News

ÚJOP UK held the first international language Staff Week 2023

In the week of 6 -10 February 2023, the Institute of Language and Preparatory Studies of Charles University - ÚJOP UK hosted the first start-up Staff Training Week aimed at improving English communication skills of university staff. This year's course was attended by 7 representatives of partner universities from 4 countries, namely France, Italy, Poland and Romania.

In the course led by Irena Antonova together with teachers Katherine Dobias from Canada and Michelle Walsh from Ireland, the participants acquired skills that will enable them to communicate confidently with colleagues, students and academic staff.

„I really liked the interactive approach and I was pleasantly surprised that studying could be fun. We covered real-life situations that I deal with on a daily basis as a foreign department clerk," said a "student" from Italy praising the one-week course.

The training included interactive building of office and administrative vocabulary and practicing typical work situations such as writing emails, making phone calls, making presentations, negotiating and providing assistance to students and staff.

„The lessons were interactive and I feel that I have improved my English. I wanted to work on my email-writing skills because as a secretary I communicate with foreign professors. The course helped me a lot to understand the techniques of writing emails, as well as other forms of communication," said a staff member at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University in Iași, Romania.

Students worked on their language skills in the mornings and then had tours of the historical centre of Prague and important museums together with Zdena Pražáková. The course ended with a certificate awarding ceremony in the chapel of the Voršilská Street teaching centre.

ILPS is the first at Charles University to offer the Practical English for Staff course as part of the Imotion Staff Week platform. The current interest in the May course has shown that this method of teaching is attractive to staff of foreign universities and therefore the Academic Skills option will be expanded in the future as well.

The Erasmus staff training activities - the International Staff Training Weeks are usually attended by 200 staff members every year at Charles University.

APPLY FOR THE ERASMUS+ COURSE NOW!

Photos: René Volfík

Text: Petra Köppl