Hungarian and Polish teachers to visit Wolverhampton
Released: 22 June 2007
Teachers from Hungary and Poland will spend three weeks in Wolverhampton to advance their English language skills and gain further training to take back to the classroom.
The guests, who teach English language, will visit Wolverhampton in July to take part in a course organised by Wolverhampton City Council and councils in Köbánya, Hungary, and Walbrzych in Poland, where the teachers are from.
The course aims to help the teachers expand their English language and teaching skills while also building on existing links between Wolverhampton and its European partners.
Councillor Neville Patten, Wolverhampton City Council’s Member Champion for European and International matters said: “We are delighted to welcome the group to Wolverhampton.
“These types of project provide an excellent opportunity for training and work experience and are another example of the strong relationship we have with Köbánya and Walbrzych.”
During the course, which will take place from Monday July 2 to Friday July 20, the teachers will benefit from advanced English language tuition which focuses on English grammar and pronunciation; development of speaking and listening skills; advanced writing techniques and aspects of culture.
The visiting teachers will also have the opportunity to achieve the Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) award, a qualification specifically for English language teachers.
Sessions will be provided to prepare the teachers for the TKT examination at the end of the three weeks. The sessions will cover language and background to language learning and teaching, lesson planning and use of resources for language teaching and managing the teaching and learning process.
The course will be delivered by members of Wolverhampton City Council’s Adult Education Service ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) team who teach English language skills up to Level Three (Cambridge Proficiency in English). Wolverhampton Adult Education Service is also an established centre for the TKT.
The Hungarian and Polish teachers, who will be staying with host families, will also be invited to take part in a number of activities in the evenings and at weekends during their stay. A visit to Birmingham; the Black Country Living Museum; a canal trip; a complimentary meal at Wing Wah restaurant and an opening reception in the Mayor’s Parlour are all planned for the stay.
The course is linked with the European-funded Leonardo Project which aims to forge closer links between Wolverhampton and its partner towns. The teachers invited to attend the course are either monitoring or working with Leonardo teaching assistants from Wolverhampton placed in schools in Köbánya or Walbrzych.
The project also follows a similar successful course held in Wolverhampton during the summer last year.
Issued the press office.