From 18 to 24 April 2023, the Erasmus+ Teachers of English for Future Europe (TEFE): EU mobility and employability through the Internationalisation of Teaching Practice project organised its third training event for student teachers of English. The Intensive Study Programme 3 (ISP3) took place at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and offered training sessions, workshops, and panel discussions for students from participating universities. These included the Jagiellonian University (Poland), University of South Bohemia (Czech Republic), Comenius University (Slovakia), University of Passau (Germany), Public University of Navarre (Spain), and Aston University (UK). In total, 32 students and 15 academic teachers participated in the event. The main themes of ISP3 were the internationalisation of English language teaching practice, the development of employability skills, and fostering international collaboration through the use of information technology.
ISP3 was preceded by online activities on the TEFE Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) platform. Students had the opportunity to meet and work together in the project's Moodle to complete tasks regarding materials development and reflect on their teaching activities. These tasks also provided a chance for students to virtually meet their international peers before their in-person visit to Krakow.
During ISP3, participants attended workshops that focused on developing their teaching skills and stimulated reflection on the future of teacher education. Importantly, students had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the project's intellectual outputs and shared their feedback.
ISP3 also provided another opportunity for project participants to observe English language classes. After visiting schools in the Czech Republic, Germany, and Spain, TEFE students and teachers observed lessons in primary and secondary schools in Krakow, familiarised themselves with the Polish educational system, and talked to teachers at local schools. Overall, the TEFE ISP3 participants further expanded their international teaching experience.
On 24 and 25 April 2023, the TEFE team organised a project´s dissemination conference with the aim of sharing the project's outcomes with the community of language teachers, teacher mentors, educators, and students. The conference took place in the Auditorium Maximum of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, and familiarised delegates with the project's intellectual outputs, including the TEFE Framework for the Internationalisation of Teaching Practice and Employability, TEFE Toolkit of Diagnostic Tools, and the TEFE COIL platform. Approximately 200 conference delegates, including students and teachers from universities and schools in Krakow (Poland) and abroad, attended the conference. In addition to presenting the project's results, a panel discussion was organised to discuss the prospects of internationalising English language teacher education. The discussion confirmed the openness and willingness of in-service teachers to support the idea of helping students gain international teaching experience and assisting them throughout the process.
Overall, ISP3 and the subsequent dissemination conference marked the conclusion of the third year of the TEFE project, with the project outputs scheduled to be published on the European dissemination platform by 31st October 2023.
Please read about ISP3 in more detail in the TEFE Newsletter at TEFE Newsletter, May 2023 – tefe.online.
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