Within the first project carried out at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra under the Erasmus+ Action KA107, Mgr. Eva Reid, PhD. and doc. PhDr. Božena Horváthová, PhD., teachers from the Department of Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies of the Faculty of Education, participated in a two-week lecture stay in Wisconsin, United States, during February 2018.

Thanks to continual cooperation with Professor William New, PhD., from the Department “Education and Youth Studies” (EDYS) at Beloit College in Wisconsin, Department of Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies successfully joined the 2-year Erasmus+ KA107 project managed by the International Relations and Mobility Office of Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra. Additional to the series of lectures, Beloit College organized public presentations for their students and teachers led by the aforementioned teachers of our university. Božena Horváthová lectured on “Supporting Learning Strategies in Foreign Language Teaching” and the subject of Eva Reid's lecture was the “Education of Gifted Pupils in Slovakia with an Emphasis on Teaching Foreign Languages”. The lectures, which were accompanied by a number of questions, attracted the attention of students and prompted a lively discussion. In one of the seminars dedicated to the teaching of intercultural communication, Eva Reid presented ways of integrating intercultural aspects into English textbooks for elementary schools, which she has co-authored with her colleague Mgr. Elena Kováčiková, PhD.

The added value of the lecture stay was a visit to the Wisconsin ESL Institute (WESLI) in Madison, which in addition to language training for foreigners, provides a programme for teachers of English as a foreign language. An interesting experience was the observation of lessons at the Spanish-English bilingual Todd School in Beloit. The lectures at Beloit College as well as meetings with colleagues at all levels of education have been a great asset and inspiration for practice. A guarantee for ongoing cooperation is the fact that the members of the Department “Education and Youth Studies” at Beloit College have shown considerable interest in a lecture stay at Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra within our ongoing Erasmus+ KA107 project. In the summer semester of the academic year 2017/2018 colleagues from Beloit College Christina Eddington and Christina Clancy will enrich lectures and seminars at the Department of Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies with their expertise and experience.

Text: doc. PhDr. Božena Horváthová, PhD., Department of Language Pedagogy and Intercultural Studies, Faculty of Education
Foto: Mgr. Eva Reid, PhD., doc. PhDr. Božena Horváthová, PhD.