One day of learning — and 100,000 UAH for the Come Back Alive Foundation. Thank you to the speakers, to participants from all over the world and to everyone who turned a day of learning into real support. Here are the recordings of both rooms and your certificate.
100,000
UAH donated to Come Back Alive
12
practical sessions across two rooms
8
hours of professional development
2
recordings — Room 1 and Room 2
Thank you, every one of you — you are amazing!
Speakers from different countries and teachers from Kyiv, Warsaw, Madrid, Tbilisi, Hanoi and beyond — one day, one goal. You came to learn, and together we supported those who defend Ukraine: on 5 October the school passed every contribution on to the Come Back Alive Foundation. Here is the payment order.
The foundation
Recordings
Sessions the speakers agreed to share — one video per room. The conference language is English.
Enter the email you registered with and the certificate will arrive in your inbox.
Programme
This is how 3 October went. Room 1 — methodology and teacher development, Room 2 — special contexts and technology. The recordings of both rooms are at the top of the page.
Download the full programme (PDF)13 pages · 1.5 MB · in English
Morning
09:15–09:30
Tetiana OratovskaRoom 1
09:30–10:15
Boelo van der PoolA practical look at neurodiversity among both learners and teaching staff.Boelo explores how neurodivergent teachers experience the workplace and what language schools can do to build more inclusive, effective environments for everyone.
Language teachers, teacher trainers and school leaders
10:30–11:15
Glenn StandishIH ToruńSometimes you run out of things to do on your lesson plan.Sometimes you need to start with an energiser. Today I will show you an array of fun, fast fillers to fill your classroom. They may be fun, but for sure they all have an English educational purpose. Come and join us for what promises to be a fun and very practical session.
Pre-CELTA, Post-CELTA
11:30–12:30
Robert MartínezLacunza IH San SebastianArtificial Intelligence is transforming how we teach, design learning materials, and engage learners.But with great power comes great responsibility — especially when working with minors and copyrighted materials. In this 60-minute interactive webinar, we’ll explore what ethical and responsible AI use looks like for language teachers worldwide.
Pre-CELTA, Post-CELTA, Post-Delta
12:45–13:30
Kate LloydIELTS KiteIn my session, I will look at the reasons why some students, especially teenagers, are reluctant to speak in class, and give practical suggestions on how we can encourage them to participate more fully.
Pre-CELTA, Post-CELTA
Room 2
11:30–12:30
Kris KirbyIELTS KiteThis session will explore the importance of providing practical opportunities for practising speaking during a lesson through engaging roleplays.It will suggest techniques we can use to encourage our students to overcome their reluctance to speak and also provide methods to promote the use of target language during interactions.
Post-CELTA, Post-Delta
12:45–13:30
Ben DobbsDistance CertMilitary English takes various forms ranging from English taught in military contexts to hard, technical language or language for the purposes of international collaboration.This session will look at what Military English is, who requires Military English training, how to teach Military English and why this may be required. The session will also introduce concepts such as NATO STANAG 6001.
Post-CELTA, Post-Delta
13:30–14:00Break
Afternoon
17:45–18:00
Tetiana OratovskaRoom 1
14:00–14:45
Chris RichardsThe British School (Madrid)How can we encourage our students to be their authentic selves and what benefits would this bring?What would more agency and autonomy for our students look like? And what’s the difference between autonomy and agency anyway?! This session will share theory and discuss big-picture approaches, whilst also sharing practical suggestions and specific activities that you can use in lessons.
Post-CELTA
15:00–16:00
Christopher WalkerInternational House Bielsko-BialaThere’s always been something unsatisfying about the way we understand and teach the English verb system.For instance, how can 'I am happy' and 'I like pizza' both be present simple when only one needs the operator ‘do’ to be made negative or into a question?
Post-CELTA, Post-Delta
16:15–17:00
Courtney BaileyUniversity of South CarolinaInheriting a course or set of teaching materials can feel overwhelming, especially when you’re unsure what should stay and what should change.This session introduces a practical Keep, Revise, Cut framework that helps educators evaluate alignment, build confidence in their instructional decisions and develop a sense of ownership over inherited courses and materials without starting from scratch.
Pre-CELTA, Post-CELTA, Post-Delta
17:15–17:45
Katja PrestonIHWODiscover two simple breathing practices that you can use both personally and with your learners.In this practical session, teachers and teacher educators will experience one energising and one calming breathing practice, then explore how these techniques can be adapted for context-specific classroom use. Leave with two ready-to-use activities to support focus, wellbeing and self-regulation both online and in-person.
Pre-CELTA, Post-CELTA, Post-Delta
Room 2
14:00–14:45
Erin CuccioFormer secondary English teacher, speaker, author & coachThe most powerful classroom changes begin with the teacher.This interactive session explores small mindset and habit shifts that reduce overwhelm, increase confidence and renew purpose, strengthening classroom culture, student relationships and learner engagement.
Pre-CELTA, Post-CELTA, Post-Delta
16:15–17:00
Hamed HashemianLe Quy Don Secondary and High School (Vietnam)This webinar will help you to gain practical, research-informed strategies for maximising student participation in large, mixed-ability classrooms.Together, we will explore the key challenges teachers face when addressing diverse learner needs and examine how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can serve as a powerful and accessible solution.
Pre-CELTA, Post-CELTA, Post-Delta
Speakers
Thank you to the teachers and trainers from International House schools and beyond who shared their experience. Scroll to see everyone.
Room 1Glenn StandishIH Toruń10:30–11:15 · Kyiv timeGlenn Standish was born in New Zealand but was brought up in Saudi Arabia and the UK. He has been teaching English in Poland for 24 years and has been the Director of Studies at IH Toruń for the past 13 years.
Room 1Robert MartínezLacunza IH San Sebastian11:30–12:30 · Kyiv timeRobert is celebrating 32 years in ELT! He’s passionate about language assessment, technology, and teacher education. He’s a CELTA Tutor & Assessor, IHWO & Eaquals Inspector & Board Trustee, TELT Digital Learning Advisor, TESOL-SPAIN AC, and EduVerse Ambassador.
Room 2Kris KirbyIELTS Kite11:30–12:30 · Kyiv timeKris has taught English since 2007 and has experience of living and working in England, Thailand, Spain, Vietnam, China and Ukraine. He has taught a wide range of ages and levels and also designed and run courses in teacher training.
Room 1Kate LloydIELTS Kite12:45–13:30 · Kyiv timeKate is an English teacher specialising in exam preparation (IELTS). She is a teacher trainer holding the Trinity DipTESOL and Cambridge Train the Trainer certificate, with 19 years’ experience, including 7 years as an academic manager in Ukraine.
Room 2Ben DobbsDistance Cert12:45–13:30 · Kyiv timeBen Dobbs is a director of Distance Cert, a learning mentor on their Cert IBET courses and an experienced Military English teacher and developer of the Certificate in Teaching Military English.
Room 1Chris RichardsThe British School (Madrid)14:00–14:45 · Kyiv timeChris has been teaching since 2010, including time as a DoS and Academic Manager. He has taught in both ELT and high school contexts, and currently teaches in an international secondary school. He holds an MEd in Applied Linguistics and a Diploma in Academic Management.
Room 2Erin CuccioFormer secondary English teacher, speaker, author & coach14:00–14:45 · Kyiv timeErin is a former secondary English teacher, now a speaker, author and coach. She helps teachers make small, sustainable shifts that reduce overwhelm and bring back confidence and purpose in the classroom.
Room 1Christopher WalkerInternational House Bielsko-Biala15:00–16:00 · Kyiv timeChristopher Walker is the Director of Studies at IH Bielsko-Biala, and also the Editor of the IH Journal. He has been teaching for about twenty years, and in his free time he loves to read, write, and walk.
Room 1Courtney BaileyUniversity of South Carolina16:15–17:00 · Kyiv timeCourtney Bailey is an Instructional Designer at the University of South Carolina’s Center for Teaching Excellence, where she leads faculty development in instructional design and AI integration.
Room 2Hamed HashemianLe Quy Don Secondary and High School (Vietnam)16:15–17:00 · Kyiv timeHamed Hashemian has over 15 years of experience teaching young learners, teens and adults, and has also trained teachers all over the world. He currently works as the Director of Studies/lead trainer in a secondary and high school in Vietnam.
Room 1Katja PrestonIHWO17:15–17:45 · Kyiv timeKatja is DELTA qualified and has over 20 years' experience in English language teaching, teacher education and professional development. Since 2021, she has coordinated teacher development programmes at IH OTTI.
Next
Want to keep learning? Conference participants get special terms on IH Kyiv teacher training programmes — ask our manager for details.
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