What Happens on the Other Side of the Baltic Sea
A Report on the EATE Summer Seminar 2025
by Urszula Majdańska-Wachowicz
I was delighted to have the opportunity to represent IATEFL Poland at the EATE Summer Seminar called “Teaching English in the age of AI” held in Pärnu, Estonia, on 22–23 August 2025. It felt like a perfect way to ease into the new school and academic year — and it truly was!
The seminar opened with a plenary speech by Irish ambassador James Sherry, titled “Ireland and the Reflection of the English Language in Irish Culture.” It was followed by two full days of sessions: workshops, talks, and presentations focused on English Language Teaching. While the main theme of the event was AI in ELT, the programme also included sessions on linguistics, literature, and more.
Some Sessions I Attended:
Express Publishing – Fannie Daou: “From Fluency to Agency: Empowering Learners through Values-Based Tasks”:
This session showed how to nurture learner agency by incorporating values into classroom tasks. Fannie highlighted the importance of integrating these tasks into teaching. In her second talk, “Harnessing the Power of AI Towards an Adaptive Learning Experience,” she presented how AI can personalise learning, adapting to students’ individual needs and learning styles.
Ene Alas – “How Are We Polite”:
As someone with a strong interest in pragmatics, I was particularly drawn to this session. Professor Alas analysed the concept of politeness using theories such as positive and negative face, speech acts, and Grice’s maxims. She also shared practical activities and classroom resources for teaching these ideas effectively.
Marika Loderaud – “Jersey Island & Tom Barnaby or John Nettles”
This session sparked my curiosity as a researcher. It offered a fascinating look into the Jersey language, the island’s history, and its representation in literature and media through the work of John Nettles.
Triin Ella – “Healthy Vocal Use”:
The closing session was both fun and practical. The singer at Estonian National Opera and singing teacher shared enjoyable techniques for maintaining vocal health — many of which I plan to use as warm-ups in my own classroom.
As for my workshop, “Start the School Year with a Catchy Pop Song: A Complete Lesson Plan is Here”,I delivered a ready-to-use lesson plan designed for the first lesson after the summer break. Participants acted as students to experience the lesson first-hand and left with materials they could use in September. I was thrilled with the engagement from the audience — it was a joy to work with fellow teachers in Estonia. Selected activities from this workshop will be published in TESOL France’s Teaching Times.
To sum up, attending the EATE Summer Seminar 2025 was a truly enriching experience. It’s always inspiring to be among passionate English teachers and trainers who share their knowledge and ideas. I’m grateful to IATEFL Poland for the grant that made this trip possible. To the Chair of EATE Erika Puusemp and the entire EATE committee — thank you for your warm hospitality, the gift, and great organisation. I’m glad I could be part of this event.
BIO:
Dr Urszula Majdańska-Wachowicz is an Assistant Professor at the University of Zielona Góra, Poland, with a PhD in Linguistics and MAs in English and in Polish & Journalism. She teaches English at both university and secondary school levels and works as a teacher trainer. She co-coordinates the IATEFL Poland project „From Pre-Service into In-Service: Professional Development for Professionals-to-Be.” She has represented IATEFL Poland at the ETAI Summer Conference (2022), the 45th TESOL Greece Convention (2024), the 43rd TESOL France Annual International Colloquium (2024), the 15th ELTA Albania International Conference (2025), and the EATE Summer Seminar (2025). To date, Dr Majdańska-Wachowicz has delivered over 50 presentations at linguistic congresses and TEFL conventions in Poland and abroad, with her latest being at the 23rd ASIA TEFL International Conference in Hong Kong. Her ORCID is: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3004-0826
