The 'Around the World Club'

The 'Around the World Club' brings the world's cultures and languages to your classroom!

In the 'Around the World Club', children of all ages can learn new languages and cultures while doing a hands-on cultural activity with the help of the ENACT free web app.Many activities produce a craft item which children can take home with them, while some produce food which they can eat. The Club develops cross-cultural understanding, global citizenship, equality, diversity and inclusion.

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Shortlisted

Overview

HundrED shortlisted this innovation

HundrED has shortlisted this innovation to one of its innovation collections. The information on this page has been checked by HundrED.

Web presence

2023

Established

130

Children

1

Countries

Target group

Students lower

Updated

January 2025

We want to enable teachers to bring the world into their class! The Club brings the world's cultures and languages to you and takes your pupils' favourite cultural activity to the world! It provides a space for all communities to showcase their language and cultural heritages globally in a way suitable for children as they physically engage their senses, create a cultural item and learn words.

About the innovation

Why did you create this innovation?

Many schools have seen large increases in refugee and migrant children and experienced integration problems. The “Around the World” Club aims to enable social, emotional and cultural integration of children from ALL backgrounds by actively learning world cultures, activities and languages using the free ENACT web app.

What does your innovation look like in practice?

Children of all ages learn new languages and cultures while doing a hands-on cultural activity with the help of the ENACT app. Many activities produce a craft item which children can take home, while some produce food which they can eat. There are about 150 cultural activities from all around the world from dancing to cooking, pumpkin carving to paper crafts, something for every age and ability. Children find it great fun, a real-world, gritty learning experience involving all five senses in the course of producing something with their hands and bodies! A volunteer organising the clubs said: “ The teachers love it. Children love it. I love it….. They are learning without even knowing it.” Children use the Interactive Player to learn words of a new language, then it guides them through the activity with interactive photos, text, audio and video content. Children can also be creative by telling others round the world about their own language and culture.

How has it been spreading?

So far we have run the ‘Around the World Club’ in 4 Newcastle primary schools as a pilot and a report on this is available. We have produced a policy report which explains to schools worldwide how to set up a run an ‘Around the World Club’. We will disseminate the policy report to schools throughout the UK and the world from February 2025.

However, the ‘Around the World Club’ is a spin-off activity of the ENACT web app which has its own HundrED page https://hundred.org/en/innovations/2-the-enact-app Globally, the ENACT system has been used (at July 2024) by over 18,000 users in 161 countries with 78,000 views and has over 150 cultural activities in 30 languages.
We therefore have the global online infrastructure to be able to disseminate news of the ‘Around the World Club’ innovation.

If I want to try it, what should I do?

The package is on https://enacteuropa.com/sites/default/files/Around%20the%20World%20Club%20Offer%20for%20Schools.pdf The instructions below explain how to set up a Club in your school, wherever you are. The ENACT web app is free and ready to use and has several tutorial videos. Website https://enacteuropa.com/ Watch our film about the Club and its impact. Contact: enacteuropa@newcastle.ac.uk

Media

West Pelton School did an Around the World Club on 9 January. Children learnt Chinese words and learnt about Chinese New Year. They did this by doing calligraphy (painting Chinese characters) and by making red envelopes, traditionally given for new year! They personalised the red envelopes for their family and took the red envelopes and calligraphy rice paper home.

At an Around the World Club at West Pelton School on 9 January children learnt Chinese words and learnt about Chinese New Year. They did this by doing calligraphy (painting Chinese characters) and by making red envelopes, traditionally given for new year! They personalised the red envelopes for their family and took the red envelopes and calligraphy rice paper home.

Have you tried Chinese calligraphy using the ENACT app yet? Here is a recent report about some students who have. Here is what they had to say… "I want to show my calligraphy to my sister." "Chinese writing is more interesting than I thought." "This activity is quite nice. I think we should arrange more like this."

For the last two years, the ENACT team has collaborated with N.E.S.T, a Newcastle University Students Union project that supports the refugee community, to bring fun language-learning activities to local school children in Kenton Bar Primary School, Central Walker Primary School and Welbeck Academy Primary School. Here is a picture of one of the children’s Mardi Gras Mask creations.

NEST volunteers have been using ENACT in a series of 'Round the World' after-school clubs at Central Walker Primary School. In the photo you can see origami paper boats which the children made, learning Japanese words and culture at the same time! https://enacteuropa.com/?q=node/58

On Friday 24 March, sixty schoolchildren from Valley Gardens Middle School and Gosforth Central visited Newcastle University, ilab:learn to learn Chinese using the ENACT app, helped by two Chinese students. The children learnt Chinese words while doing calligraphy (painting Chinese aracters) and while making Beijing Ice Candy, which they then ate!

Impact report on the use of Around the World Clubs in 4 primary schools in Newcastle UK is available onhttps://enacteuropa.com/sites/default/files/NEST%20ENACT%20Impact%20Final_V2.pdf

Everyone can now access a free educational package from ENACT at Newcastle University. Schools can set up their own Around the World Clubs. The Around the World Club helps teachers bring the world to their classroom! The package is on https://enacteuropa.com/sites/default/files/Around%20the%20World%20Club%20Offer%20for%20Schools.pdf

Implementation steps

The following are instructions for teachers on how to set up an 'Around the World Club' using ENACT

Before the club:
1. Explore activities by clicking LEARN in the top banner of ENACT’s website (https://enacteuropa.com), and searching by country, culture, language, or key word.
2. Familiarise yourself with the chosen story/context to prepare for all the curious questions!
3. Follow the step-by-step instructions of the activity (we advise crafts as most engaging and school-friendly) to make an example for the children.
4. Set up materials and enacteuropa.com on iPads or projector board.

The following are instructions for teachers on how to run an 'Around the World Club' using ENACT

Engage the children by making them guess what culture/country the activity will be based on by looking at the example. Play the first video on the activity page for children to learn about the culture of the activity. Discuss what they have found interesting and can remember from watching the video. Use the “key vocabulary” activity to teach the children some words related to the culture; get them to repeat these. Play the second video giving instructions on the craft activity, then they do it.

The following are instructions for teachers on how to finish an 'Around the World Club' using ENACT

Once all children finish the activity, play the matching game consolidating their learning – in large groups, they can test each other! Have the children talk about the object they have made, which they will be taking home. Ask the children if they have similar celebrations at home? Talk about why these celebrations are important and what they mean to them and their families. Talk about any differences/similarities between the new language and theirs. Ask which new language words they learnt.

Instructions for teachers on how children can tell others about their own language and culture

Children can also do a project to tell others about their own language and culture! The Author tool (CREATE) has been designed to create a space for all communities everywhere to showcase their own cultural heritage to the world in their own language. Access the Author tool here: https://enacteuropa.com/node/add/h5p-content and create an account. Choose your own favourite activity and record yourself showing and explaining how to do it in your language. https://enacteuropa.com/?q=user-guides