Languages Connect Summit - Saturday 14 October 2023
In collaboration with the Department of Education, Oide, COGG, Léargas, teacher and HEI colleagues as well as a diverse range of associated stakeholders, Post-Primary Languages Ireland was delighted to host the Languages Connect Summit on 14 October at the Convention Centre Dublin.
The summit provided an opportunity for 1,200 language teachers and stakeholders to collaborate with an expansive network of MFL representatives and learn new skills and strategies through diverse and innovative workshops.
Celebration | Collaboration | Diversification | Inclusion | Innovation | Inspiration
The summit was an opportunity to celebrate the Languages Connect strategy. We heard from expert keynote speakers in language learning and wellbeing, and were encouraged and inspired with the opportunity to collaborate and share with colleagues, to learn new skills and strategies in workshops hosted by teachers for teachers, to inspire language learning for the future, and to provide an opportunity for relevant stakeholders and teachers to engage with one another. Topics highlighted on the day included CLIL, innovative digital technologies, and methodologies that promote inclusion.
Which languages were represented?
Teachers of the traditionally taught French, German, and Spanish made up the largest proportion of participants, however, a significant number of participants were teachers of the new and lesser taught languages including Italian, Japanese, Mandarin Chinese, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese and Russian. There were also teachers of Arabic, Welsh and Korean as well as a cohort of teachers representing the non-curricular languages including Dutch, Greek, Latvian, Romanian, and Turkish. A significant number of Irish teachers were also in attendance. In total there were 700 in-service teachers in attendance, many of whom also provided workshops.
Opportunities for Initial Teacher Education students
As a result of close collaboration with colleagues involved in teacher education in the HEIs it was possible to include 140 ITE students. It was an opportunity for the teachers of the future to connect with other teachers, learn from the professional development opportunities, discover the teacher professional networks, collaborate with their peers, and become familiar with the relevant Professional Learning Communities on social media.
Foreign Language Assistant Induction
169 Foreign Language Assistants from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Spain also attended on the day. As the summit focused on celebrating the Languages Connect strategy and on promotion and support for language education in Ireland it offered a unique opportunity to include annual induction for the FLAs. PPLI organized, hosted, and welcomed the FLAs working closely with the Inspectorate, Terms and Conditions, with the relevant embassies and cultural institutes, and with Advantage (event support) to ensure an effective and smooth roll out of the FLA induction at the Summit.
