Learning English language and building bridges

Nowadays, the English language is prominent at the global scale, used to encourage connections between people from various nations in order to facilitate their communication through diverse areas – in which, as examples: business, academic research, fashion, computers, and more. A group of teachers from different countries and schools took part in the "Intensive English Language Course for Education Staff." They approached the study with a positive attitude and put in maximum effort into each activity.

The new edition of the course took place in Palermo from 21/07/2024 to 27/07/2024. We had the pleasure to welcome a group composed by Judit Ildikó Daodáné Taska, from Dunakeszi Széchenyi István Általános Iskola, in Hungary; with Romena Talačkienė and  Gitana Baranskienė, from Vilnius servise business vocational training centre, in Lithuania; with Béatrice Praud and Maria Rosalba Barrena Segura, from CCIT Charente Maritime Actoria, in France; with Zuzana Andryskova, from Střední průmyslová škola, Obchodní akademie a Jazyková škola s právem státní jazykové zkoušky, Frýdek-Místek, and Daniela Kozáková, from Střední průmyslová škola elektrotechniky a informatiky Ostrava, Czech Republic; with Rita Estévez Estévez, from Ies Rodeira, in Spain; and with Herbert Kasper from Handelsakademie Vöcklabruck, from Austria.

Throughout the week, the participants had various challenges to enhance five essential skills: English use, listening, reading, writing, and speaking. The group began their journey by introducing ourselves and describing our jobs, organizing interviews to get to know each other. Learning a language requires effort and practice, so every day the course was filled with numerous exercises and activities.
They covered several grammar topics, including a review of tenses, the use of phrasal verbs and adverbs. Each lesson was based on everyday situations, such as organizing daily tasks, discussing routine activities, hours and schedules, and hobbies. They also explored topics like the importance of learning a foreign language, travel, and future planning. To enhance effective learning, we conducted formative assessments and activities using games, quizzes, readings, real-life simulations, and various other methods.

Thanks to our team, the participants also had the opportunity to enjoy the city of Palermo with two sightseeing tours of the city center, as well as dinners and lunches in typical Sicilian restaurants.

​The participants enthusiastically embraced all the speaking challenges with courage. During breaks, they seized every opportunity to converse with fellow participants in English, exchanging best practices and insights about their schools and countries. It was an exceptionally productive week. We hope they maintain this positive attitude in their continued English studies and cherish the multicultural environment they successfully established within just one week.

Discover more about this course here.