After a two-year break due to COVID-19 pandemic, English teachers from village and small town schools met at the 18th English Teaching Market conference in Stare Jabłonki near Ostróda.
English Teaching Market is an annual conference organized under the “English Teaching” program, attended by many participants. The 18th English Teaching Market conference held in Stare Jabłonki near Ostróda from June 27 to June 29 was attended by almost 300 English teachers from villages and small towns. The main objectives of the meeting are: improving competence in English teaching methods, as well as integration and cooperation of teachers working at schools in villages and small towns.
The meeting was opened by Polish-American Freedom Foundation Program Officer Katarzyna Świątkiewicz and President of the Nidzica Development Foundation “NIDA” Krzysztof Margol. The opening lecture on Disinformation – Where It Comes From And How To Protect Yourself Against It? was given by Prof. Dr. Dariusz Jemielniak.
The first plenary session included also inspiring and practical lecture by Jennifer Uhler on Setting Up Teachers For Success With Ten Awesome, Open, And Free Teaching Tools.
Over three-day workshops the participants learned for example how to include ecological issues related to climate education into teaching English, how to talk about values or combine citizenship education with teaching a foreign language. Participants were very interested in lectures and workshops in Polish and English. At the educational fairs they could learn about the educational offer of English-language publishing houses as well a NGOs and aid schemes under which schools and teachers can apply for additional funding for their educational initiatives.
A total of over 9,000 English teachers have participated in English Teaching Markets so far. The event is organized cyclically by the Nidzica Development Foundation “NIDA” as a part of the “English Teaching” program run by Polish-American Freedom Foundation.
The “English Teaching” Program was launched in 2000. Its priority is supporting actions that improve standards of teaching and learning English by children and youth from small towns and villages as well as promote the English language among students, their parents, and the whole local communities. At the same time, the program fosters the professional development of English teachers working in small towns and rural areas. The program offers training sessions in teaching methodology, participation in small grant competitions as well as individual training and consulting.
The partners of this year’s round of the English Teaching Market were EDUCARIUM publishing house and Międzynarodowy Program Powszechnej Dwujęzyczności „Dwujęzyczne Dzieci / Bilingual Future”.
