“St. St. Cyril and Methodius” School, Chelopech, a TFB partner school from the area of Sredna Gora, held a conference on the presentation of good practices in teaching English. The conference which took place on 27 June 2017 in the “Hristo Smirnenski” Community Center, Zlatitsa, was part of the final events of the “Let Us Speak” International Project under Erasmus+ Program. TFB Program teachers had an active role in the implementation of the project and holding the conference: Alexander Ivanov (2014-2016 cohort), Sabrina Trad (2016-2018 cohort) and Yordan Hodzhev (2014-2016 cohort).

More than 30 English teachers from the area, Sofia Region and interested colleagues from across the country attended the conference in Zlatitsa, including many current Teach for Bulgaria Program participants.

The event included a presentation of the project and its activities, as well as two practical workshops for sharing good practices. Students from the fifth grade of “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” School also took part by a public speech in English, introducing the guests into the activities and atmosphere of the project.

The official guests of the conference on 27 June were the head of the Regional Education Inspectorate for Sofia Region, Hristo Andreev, and the senior expert in qualifications Ioana Chalakova, as well as representatives of America for Bulgaria Foundation.

The main focus of the “Let Us Speak” Project was to improve the spoken English skills to the A2 level. Improvement of the students’ communication skills in English, their overcoming the fear of speaking through team building games, using innovative, interactive and motivating activities in the classroom and the creation of educational materials for testing the students for A2 level were among the targets set for the activities.

The project has a duration of 2 years (2015-2017), with the partners including schools from small towns and villages from four countries — Trinets (Czech Republic), Berchisheshti (Romania), Nigde (Turkey) and Chelopech (Bulgaria).

The participants in the project on part of “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” School are the principal of the school Vesilava Pandzherova, the teacher Alexandra Ilieva, as well as the participants in the TFB Program. Close to 50 students were enrolled in the project.

Teach for Bulgaria’s long-time regional partners in the area of Sredna Gora are Dundee Precious Metals and Aurubis Bulgaria, which support the work of teachers under the Program for equal access to quality education.