7 October 2022

The second cycle of the project entitled “Teaching English to Serbian civil servants working at local government units with the focus on practical skills needed to communicate more fluently with EU counterparts” was launched on 3 October 2022 and will last until June 2023.

Following a very successful implementation of the first project cycle in 11 municipalities around the country, which involved about 125 participants, YALS was awarded a new grant by the US Embassy in Serbia to extend the project scope to 170 civil servants employed at 14 municipalities. These include 3 municipalities in Belgrade and 11 in the country (Čačak, Ćuprija, Gornji Milanovac, Jagodina, Kruševac, Kula, Leskovac, Niš, Prokuplje, Vrnjačka Banja, Valjevo).

The YALS Chair, Marija Pejatović, this year’s supplementary project coordinator, will be an invaluable asset to the original project team consisting of:

Sofija Lliljak-Vukajlović, Project Manager
Mirjana Grandov Lacić, Project Coordinator
Danijela Karafilipović, Project Accountant

The Skills Booster handbook, specially designed for this programme, has been slightly adapted for the new cycle following the teachers’ and students’ comments obtained via course material evaluation forms. Its focus remains on the functional language and skills relevant to the situations in the work of civil servants, such as active participation in meetings, writing formal emails/letters, creating and giving presentations and use of helpful digital tools, within the topics related to communal, urbanistic and economic activities, as well as the cultures of European partners, USA and Serbia.

The first week of lessons has been successful in all 14 municipalities with an impressive turnout of enthusiastic students eager to improve their English.