Etwinning

Trade and logistics between countries of the European Union, a simulation methodology

Title: Trade and logistics between countries of the European Union

Educational stage: Further secondary education - Vocational training

Subject: International goods transportation (International trade and commercial management and marketing)

Three European schools offering vocational training, Berufskolleg für Wirtschaft und Verwaltung (Germany), ROC Nijmegen (the Netherlands) and the IES María Ana Sanz school from Navarra, led by teacher Gustavo Huguet Lafuente, have led this project entitled Trade and logistics between countries of the European Union. It offers students the chance to learn about financial affairs, simulating trade operations by sharing experiences with their European partners through ICTs.

Even though this project does not make a special use of ICTs, teachers and students have used the eTwinning platform, featuring communication tools that are often found on the Internet (chat, forum, email), office software (word processor, spreadsheet, presentations, etc.) and online translators. They used Skype to get to know each other better and improve the oral practice of the language studied in the syllabus: English. The project is special for the new simulation methodology it uses and the group work thanks to which students have obtained the qualification required for optimal integration in the labour market.

At this regard, students have worked in the fields of trade and logistics, simulating a product exportation and importation process and playing the roles of buyer and seller. Therefore, they have dealt with the following: international trade between member states of the European Union; market research; business letters and filling in documents connected with transport and trade. 

Each student dealt with the activities they felt most comfortable doing: some wrote business letters using the word processor, others did presentations, others searched for information on the Internet, etc. and then they shared the work before uploading it onto the platform or sending it via email. Essentially, good team work. For this reason the project has been awarded the National eTwinning Prize 2010.

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