Hallo an alle! My name is Andrea Kratzer and I am a TEFL teacher from Germany. Languages have always played a very important role in my personal and professional life - je suis aussi une professeur de français. The use and integration of digital technologies in the classroom has become equally important to me, which is why I loved the idea of participating in TEMPLATE. After taking part in the training offered by TEMPLATE, I carried out two plurilingual-inspired virtual exchange projects, one in class 4 (primary school: Germany - Spain) and one in class 7 (secondary school: Germany - Italy). Although it is time-consuming to prepare a virtual exchange, I found that the project had many positive effects on my learners and myself. Not only did they realise that English can be used to communicate with peers from all over the world, but they also improved their speaking, writing, listening and intercultural skills. I was thrilled to see some of them become less shy and more confident in participating in English lessons. I became aware that I can use more than 'just' English in my language classes. I enjoyed getting to know other teachers from abroad and learning more about how they teach. I am very happy to have taken part in TEMPLATE. Thank you for this opportunity. Tschüss!
Andrea

“Early 2021, one of my former lecturers at the UCLouvain invited me to take part in a European project promoting plurilingualism and technology in the language lesson. Teaching English and German since 2015 at Institut Sainte-Ursule in Forest, Brussels, I was immediately curious about the plurilingual part and interested in integrating more technology in my daily teaching. I embarked on the TEMPLATE project and trained via webinars, before trying the suggested activities in my classes. This also gathered us in May 2023 in Turin for a conference day and collaborative workshops, where we could exchange with our European colleagues. Participating in this has allowed me to make the digital shift in my lessons with confidence and specific learning objectives. It has also strengthened my attention to developing the plurilingual competence of my students, which is encouraged by the CEFR.”
Thibaut

“In February 2022, I was invited by Galilée College (ISPG Brussels) to participate in a training session led by Fanny Meunier and Remy Decorte on plurilingual approaches and the use of new technologies in language pedagogy. It was the first time I had received training on these topics, and I immediately wanted to learn more. Therefore, I sought to apply certain methods in the classroom. As a teacher of Germanic languages in Brussels and Ghent, it was relevant to my teaching practice.
A few weeks later, I was invited to attend the international convention in Turin. It was during this convention that I was able to learn a lot more about the Template project. The presentations and workshops were in line with the project: full of resources.
I particularly appreciated the "short-term feasibility" of some projects. For example, we received lists of digital tools for organizing language exchanges facilitated by technology. This was demonstrated through the experience of a class that came to testify about the success and challenges of this method. Of course, many other topics were discussed during the convention, further strengthening my interest in the project.”
Tawfik