What's on?

9.15 – 9.30 (Spain 10.15- 10.30) – Opening session
 

9.30 – 10.00 (10.30-11.00)

Herbie Goulart – IH Braga

Enter Critical Thinking
Before our students can develop into autonomous learners with strong communicative skills, they need to know how to think. Learning not only involves using the language but also being able to do this in real-world situations. Enter Critical Thinking.
The seminar will show that this can be achieved by using simple and easy-to-set-up tasks that encourage learners to engage more deeply with the content, introducing fresh new language to their repertoire. Challenge your students to think analytically, problem-solve and communicate more effectively!

10.05 -10.35 (11.05-11.35)
Rosa Sanchéz Garcia - Universidad Loyola Andalucía
Designing and Implementing Effective PBL in Bilingual Classrooms: A Hands-On Workshop for Teachers
This workshop offers a practical, research-informed framework to help teachers design and implement rigorous PBL effectively in bilingual classrooms. Through guided examples and hands-on activities, participants will explore the essential components of high-quality projects, from planning and information management to guided inquiry, assessment, reflection and final presentation. The session emphasizes interdisciplinary design, adaptability to diverse learners, and strategies for integrating content and language goals. Participants will also experiment with feedback, feedforward, and reflection routines that support self-regulation and deeper learning. By the end of the workshop, teachers will leave with concrete tools and a structured model they can apply directly in their own contexts.

10.40 – 11.10 (11.40-12.10)
Fran Stefl – IH Braga
Teaching together, learning together

How can we set up a Learning Situation, or DAC in the Portuguese context, which is truly cross-curricular, promotes competences, and connects classroom learning to real world experiences, while integrating English and making it meaningful for the students? A lot to ask?! This session will give examples of how creative collaboration among subject teachers can lead to a practical cross-curricular project that encourages students to make the connections.

11.10 – 11.25 (12.10-12.25)– Break

11.25 – 11.55 (12.25-12-55)
Carlos Lindade 
Building Bottom-Up AI Literacies: Simple Tools, Ethical Use, Cross-Curricular Impact

This session examines the role of generative AI in fostering learner agency across the curriculum. It outlines a bottom-up framework for classroom use, emphasising critical and ethical engagement with AI tools rather than top-down implementation. The session also highlights the pedagogical potential of accessible, free or freemium platforms, demonstrating how simple strategies can support student autonomy, enhance cross-curricular connections, and promote responsible use of AI in everyday learning contexts.

12.00 – 12.30 (13.00 – 13.30)
Gloria Senra Gayo – Gola The Toy Library
From Doing Experiments to Feeding the Chickens: The unique Gola experience

Discover how GOLA The Toy Library is transforming the way children learn English in our community. In this inspiring talk, we share our vision of a warm, immersive environment where English becomes a natural part of everyday life through play, storytelling, and emotional connection. You’ll learn how our philosophy—rooted in language acquisition theory, inclusion, and personalized attention— helps children gain confidence, curiosity, and real bilingual skills. We’ll also explore the culture behind GOLA: a committed, collaborative team focused on professional excellence, growth, and creating a positive impact in the community.
Join us to understand why GOLA is more than a language center—it’s a place where children and educators grow together.

12.35 – 1.00 (13.25-14.00)

Q & A – Colleague to colleague: how can we help you in your attempts at going cross-curricular? Bring your concerns and questions.

Bios:
Carlos Lindade - Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto (FLUP)

Carlos Lindade holds a PhD in Advanced English Studies and is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto (FLUP). He currently teaches exclusively in Master's programmes related to PreService teacher education. He is a Researcher at CETAPS and a member of APPIFORMA's Pedagogical Committee.

Fran Seftle - IHBraga
Fran Seftel is an EFL / CLIL teacher and trainer at International House Braga, with many years of experience at all levels. Her special interest is teaching young learners through a more holistic approach, integrating English in a range of interconnected areas like science, art, music, drama, and PE. She has also coordinated three Erasmus+ projects that focused on learning through play, stories and STE(A)M.

Gloria Senra Gayo - Founder and Director of Gola the Toy Library
After years of teaching English to children and adults, I discovered that real learning is not only about content, but about the emotional and human environment in which it takes place. That conviction led me, in 2013, to open my own school with a clear dream: to create something different — a space designed to offer a new way of acquiring and learning: natural, nurturing, and respectful of each child’s individual pace.

Herbie Goulart - IHBraga
Herbie has over 30 years’ experience teaching EFL to a range of students and levels, especially YLs. She is passionate about helping young learners become aware of the wider world and developing and using their thinking skills more critically.

Rosa Sánchez Garcia - Universidad Loyola Andalucía
Doctorate/PhD in Languages and Cultures from the University of Córdoba. She teaches Early Childhood and Primary Education degrees and the Master's Degree in Secondary Education at Loyola Andalucía University, covering areas such as English language teaching, CLIL and Integrated Projects. She coordinates final degree projects and directs research into educational innovation. She is also a member of the HUM-1021 research group on ‘Attention to diversity and bilingual education’ at the University of Córdoba. Her research focuses on English language teaching and active methodologies such as Project-Based Learning (PBL) and Service-Learning (SL) in bilingual contexts, analysing their impact on language skills, educational inclusion, skills development and the comprehensive training of students. She is the principal investigator in two teaching innovation projects related to PBL and the creation of digital resources.