IATEFL President, Christopher Graham, joined teachers and ELT professionals from across Ukraine for UATEFL’s Reunion Conference, Bridging Minds, Building Future, held in Lviv on 6–7 August.
The Ukrainian Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (UATEFL), with the support of the British Council in Ukraine, brought together members of the Ukrainian ELT community for two days of professional learning, discussion and connection.
Christopher Graham was invited to deliver a plenary at the conference, speaking on Teachers, Communities of Practice and Sustainability: How are they connected? His session explored the important role that communities of practice play in supporting teachers’ professional learning, motivation and development.
Christopher also considered what sustainability means for teachers and the wider ELT community, looking at how teachers learn and develop, what they share with learners, and how professional communities can create sustainable approaches to continuing professional development. The session also reflected on the particular challenges and opportunities of teaching and learning during conflict.
The conference programme featured a further three plenary speakers. Claire Ross explored collaborative teacher learning and the experience of Teacher Activity Groups developed through the British Council Ukraine’s SWITLO project. Katherine Martinkevich, Teaching Excellence Lead at British Council English Online and a former member of IATEFL’s Leadership and Management SIG Committee, looked at online teaching and the opportunities provided by virtual classrooms. Olena Lysytsia focused on visual literacy and how working with images can encourage deeper thinking, richer language and meaningful communication.
The theme of Bridging Minds, Building Future reflected the spirit of the event: bringing teachers together to share knowledge, build professional connections and look towards the future of English language education.
IATEFL is proud to continue its connection its with colleagues in Ukraine and to celebrate the important work being done by UATEFL and the wider Ukrainian ELT community.
