With the support of an Erasmus grant I spent two wonderful weeks (4-15 July, 2016) in Oxford as a participant of ’Creative Teaching in the Primary School’ course in the Lake School of English. The course was held by Sarah Walker, a well-known teacher trainer and book-writer who has substantial experience in the field of TEFL.

In my group there were ten teachers from six different countries, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Brazil and Hungary. This international environment inspired us greatly and gave us the chance to get acquainted with each other, learn about the different countries and their education systems. The classroom had a very pleasant atmosphere thanks to our tutor, Sarah. With her personal charm she helped us get rid of our inhibition easily.

 She gave us the opportunity to share our knowledge and professional experience too. The course focused on useful teaching methodology for primary teachers, using up-to-date, creative and motivating teaching techniques. We learnt about the CLIL, and how to apply stories, tales, songs and rhymes in the primary classroom. Sarah used a wide range of on-line and off-line resources to create a stimulating, professional and supportive learning environment, and adapted the content of the course to the needs and interests of the group.

One of the most unforgettable experiences was a short visit to the St. Andrew’s Church of England Primary School in Headington where we got a brief but thorough review about the English education system, the school environment and facilities. This course was well-planned and absolutely met my expectations, in truth, exceeded them. I can’t wait to test these new ideas in my English classes.

During the two weeks we had quite a lot of free-time to discover the beauties of Oxford and its countryside, not to mention its pubs, where we tried classic home-made brown ales, and the coffee shops where we tasted the traditional cream tea. It is a form of afternoon tea, consisting of tea with a combination of scones, clotted cream, and jam. I am not brave enough to decide who is correct regarding the cream tea tradition, Devon (cream first, then jam) or Cronwall (jam first, then cream). Does this make any difference to the taste? For a gourmand maybe, but not for me, I really liked it both ways. The receiving organization offered optional long trips and tours for us. The Isle of Wight’s chalk downland ridge, the Blenheim Palace with a lock of the baby Winston Churchill’s blonde hair and the evensong in the Christ Church left everlasting memories for me.

I encourage everybody working with children to be part of an Erasmus programme at least once to recharge their batteries, and hear and learn new teaching approaches. Thanks to Erasmus+ for the great experience!

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