Optima ‘25

Emilija Ušćumlić-Ković

On Saturday, June 7, we took part in the international conference organized by the Bulgarian association OPTIMA, held in Sofia. The event gathered language teaching professionals from across Europe, with a diverse and inspiring programme.

Throughout the day, we attended lectures and workshops on topics such as:

• developing empathy and communication in the classroom,
• innovative approaches to assessment and feedback,
• integrating students’ native languages in English teaching,
• the benefits of microlearning and gamification,
• the role of music and rhythm in language acquisition.

We were especially proud of our colleague Marija Pejatović, who represented YALS and led an engaging workshop on fostering curiosity, empathy, and critical thinking in learners.

We would like to thank YALS and our school for their support – this was a valuable professional development experience that we are excited to share with our colleagues and apply in our future work.