Empowering EFL Teachers: A Day of Innovation and Collaboration - Wednesday 10th September 2025

 What a fantastic day it was at the 22nd Primary School of Athens! We were thrilled to see such an impressive turnout and a high-quality program at the professional development seminar for English Language teachers. The event, held on Wednesday, September 10, 2025, brought together teachers from across Athens to explore innovative strategies for creating more inclusive and effective learning environments.

The seminar, titled "Empowering EFL teachers for inclusive and effective learning with modern, innovative classroom strategies," was organized by Vasiliki Papaioannou, School Advisor of A Athens, with the approval of the Education Quality Supervisors for Primary and Secondary Education in Athens. It featured a series of thought-provoking and practical presentations.

The day began with  a warm welcome by Vasiliki Papaioannou, School Advisor of A Athens, and  a keynote presentation by Archontia Mantzaridou, Ph.D., MA, School Advisor for Primary Education of Piraeus, on "Differentiated Instruction in Practice." Her talk emphasized that every student has a unique learning profile shaped by their readiness, interests, and learning style. Archontia shared practical techniques for adapting content, process, and products to meet individual needs, ensuring every student is motivated and actively engaged. In an increasingly diverse educational landscape, differentiated instruction is a vital strategy for fostering a truly inclusive classroom where every child's uniqueness is a starting point for learning.

She recommeded several sources on the topic such as ΙΕΠ  , Ιφιγένεια, Αίσωπος etc.

Next, we heard from Konstantina Bozonelou, PE70, Director of the 22nd Primary School of Athens, and Maria Stafylakou, PE06/EFL Teacher at the 21st Primary School of Athens. They shared their experiences as accredited Erasmus organizations and highlighted the contribution of these European programs to the education of students with fewer opportunities, such as migrants and refugees. Their presentation, "The contribution of Erasmus and Etwinning programs to the education of students with fewer opportunities," showed how these programs offer experiential learning, intercultural experiences, and collaboration with peers from other countries, encouraging inclusion and self-confidence.

Areti Sidiropoulou, PE06/EFL Tutor, then presented on "MusicLexis: Classroom Practice and Future Trends in Education." She detailed recent developments of MusicLexis, an online dictionary and grammar resource that uses musical examples and sentences from popular songs. She introduced the new Practice wiki, which provides interactive exercises and games based on the musical examples. The presentation also unveiled Padlet walls, a new feature allowing users to contribute their own musical examples.

Following that, another PE06/EFL tutor, Voula Moustakidou, presented on "Be flexible and motivate students - enrich lessons with authentic tasks and materials." The talk explored the necessity of integrating external resources and designing near-authentic tasks to effectively engage and motivate diverse students. Attendees received practical suggestions and examples on how to leverage real-world materials to create dynamic and relevant learning environments that resonate with students’ interests and backgrounds.

The final presentation of the day was by Katherine Reilly, ELT Author & Teacher Trainer, on "Unleash Your Voice: Empowering Students to Believe, Grow, and Succeed." Drawing from real classroom experiences and powerful student stories, her talk highlighted the importance of helping young people build confidence and take ownership of their learning journey. It was a powerful call to action to create environments where students are not just learners but leaders of their own growth, encouraging them to speak up and unlock their full potential.

 You can find her presentation material at this link: https://shorturl.at/xTaKk

I had the opportunity to share my work with colleagues as well, titled,  Empowering EFL teachers for inclusive and effective learning with modern, innovative classroom strategies: A culture of collaboration. At the heart of my talk was one key idea: teaching English is not just about grammar and vocabulary—it’s about creating empowering learning experiences where every student feels valued, capable, and inspired.

A central theme was collaboration. Whether through peer observation and feedback, cross-disciplinary teamwork with CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), or intercultural projects like Erasmus+ and eTwinning, collaboration makes us stronger as teachers and helps our students thrive. When we share practices, exchange feedback, and work across disciplines, we not only grow professionally but also build trust and create richer, more inclusive classrooms.

I also highlighted the role of professional communities such as the English Language Teachers’ Hive (Ε-ΜΕ)—a vibrant platform where teachers can share ideas, access resources, and connect with colleagues across Greece.

To make collaboration practical, I shared a few Padlets created with schools and teachers:

Thank you to all the speakers for their insightful presentations and to everyone who attended for making this a memorable and inspiring event. The collective energy and passion for teaching were truly remarkable.

We look forward to seeing you at the next event! Together, we can continue building a true culture of collaboration—for our students and for ourselves as educators.

Βασιλική Παπαϊωάννου
Σύμβουλος Εκπαίδευσης Α Αθήνας, κλ. ΠΕ06 (Αγγλικής Φιλολογίας)

ΔΔΕ  Α ΑΘΗΝΑΣ 
Χίου 16-18, Τ.Κ.10438 Αθήνα