Welcome to our June newsletter, where we dive into the vibrant world of Erasmus+ adventures and educational insights, highlighting the diverse experiences and endeavors of the past month.

Peak Erasmus+ season is upon us!

We’re looking forward to a busy July and August, in which we’ll be receiving an increased number of Erasmus+ participants on our courses due to the school holidays. They’ll be taking part in courses such as Language, Methodology and Culture; Sustainability and the Environment in Education; Digital Transitions; English for Academics and General English Training. These courses will involve classroom learning as well as a range of integrated cultural activities and excursions.

See our Erasmus+ web page and brochure for more details of all our courses!

What happened in May?

In May, Atlas was involved in several events in Italy.

First, we visited IC Ponte di Piave near Treviso to hold student workshops about Irish culture and teacher training on the topic of using AI and other digital tools in the classroom. Participants learned how to use Mentimeter and ChatGPT to make their lessons more engaging and their lesson planning more efficient. Our instructor was delighted to try Tiramisu in the region where it originated!

Next up was a visit to IIS Gemelli Careri Oppido Mamertina in the Calabria region, where our Erasmus+ Coordinator Paul Finnerty was invited as an Expert. He delivered workshops to the students on the topic of ‘Becoming a More Sustainable Student’, in which the highlight was students doing a green audit of their own school. Teachers then took part in a training session focused on ‘Using AI and other Digital Tools in the Classroom’, with particular emphasis on how different AI platforms can help teachers with their admin tasks. In terms of local delights, the Mamertina cake was thoroughly enjoyed!

Finally, Atlas held some pronunciation workshops for teachers at IC Giulianova 2 in the Abruzzo region. The first session was called ‘Teaching Pronunciation Without Speaking’, in which participants explored how to make different vowel sounds via mime prompts from the instructor, and they then learned about the mechanics of Connected Speech and how it affects pronunciation and intonation of English. The culinary highlight was certainly tasting the local arrosticini (meat skewers).

If you would like Atlas to visit your institutionas an Erasmus Expert in Sustainability, Inclusivity or Digital Transformation, or to deliver a teacher training day, please get in touch with Paul at paul.f@atlaslanguageschool.com.

Webinars

In April we have held a methodology webinar: ‘The New Normal of English Language – What “Mistakes” are Acceptable?’ Participants learned about the typical mistakes made by speakers of English and discussed why they occur and whether they have indeed become part of the modern English language.

On Thursday June 13th at 1400 Irish time (1500 CET) and 1700 Irish time (1800 CET) we’ll be holding further info-webinars about our 2024 Erasmus+ courses. These webinars will last for between 30 and 45 minutes and will provide information about our courses, teaching methodology, activity and excursion programme, accommodation options and how to apply for Erasmus+ funding. Sign up for the webinar using this link.

Later in the month, we’ll be holding a methodology webinar on Thursday June 20th at 1600 Irish time (1700 CET) on the topic of ‘Connected Speech: Making your Spoken English more Natural’. Participants will learn how to improve their own pronunciation, as well as that of their students. Here is the sign-up link