Erasmus+ | Innovations in Language Teaching Methodology

In Summer 2021, I had the opportunity to take part in an Erasmus + course called ‘Innovations in Language Teaching Methodology’, run by the Maksima language school in Split, Croatia. Together with students from all around the EU, I took part in lessons intended to bring our teaching into the 21st century by introducing us to apps, websites and other tech-based platforms which are helpful for engaging students.



Our tutors were extremely inspiring, knowledgeable and patient. Despite some teething problems at the beginning, the whole class soon developed working knowledge of everything from QR codes, to creating educational games, and giving interactive presentations using ‘Mentimeter’ - and much more besides.

My favourite class was a perfect example of the ‘task-based learning’ teaching technique. My classmates and I were placed into groups. After just a few minutes of coaching, we were told to walk the short distance from the classroom into Split’s old town, and come back after a couple of hours with a video aimed at visitors to the city. None of us had any experience in making videos, and we did not have high hopes. But thanks to the ‘Vita’ video app, and a little teamwork, we quickly became seasoned Hollywood directors, creating an Oscar-worthy scripted video complete with special effects and music. We were extremely proud of ourselves… until we watched the other groups’ videos, which were even more impressive than our own.

The other lessons were similarly useful and engaging, and I intend to use many of the apps and tools which were introduced to us. I found the hands-on nature of the course extremely productive. I also realised that the best classroom is not one where students listen to the teacher and their peers because they’re expected to - rather, it’s one where they need to in order to complete the tasks they’re set. As such, I hope to use more task-based learning, games, projects and interactive activities. I will leave you with the following quote from one of my Erasmus+ tutors:

“Maybe, instead of forcing teenagers to learn in an analogue world, we should bring our teaching into their digital world.”


Jerry Bailey

Erasmus+ info