraries all over Germany. In 2008, for example, 35 thousand children and teenagers in 270 German cities participated in her "Summer Reading Club," reading more than 170 thousand books in total.
For the 19th Abu Dhabi International Book Fair in March 2009, Ms. Hachmann will bring her methods to the UAE. On March 15, sponsored by the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region, she will present a one-day workshop for Emirati teacher trainees of the Higher Colleges of Technology's Abu Dhabi Women's College. With her help on the following day, the teacher trainees will implement Ms. Hachmann's ideas on the creative use of a school library at the Al Dhabynia Model School in Abu Dhabi. On this occasion, 70 students, aged 8 to 10 years, will have the opportunity to explore their school library in a playful new way. For example, the children may embark on a pirate's journey, searching for treasures of literature, or they may become candidates in a library quiz show.
To introduce the findings of the project to a wider audience, Ute Hachmann, the teacher trainees of HCT's Abu Dhabi Women's College, and their faculty supervisor, Fiodhna Hyland, will then give a presentation at HCT's Al Ain Women's College on 17 March.
Dr. Bradley Cook, Director of HCT's ADWC, stated, "Our Bachelor's of Education teachers-in-training can gain a significant advantage by learning from Ms. Hachmann. We appreciate the cooperation of the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region and Ms. Hachmann herself in promoting engagement with books among both our students and our students' students."
On 18 March, Ute Hachmann and her fellow project participants will give a lecture about the project at the Education Chapter of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, discussing their findings with education experts from around the world. The Abu Dhabi International Book Fair will be open from 17 - 22 March 2009 at ADNEC.
The Goethe-Institut is a world-wide organization promoting German language and culture on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany. Projects aiming to promote reading, translations, and libraries have long been part of the Goethe-Institut's agenda.
A project by the Goethe-Institut Gulf Region in cooperation with the Higher Colleges of Technology's Abu Dhabi Women's College, HCT's Al Ain Women's College, the Al Dhabynia Model School, and the Education Chapter of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.
For further information please contact:
Naschua Gomaa
Goethe-Institut Gulf Region
PO Box 53975, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Tel: 02 672 7920
Fax: 02 672 7902
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
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