With my collegue Filip Kšenzulák, we had a 2-day preparatory visit in Tilburg, Netherlands. It is  located just around an hour by train to Rotterdam or Amsterdam, and around 20 minutes from Eindhoven city center.

We´ve been introduced to 2College, that runs 7 school in that particular area with approximately 4000 student and 400 staff members. We´ve visited 2 of them: the secondary school in Durandael (Ojsterwik) and Cobbenhagen-lyceum in Tilburg.    The coordinator for Erasmus+ Gertjan Goosens introduced us into dutch educational system.  English is taught there at secondary schools by age 10. But interesting for us is the fact, that Netherland has started teaching Clil subjects since 1919.          

Part of our visit also included an observation of art class and biology lesson. We could clearly see the benefits of already functioning system integrated Clil subjects that are running there, such as mathematics, science, biology, history, art, geography and etc. We can truly learn from them a lot to improve our lessons in a way of how they teach, cooperate and communicate together with respect to each other.

During our stay we´ve been also discussing the prospect of collaboration together and preparing the visit for our Clil teachers job shadowing in a near future.   They´ve also been interested in our Methodology for Clil teachers we are running in IH Bratislava.

At our visit to Cobbenhagen-lyceum we could experience the atmosphere of the school. We had an opportunity to talk to some students and teachers who were involved in this schools. The true team spirit of teenage learners, who really enjoyed learning and spending time at this school, and their devoted enthusiastic teachers.   It is even written in their logo of 2College (2meet, 2learn, 2grow).                            During our time we also visited the LocHal library in Tilburg. The huge meeting place, not just for students and we highly recommend that to everyone to see it, who visits this lovely town.

Teaching English as a second language to young learners can be both rewarding and challenging. Engaging children in language acquisition requires creativity, patience, and a keen understanding of their developmental needs. One highly effective method for accomplishing this is through play.

Play creates a positive and enjoyable learning environment for young English learners. When children associate language acquisition with fun and excitement, they are more likely to remain motivated and enthusiastic about learning. Through play, children naturally expand their vocabulary and language skills that encourage them to communicate in English. 

However, play is not just about language; it also supports cognitive development. Activities like puzzles, word games, and storytelling encourage problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity. These skills are invaluable not only for language acquisition but for overall intellectual growth. 

Incorporating play into the teaching of English as a second language is a winning strategy. It creates an environment where language acquisition is fun, engaging, and natural. Through play, children not only develop their language skills but also gain valuable cognitive, social, and cultural experiences that will serve them well in their journey to becoming proficient English speakers. 

The course “A happy lesson – joyful classroom” which took place in Sicilian Cefalu aimed to demonstrate how a happy and playful environment increases the willingness of being in the classroom, how team-building activities help teachers and students to connect, and how a set of routines builds a sustainable positive culture in classes and schools. 

Right from the beginning we got involved in the play through several games to get to know each other. With this we were able to experience the importance of warm ups, short games and icebreakers. 

There were three sessions and two breaks each day. Each session started and finished with different types of short activities, for example, “Five things” to bring back our focus to the class or “orange-apple- banana” to practice TPR. 

Through practical activities, we gained more knowledge about characteristics of a happy mindset and establishing routines led to joyful days. We also practiced 4C’s of education (Collaboration, Creativity, Communication, Critical thinking) to know and review these vital skills for success in school and beyond. 

Throughout the course we have learnt about 30 games and activities. When learning and practicing each of them we answered three essential questions:

1. What did we do?

2. Why did we do it?

3. How can we adapt this activity into my lesson?

The answer to the first question was basically description and the rules of the game. In regards to the answer to the second question, we had to think about the meaning of this activity and what we, as teachers want to achieve by playing the game. When answering the last question, we had to think about how particular activity can be adjusted into the topic of our lesson plan. 

By the end of the course, we had plenty of mix and match tools to modify our lesson plan to happy lesson plans.