PROJECT ACTIVITY

Тhe project “RAISING QUALITY AWARENESS IN TEACHING ENGLISH TO ADULTS THROUGH INTRODUCTION OF NEW INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND OPTIMIZATION OF ACADEMIC MANAGEMENT” will be conducted for a period of two years (01.06.2015 – 31.05.2017) and is focused on two main areas:

• The active introduction and integration of the latest ICT in the overall teaching activity of the BBIL Centre, optimization of the teaching process in technological aspect and raising teachers’ IT competence.
• Updating and improving the styles of academic management and acquiring new managerial competences as a result of the dynamic development of foreign language teaching sector in general, and teaching English to adults, in particular.

The first objective of this project refers to raising participants’ ICT competence through acquisition of specific skills needed for the efficient use of contemporary ICT and the enormous potential and resourses it offers. This, in turn, will make it possible to meet the priority objective of our Centre – the gradual transition from paper-based coursebooks and teaching materials to multimedia materials, using the respective technical equipment, both for classwork and individual work. The successful implementation of ICT presupposes not only excellent technical literacy, but first and foremost, a new type of methodology and communication skills, the number of which is increasing significantly parallel with the increase in the capacity and properties of the latest ICT.

The second objective refers to gaining new managerial competences and techniques which are essential for modern academic management. It also involves learning new good European practices and innovative strategies in this respect. This fact is of particular importance nowadays, when many traditional methods need careful reconsideration, while keeping and further maintaining  the expected high quality level of teaching.

The main part of the project consists of mobilities (staff training) in various educational institutions in the UK and Ireland (participation in structured courses) over a period of 24 months.

There are eight participants included in the project. Five of them will be participating in ICT training courses.  These are as follows:

• Stefka Apostolova and Vanya Yakova will be attending the course ”Introduction to Using New Technology in the Classroom” at BELL – Cambridge, UK (www.bellenglish.com), from 26.07.2015 to 08.08.2015.
• Raya Malinova will be attending the course ”Technology in the Classroom” at ALPHA COLLEGE OF ENGLISH – Dublin, Ireland (www.alphacollege.com) from 03.08.2015 to 14.08.2015.
• Todor Todorov will be attending the course ”Effective Use of Technology in Teaching” at ANGLOLANG ACADEMY OF ENGLISH – Scarborough, UK (www.anglolang.com) from 31.08.2015 до 11.09.2015.
• Diana Varbenova will be attending the course ”Educational Technology Today” at BELL – Cambridge, UK (www.bellenglish.com),  from 01.08.2016 tо 12.08.2016.

The other three participants will be participating in training courses in academic management:

• Magdalena Kapsazova will be attending the course “Teaching Methodology Course Plus” at LEWIS SCHOOL OF ENGLISH – Southampton, UK (www.lewis-school.co.uk) from 10.08.2015 to 21.08.2015.
• Daniela Kaladjiyan will be attending the course “Creative Teaching” at HILDERSTONE COLLEGE – Broadstairs, UK (www.hilderstone.ac.uk) from 10.08.2015 to 21.08.2015.
• Polina Yavasheva will be attending the course “Language, Methodology and Culture” at THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CENTRE – Brighton, UK (www.elc-brighton.co.uk) from 21.03.2016 to 01.04.2016.

We are confident that as a result of the participation in the project, the effective and efficient use of ICT will substantially contribute to raising the quality of teaching English through increased activity and involvement both by teachers and students, thus boosting significantly their motivation and commitment. The integration of ICT in teaching will also contribute to achieving considerable autonomy of the educational process, which constitutes an essential part of the European development plan of our institution. The participation in the project will further stimulate teamwork and international activities of our centre in long-term perspective, and will make our institution a preferred partner for future project work in European context.

The project will also enable participants to update their teaching, organizational, interpersonal, intercultural and language competences in a long-term perspective.

This project is an invaluable benchmark against which our centre will adjust its future activities so that we can adopt a more relevant approach both in our academic and organizational work, making it more flexible, result-oriented and precise in terms of goal setting. Absolutely essential to us is the fact that the participants will be meeting working professionals, willing to share their hands-on experience and good practices we could benefit from and further incorporate in our centre. We are strongly convinced that this project will be a powerful means of injecting a European dimension into the life and work of our language centre, promoting an increase in the staff interest in European issues (not only educational) and giving the institution as a whole a more European outlook. The implementation of innovative concepts and solutions will raise its competitiveness, making it a preferred and reliable business partner. We also hope to broaden the scope of our services to new categories of adult learners thus maintaining the image of an institution which encourages the social and professional interest in languages and promotes the European standards and values in foreign language teaching.