Pre-requisite(s): This activity targets those TCNs, who have heard about a local history and/or narrative and want to know more.
Estimated Duration: 3 hours (2 hours: first meeting, 1 hour: second meeting)
Related to:
Step: 2
Dimension: Cognitive
Qualitative Indicator: Local history/narratives
Type of activity: Group or individual
Considering that the TCN(s) have a basic knowledge of local history and/or narratives and want to know more about them, this can be achieved through listening of traditional songs and learning about the story behind the song’s lyrics as well as its singer and/or its composer and the instrument which is used in order for the song to be played. The TCN(s) listen to the song and the mentor provides them with information about it. He/she also asks from them to try to recall a similar and/or traditional song of their country. Moreover, if anyone of them knows to play a musical instrument, the mentor could suggest him/her to take it with him/her and try to play the song that the group has already heard. This activity will also help them to improve their knowledge on the language of the host country through the reading of the song’s lyrics.
This activity aims to support the TCN(s) to learn more about the local tradition in general and more specifically, about the history of the local traditional music in a pleasant way.
The mentor needs:
- To identify a traditional song in the language of the host country together with its lyrics.
- To support the TCN(s) understand the connection of the song with the local music history and the traditional musical instruments.
- One traditional song in the language of the host country together with its lyrics.
- A laptop.
- Print-out(s) of the song’s lyrics.
- Highlighter(s).
- Action plan(s).
Implementation Steps
The mentor identifies a traditional song along with its lyrics and provides the TCN(s) with information regarding the history, narrative, or tradition(s) of the host country described in this song as well as the traditional musical instruments used for the song to be played.
The mentor motivates the TCN(s) to listen to the song twice and try to follow the lyrics of the song as well. Then, the TCN(s) highlight some of the words in the lyrics which they think that they relate to the local history, narratives, or tradition(s) based on elements as repetition etc. Then, they try to figure out their connection with the local tradition, and together with the support of the mentor they discover what this song is about. The mentor should also ask the TCN(s) if the song reminds them of a history, narrative, or tradition of their country of origin as well as what they felt while listening to the song.
This activity is used to motivate TCNs to learn the historical tradition in general and more specifically, the local music history of the host country. Once this is achieved, the mentor will provide the TCN(s) with different options that will help him/her to come closer with the local history and/or narratives.
During this meeting, the TCN will present his/her experience to the mentor or the group, in the case of a group meeting.
After that, the mentor will sign the action plan(s) of the TCN(s) as completed.