The Erasmus+ programme at Easy School for 2026

The Erasmus+ programme at Easy School of Languages can be read as a coherent, theory informed programme of short courses that address language, pedagogy, digitalization, inclusion and culture as interrelated dimensions of professional competence for educators. The programme does not just list workshops; it encodes a view of what it means to be a contemporary teacher in a European context, and how mobility-funded training can support that role. 

A theoretical frame for the whole programme

 At its core, the programme assumes that teacher development is most effective when language learning, methodological reflection and contextual knowledge are integrated rather than treated as separate domains. Many courses combine English Language Development with a second strand (methodology, CLIL, digital technology, AI, wellbeing, culture), which aligns with Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) principles applied to teacher education itself: participants use English not only as an object of study, but as the medium for engaging with professional content. 

The programme reflects constructivist and socio constructivist perspectives on learning. Across courses, participants are expected to construct understanding through active tasks, collaboration, and reflection, rather than passively receiving information. Methodology-focused programmes (e.g. Methodology for the Contemporary English Classroom; Global Teaching Toolkit) foreground planning, interaction patterns, feedback and classroom management, indicating a belief that effective teaching is a designed, iterative practice, not a collection of tricks. 

Coherent strands: language, pedagogy, digitalization, inclusion, culture 

The Erasmus offer can be grouped into several thematic strands, each with its own methodological emphasis but sharing common assumptions: 

• Language + Pedagogy Courses such as Methodology for the Contemporary English Classroom, Global Teaching Toolkit – English and CLIL for Educators, English Language Development for Teachers and Staff, and Mastering the Method – A Week in the Life of an EFL Educator all treat language and teaching skills as mutually reinforcing. They rely heavily on Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) and Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), asking teachers to design, implement and critique lessons that priorities meaningful communication, learner engagement and reflective practice. 

  
  

• Language + Culture (CLIL and experiential learning) Courses like Maltese Culture, History and Art, Voices of Malta, Contemporary Maltese Culture and Flavours & Fashion English for Everyday Life deploy CLIL and experiential learning more explicitly. Here, content (history, art, food, fashion, contemporary culture) provides the conceptual backbone, and English functions as the working language for interpretation, discussion and reflection. The field trips and site visits operate as situated learning experiences, consistent with theories of experiential and situated cognition, turning the city itself into a semiotic resource for language and content learning. 

  
  

• Digitalization and AI Accessible Digital Technology for Teachers, AI in the Workplace and Crafting the Future – AI for Technical and Vocational Educators embody an AI- and digitally mediated literacy perspective. They position digital tools and AI not as optional add-ons but as new literacy practices that teachers and vocational educators must learn to orchestrate. Here, methodologically, there is a reliance on scenario based learning: participants undertake authentic tasks (e.g. designing tech rich lessons, using AI to support planning or analysis) and then critically evaluate both process and outcomes, echoing models of reflective professional learning. 

  
  

• Inclusion, wellbeing and diversity Courses such as Supporting Diverse Learners – A Practical Approach to SEN, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace, and Mindfulness and Wellbeing for Teachers are grounded in inclusive education and trauma and wellbeing informed pedagogy. Their methodology blends input on theory (e.g. understanding SEN profiles, DEI frameworks, stress and conflict mechanisms) with case discussions, role-plays, and action planning, indicating a commitment to critical reflective practice and ethically oriented professionalism. Mobility design as pedagogy 

From an academic standpoint, even the structural design of the courses reflects pedagogical choices. Most offerings run over one week (22.5 hours) or two weeks (45 hours), with a consistent pattern of 20 lessons of language or presentation plus 10 lessons of workshops or methodology. This structure supports a theory–practice spiral: conceptual input is followed by workshop-based application, and participants cycle through these phases repeatedly over the week. 

The use of pre course enrolment forms and needs analysis on day one suggests a commitment to needs based and differentiated instruction in teacher education. Trainers adapt content, depth and examples to the group’s experience and language level, modelling the learner-centred planning that many of the methodology courses explicitly promote. The “reduced hours policy” for very small groups is not merely logistical; it implies an understanding that intensive, tailored interaction can achieve objectives in less contact time, reflecting principles from adult and continuing education. 

The inclusion of Europass Mobility documentation, PIC and OID numbers, and clear minimum levels and outcomes situates the programme firmly within European policy frameworks for teacher competence and mobility. The framing emphasizes transparency and portability of learning, resonating with competency based models in higher and adult education.

Methodological commonalities across courses 

Despite the diversity of topics, several methodological constants appear: 

• Task orientation 

  Whether in language, CLIL, digital or AI courses, participants undertake tasks that mirror authentic professional activities: planning lessons, designing projects, analysing learner needs, creating digital materials, or role-playing challenging conversations. This aligns with TBLT and professional simulation approaches in teacher education. 

  
  

• Collaborative learning and peer feedback 

  Many course descriptions reference group work, discussions, peer observation and feedback (especially in methodology-focused programmes). This reflects a community of practice model (after Lave and Wenger), where teachers learn not only from trainers but also from each other’s varied expertise and classroom realities. 

  
  

• Reflective practice 

  Journaling, action plans and debrief sessions run through courses from Mindfulness and Wellbeing to methodological and digital strands. The focus on individual wellbeing plans, classroom change plans, or digital integration strategies shows a commitment to Schön’s reflective practitioner model: teachers are expected to look critically at their own routines and design context-sensitive improvements. 

  
  

• Integration of affect and cognition 

  The explicit inclusion of mindfulness, wellbeing and stress management is not peripheral: it indicates a theoretical stance that teachers’ emotional and physical states are pedagogically relevant variables. This is coherent with research on teacher burnout, emotional labour and their impact on student outcomes, and it marks a shift from purely cognitive models of teacher competence toward a more holistic, embodied professionalism. 

• Erasmus as a laboratory for professional identity 

  Viewed in aggregate, the Erasmus offer functions as a laboratory for renegotiating teacher identity in a changing Europe. Courses invite participants to see themselves simultaneously as language users, subject specialists, digital mediators, pastoral carers and intercultural actors. Mobility becomes not only a logistical opportunity funded by Erasmus+, but also a liminal space in which teachers step out of their habitual contexts, try out new methods, and reconstruct their professional narratives with peers from other systems. 

The Malta setting and the emphasis on cultural courses amplify this identity work: teachers and adult learners explore how historical layers, colonial and postcolonial dynamics, tourism and modernization shape a small island state, and by analogy, how local and global forces shape their own institutions. This is consistent with intercultural and critical pedagogy, where contact with another context is a catalyst for reflecting on one’s own assumptions and practices. 

In this sense, the programme can be read as more than a catalogue: it is a curriculum for 21stcentury European educators, embedding communicative and CLIL methodologies, digital and AI literacies, inclusive and wellbeing-informed practice, and intercultural learning into a series of compact, carefully structured courses that are theoretically grounded and methodologically aligned.