Hobbies and school life: a six-country classroom exchange

Familiar interests give students something to share

Teacher Olena from Ukraine created the "Free-Time Activities, Hobbies and Sport" project on Class2Class around a question students could answer from their own lives: "What do you do in your free time?"

Students from Ukraine, Italy, India, the United States, Bangladesh and Turkey came together online to introduce themselves, present their hobbies and learn how children in other countries spend their afternoons. The series of meetings included music, sport, food and a birthday surprise.

The project was designed for students aged 9 to 15. Its aim was simple and personal: share what you do outside school, and learn what your peers do in another part of the world.

Teachers from six countries joined the project:

• Olena, Anna and Viktoriia - Ukraine
• Stefania and Barbara - Italy
• Jhansi, Ayyapparaj and Sangeeta - India
• Kellie - United States
• Ayşen and Dilay - Turkey
• Nasim - Bangladesh

Give each meeting a clear structure

The collaboration followed a clear structure for each session:

• Greetings with flags and class posters.
• Welcome words from each teacher.
• Self-introductions from every student (name, age, hobby).
• Presentations on free-time activities, sport clubs and personal achievements.
• A closing game on Kahoot or Wordwall.
• A short feedback round at the end.

Students prepared presentations, performed for an international audience and answered live questions from peers in another country. The familiar topic gave them material to talk about: their own activities, interests and experiences.

Inside the Ukraine-Italy meeting

The first thing the Ukrainian students saw on screen was sunshine. The Italian classroom was warm and bright. Their teacher in Ukraine laughed and explained the contrast on her side of the call:

In our country, we have snow and frost. The real winter started in our country.

Olena, teacher, Ukraine

The weather gave the two classes an immediate point of comparison before they began their presentations.

Sport, music and traditional food

Then the introductions began. Each student stepped up to the camera, said their name and age, and shared a hobby. The Ukrainian side opened with short videos and presentations on basketball, swimming, jogging and cross-country skiing. One young skier said he had trained for eight years, was a candidate for master of sports and had taken third place at a regional championship the previous year. Another student, Dasha, brought her guitar. “My father taught me this, and I continue to do it on my own,” she said.

The Ukrainian team also presented traditional dishes - borshch, vinaigrette salad and pumpkin porridge - with the words: “We couldn’t miss this part of our presentation, because this meal makes us strong as we are.”

Then it was Italy's turn. Iram shared that she goes to an art school and loves drawing. Julia explained that she dances every day, two hours a day. A young chef described making homemade lasagna the day before, which prompted an idea for a future cooking exchange: Italian lasagna and Ukrainian dumplings. Alessandro talked about football, training three times a week as a midfielder and goalkeeper, and said his school does not have a football team. Another student introduced her hobby: horse riding.

A birthday surprise and a closing game

In the middle of the presentations, the class discovered that it was one student's birthday. The Ukrainian classroom prepared a surprise. The teacher counted to three and the group sang Happy Birthday through the screen to a student they had only met that morning.

The meeting closed with a Wordwall picture-guessing game. Students from both sides called out the answers in English - skiing, football, reading, swimming, surfing the internet, skateboarding, playing the guitar and riding a bike.

Our students are really very happy to communicate with students from different countries. They like to learn more about different cultures and traditions. It is very fun to communicate and play together, to share their abilities and skills.

Olena, project teacher, Ukraine

Four classes met in another live session

The Ukraine-Italy meeting was one of several live sessions in this project. In another session, classrooms from the United States, Turkey and India joined Ukraine in a single four-country exchange. Students held up posters and flags, then took turns introducing their hobbies, sports and traditional meals.

The agenda was simple - flags, greetings, introductions, presentations, a game and a feedback round. Behind it was a group of teachers willing to plan, message, test the link and make time for their students to meet.

What students had a chance to practise

Students used English as a working language. They introduced themselves, presented hobbies, answered questions and sang together. Their guitars, footballs, drawings and skis gave them something concrete to explain on camera.

Comparing winter weather, sports clubs, school subjects and traditional meals gave students a concrete way to see similarities and differences in daily life. Ukrainian students heard about Italian art schools and homemade lasagna; Italian students heard about cross-country skiing and traditional borshch.

Teachers and students also coordinated slides, videos, timing and translations. These are practical parts of an exchange that you can plan with a partner teacher, alongside the topic and meeting agenda.

Plan a manageable first exchange

Pick a topic your students already care about and discuss it with a partner teacher. You could begin with one meeting, or use the introductions to plan a longer shared task. Agree what each class will contribute, how students will respond and when you will exchange the work. How it works introduces the steps for getting started.

Class2Class is free for teachers and students. Live meetings are optional: teachers can also organise an exchange in which classes share work and respond at different times. The official FAQ explains these options.

Sources

• Class2Class. How it works.
• Class2Class. Questions from schools, DPOs and partners.