TEACHERS‘ DAY

BIO

Oksana has been working as a teacher of English for 16 years. She has worked both with Ukrainian and Slovak students.

She has taught English in a wide range of contexts, from young learners to adults. She is a CELTA, IHCYLT, and CAE certified teacher, keen on learning and sharing. Constantly on the look out for fresh ideas and engaged in continuous professional development. She enjoys facilitating the growth and development of her students.

Workshop: Listening games and activities or “how not to get bored in the lesson”.

Have you ever noticed that your students’ faces become sour when you tell them they are going to do a listening task? If you have – you definitely need to visit Oksana’s workshop Listening games and activities or “how not to get bored in the lesson”.

She believes that learning through games is an effective way to teach listening skills. If you have ever felt that your listening activities have become a little bit repetitive and the students are not very engaged in practicing their listening skills – this session is for you. She is going to demonstrate games and activities which your students will definitely enjoy.

BIO

Ben Gwillim served for 25 years in the British military before becoming a teacher.  Having completed his CELTA, he moved to Bratislava in 2014 and has been teaching at the Bridge English Language Centre ever since.  He completed the Teaching Advanced Learners Course at Pilgrims under the tutelage of Hanna Kryszewska in 2018 and the Lexical Teaching course at the Lexical lab in 2019 under Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkley.  He currently teaches a range of courses both face-to-face and online and has specialised in teaching advanced students (C1 and above) over the last 5 years.  He also teaches presentations skills to corporate clients and has worked extensively with early-stage start-up companies, helping to improve their pitches and presentations.  He has also delivered workshops at conferences in central Europe focusing on the use of authentic materials and provides regular input to the school’s in-house training programme.

Workshop: Everything´s a lesson – working with authentic materials

This session will explore some ideas about using authentic materials (in the widest possible sense) in our classrooms.  These activities can be used as complete lessons or as back up and support to course book and other more structured material.  English is all around us if we choose to look for it and there are limitless opportunities to create some engaging lessons that get our students communicating.

BIO

Michaela Hroteková is passionate about foreign languages. She graduated with a degree in English Language and Culture for Specialized Communication from University of Trnava and then went to El Salvador, Latin America, where she taught English for almost six years.

After returning to Slovakia, she taught English and Spanish in various language schools and privately. She teaches general and specialized English and Spanish to various age groups, including children. She is currently a third year PhD student in linguistics at Comenius University in Bratislava.

Workshop: Social media slang in education

Simp, sus, TL;DR, adulting, and similar expressions, do they belong in English classes? Should we include slang and recently emerged words in our lesson plans? This session will look at how to work with contemporary Internet slang and trending social media expressions in (English) lessons as well as how to keep your vocabulary fresh and connect with your students.

BIO

Lucia comes from Liptovský Mikuláš. She majored in British and American Studies at the University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik in Košice and she holds a CELTA certificate. She believes her biggest personal strengths are patience, kindness, and the ability to accept challenges. As a language lover, she knows that language-learning is a life-long process. She guides her students towards learner autonomy and teaches them how to learn effectively and independently. Lucia is a creative teacher and a fan of technology.

Workshop: Video mania

Folk wisdom says that it’s better to see something once than to hear about it a thousand times. When we use videos in our lessons, students get a chance to learn both by seeing and hearing at once. Not to mention we know how many of them love watching videos. That’s why in this workshop we will discuss ways of using them in our lessons and try out some fun video activities. We´ll also look at an online platform

BIO

Mark Andrews worked as a teacher trainer at Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary for 15 years in the Department of English Applied Linguistics, before that he taught in the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.

He has been living and working in Central/Eastern Europe for 40 years now, 12 of which were as an ELT methodology teacher and advisor with the British Council. For six years he was involved in a language and culture project with Secondary School teachers in Hungary which resulted in a text book for teenagers “Zoom In”.

He was co-ordinator of the IATEFL Hungary Culture and Literature Special Interest Group for 5 years and is a big supporter of teacher associations in the Central and Eastern European region. He worked for SOL (Sharing One Language) for 10 years both in Devon and in this region as a teacher trainer, teacher on student courses and course and materials developer.

He now works freelance and in the last year has been teaching week long courses for teenagers in Austrian schools for “English in Action”. He enjoys coming to Slovakia a lot and co-ran four summer camps in Čadca, Stará Turá and Šamorin on a boat on the Danube.

Workshop: Bringing the here and now into the ELT classroom

There is always a tension in classrooms between structure and space. And leaving space in the classroom for exploring the here and now may well be one of the crucial variables in ensuring that students stay engaged and involved in the learning process by drawing on their experiences of the world around them and giving them space to explore those experiences. In this workshop we will look at ways of doing this which both develop learners’ English and really tap into the present, current events in the world and the here and now in general.

BIO

Andrea Zahumenska is currently the Director of Studies at the Bridge English Language Centre in Bratislava, Slovakia.  She has presented at a number of ELT conferences and delivered a range of external training sessions to English teachers.

Andrea holds a Trinity TESOL Diploma and has recently gained EMCC coaching accreditation. She believes that teachers can and do make a real difference to students‘ lives and that they can have a positive influence on students that resonates beyond the classroom.

She also believes that teaching is a dynamic and evolving profession and that the best teachers believe in lifelong learning and continually strive for personal development.

Workshop: Teaching vs coaching

We interact with teachers, mentors, and coaches throughout our lives, and these are the people who play the greatest roles in shaping who we are. But what is the difference between teaching, coaching, and mentoring? How can we become teachers, coaches and mentors?

In this session not only will we look for answers to these questions but you’ll also get tips to give your teaching a coaching twist.

BIO

Emma has a master’s degree in literature from Queen Mary’s College, University of London, a CELTA diploma from the International House London, and has recently completed the Coaching Practioner course with the Bridge, gaining her accreditation with the EMCC shortly after.

She has been teaching for nearly 10 years and was integrating coaching methods into her lessons before participating in the coaching course.

She sees coaching as a great way to get to the heart of what our students are looking for from their language learning and a useful resource for teacher’s to help themselves as well and make sure they’re getting what they want from their career.

Workshop: Why do I teach?

Often, we focus on our students and what they’re getting from the learning experience, but what about us as teachers? What are your core values for your work/life and how can you better bring those into the classroom in order to make sure you’re getting the most out of the experience too? In this session we will identify what your core values are and how to better make sure that they are in congruence with your everyday teaching

BIO

Judit Fehér is a freelance teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer. She has extensive teaching experience ranging from pre-school to post-graduate including many specialist areas such as business, medicine and the arts.

As a teacher trainer, Judit has worked for Pilgrims, British Study Centres and Konzervum, running courses mainly in the UK and Hungary, and also giving talks and workshops at international conferences and events. Her main interests are CLIL, PBL, materials writing, creativity and the arts.

Most of the teaching materials Judit has written target secondary students. These are textbooks, workbooks, resource books and online materials. Her other publications include Creative Resources with Bonnie Tsai (IAL, Atlanta), a chapter in Creativity in the English language classroom (British Council) and some articles on the British Council Learn English website as well as in professional magazines, such as the English Teaching Professional, Modern English Teacher, Humanising Language Teaching and The Teacher Trainer.

Workshop: Benefits of now knowing I.

We live in a culture where people often feel they can’t say they don’t know something. Schools as well typically focus on passing on what we know and are certain about to the next generation. While this is an important mission, on its own it does not foster the development of an inquisitive mind that continuously wants to find out more and find out what is true; or a creative mind that decisively needs to leave behind what is already known and what is certain to come up with something new. We need to venture into the unknown and tolerate uncertainty for that.

In these two related, yet self-contained workshops, we will explore this complex topic from a personal, an educational, a social, a linguistic, a scientific, an artistic and a literary angle through quotations, reflections, discussions and lots of activities.

Part one will mainly focus on the personal, the educational, the social and the linguistic aspects of the topic. You do not need to take part in both workshops as they are related to, but independent of each other.

Should you ask me if you will be able to take any activity from the workshop straight to your classroom next Monday … well, I don’t know.

BIO

Kamila Jančíková studied both English and German and has been a language teacher since then. She loves her job and enjoys interacting with people. She is a very communicative person who is curious about people´s stories. Kamila is punctual and organized but also flexible.

She is a passionate yogini (and a certified yoga instructor), a certified ayurveda lifestyle coach, and her biggest interest is what she calls the poetry of life. She writes and photographs her poetry, loves fresh and empty morning slopes, cycles around Bratislava, and lets her heart melt in theatres, concerts and galleries. Furthermore, she is a bookworm too. She enjoys travelling around Europe, solo or with friends, as well as taking care of her herbs and plants. One of her favourite activities is networking and inter-cultural exchange.

Worskhop: Creative writing

Creative writing is a wonderful way how to connect with your intuition and grab everything out of that fascinating thing called the brain. There are many ways how to boost your creativity and the only precondition is: your ACTIVITY. With a little help in the beginning, you will just sit down and write. Without any limits.

In the workshop, we will explain the basics, look at how we can use creative writing in our classes and the main part will include: your own WRITING.

And why should you attend? Because it´s fun and it opens new horizons. Playing with words, turning them upside down, linking your ideas with them and observing what is arising from this game.

Looking forward to seeing you… write.

BIO

Luis is a passionate teacher putting all his heart and soul into it, able to tune in his students to a positive vibe even after a tough day. He has a degree in theatre studies and art, and a CELTA diploma.

He has worked as an English teacher in Brazil and Slovakia, teaching adults, teenagers, and children. Luis comes from Brazil and has Polish-Ukrainian-Portuguese-Spanish-Indian-African roots.

What he values the most about teaching is “being able to share my knowledge with my students, that is what fulfils me. Building relationships, teaching, constantly learning and growing, sharing the joy and the good with the world”.

Workshop: Voice care – how to keep your main instrument healthy

Do you take care of your voice? Do you know how to? If the answer is no, join us and learn some tricks and techniques actor and singers usually do to use this extremely important tool in a healthy way. Learn how to add more quality to your voice! If the answer is yes, join us and share your tips with the group. Sharing is caring!

BIO

Oksana has been working as a teacher of English for 16 years. She has worked both with Ukrainian and Slovak students.

She has taught English in a wide range of contexts, from young learners to adults. She is a CELTA, IHCYLT, and CAE certified teacher, keen on learning and sharing. Constantly on the look out for fresh ideas and engaged in continuous professional development. She enjoys facilitating the growth and development of her students.

Workshop: Team-building activities and psychological games

Are you still struggling with students’ bad behaviour and they can’t work in a team? Oksana Nosenko’s workshop “team-building activities and psychological games” is aimed to help you to establish a good atmosphere in the classroom, learn students’ personalities better, and knit them together.

BIO

Ben Gwillim served for 25 years in the British military before becoming a teacher.  Having completed his CELTA, he moved to Bratislava in 2014 and has been teaching at the Bridge English Language Centre ever since.  He completed the Teaching Advanced Learners Course at Pilgrims under the tutelage of Hanna Kryszewska in 2018 and the Lexical Teaching course at the Lexical lab in 2019 under Hugh Dellar and Andrew Walkley.  He currently teaches a range of courses both face-to-face and online and has specialised in teaching advanced students (C1 and above) over the last 5 years.  He also teaches presentations skills to corporate clients and has worked extensively with early-stage start-up companies, helping to improve their pitches and presentations.  He has also delivered workshops at conferences in central Europe focusing on the use of authentic materials and provides regular input to the school’s in-house training programme.

Workshop: ‘Let’s Get Lexical!’

Ever wondered what it means to teach lexically?  Do I need to throw my grammar book on the bonfire?  What’s are chunks and do I need some?

This workshop will try and answer some of these questions and give you some ideas about how to incorporate some lexical teaching into your lessons.  Make the most of your course book and never let a phrasal verb go by!

“Without grammar we can say very little; without words we can say nothing at all”

BIO

Judit Fehér is a freelance teacher, teacher trainer and materials writer. She has extensive teaching experience ranging from pre-school to post-graduate including many specialist areas such as business, medicine and the arts.

As a teacher trainer, Judit has worked for Pilgrims, British Study Centres and Konzervum, running courses mainly in the UK and Hungary, and also giving talks and workshops at international conferences and events. Her main interests are CLIL, PBL, materials writing, creativity and the arts.

Most of the teaching materials Judit has written target secondary students. These are textbooks, workbooks, resource books and online materials. Her other publications include Creative Resources with Bonnie Tsai (IAL, Atlanta), a chapter in Creativity in the English language classroom (British Council) and some articles on the British Council Learn English website as well as in professional magazines, such as the English Teaching Professional, Modern English Teacher, Humanising Language Teaching and The Teacher Trainer.

Workshop: The benefits of not knowing II.

This workshop continues to explore the benefits of not knowing we started in the morning workshop. The two workshops are related to, but independent of each other, so you can join the second part without having participated in the first part.

Part two will largely be about problem solving and creativity, so the focus will shift to the scientific, the artistic and the literary within the context of education.

Should you ask me if you will be able to take any activity from the workshop straight to your classroom next Monday … well, will you?

BIO

Andy has worked in a variety of senior HR roles to help companies achieve sustainable business growth, positive company culture, and employee satisfaction. She has over 20 years of experience working in Human Resources in both the private and public sectors. She is currently working at the Bridge Language School as the HR Manager. Apart from work, she is also involved in HR and career counselling, and lecturing at Comenius University. She enjoys the challenges of implementing new systems and processes. and working with an international team of people on diverse projects, whether at the individual, team, or company level.

Workshop: How to shine in an online interview

The pandemic has brought multiple changes to all of us and many of them have affected the job market and job interviews. Face-to-face meetings have moved online, and although this is seemingly just a change in form, there are certain rules and guidelines to follow in the online space as well in order to conduct a professional interview. In addition, when interviewing online, it is important not to underestimate the technical preparation and to be aware of the pitfalls of the virtual environment. Sign up for a webinar to find out how to shine in an online interview.

WHAT WILL WE LEARN IN THE SESSION?

1. How to prepare for an online interview
2. What to do before the interview
3. What principles to follow before and during the interview
4. How to dress appropriately
5. What to say and what not to say at all
6. How to use body language

Find out what rules and guidelines to follow when interviewing online, why it’s important not to underestimate preparation, what to look out for in a virtual environment, and what else to do to get your “dream job”.

BIO

Mark Andrews worked as a teacher trainer at Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary for 15 years in the Department of English Applied Linguistics, before that he taught in the German Democratic Republic, Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic.

He has been living and working in Central/Eastern Europe for 40 years now, 12 of which were as an ELT methodology teacher and advisor with the British Council. For six years he was involved in a language and culture project with Secondary School teachers in Hungary which resulted in a text book for teenagers “Zoom In”.

He was co-ordinator of the IATEFL Hungary Culture and Literature Special Interest Group for 5 years and is a big supporter of teacher associations in the Central and Eastern European region. He worked for SOL (Sharing One Language) for 10 years both in Devon and in this region as a teacher trainer, teacher on student courses and course and materials developer.

He now works freelance and in the last year has been teaching week long courses for teenagers in Austrian schools for “English in Action”. He enjoys coming to Slovakia a lot and co-ran four summer camps in Čadca, Stará Turá and Šamorin on a boat on the Danube.

Workshop: Who am I being that my students’ eyes are not smiling? 10 ways of engaging young people in your classroom.

How we can really engage our students in our classrooms in ways which makes them feel part of what happens in lessons?

According to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, the author of “The Little Prince”,  “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to  collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.” In this workshop we will look at strategies for helping students to be engaged in their learning in a similar way.

BIO

Barbora Gecseová is a project manager covering Erasmus programme of international projects, inhouse projects in teacher training and CSR activities at The Bridge English Language Center. She has background in linguistic and translation studies with both professional and volunteering experience of project management in various fields supporting education and diversity. As a project manager with a passion for connecting people and cultures she merges her experience in the latest and unique project dedicated to the community of teachers using humanistic approaches in their profession – Hlt.digital.

Workshop: Hlt.digital as a path to self-development

In this session we will explore ways how an Erasmus project can become a tool for your self-development. We will share our teachers´ experience with Hlt.digital project and information how to get involved in it. Our aim is to create an open space for exchanging best practices and ideas for independent development.