The Teachers of English for Future Europe (TEFE): EU mobility and employability project brings together 6 partners to examine how they prepare pre-service and newly qualified teachers of English for employability and trans-mobility across the EU. A Strategic Partnership (SP) has been established through which the 6 institutions wish to collaborate in the development of the TEFE vision. They will focus on the Internationalisation of the Teaching Practice element of teacher education and by doing so promote the idea of mobility and employability across the EU. The project aims to create the framework and tools through which the partner institutions can initially implement the TEFE vision and then begin to build an EU wide TEFE community. TEFE objectives: ● The Internationalisation of Teaching Practice for future teachers of English ● To develop the methodology and processes required by the 6 SP institutions to deliver high quality teaching practice opportunities that encourage students to experience the idea of mobility, employment and internationalisation of their teaching profession across the EU ● To understand and define the skills and knowledge Student Teachers of English (STEs) and Newly Qualified Teachers of English (NQTEs) need to enable them to work internationally trans EU ● To create and test the resources, including the use of ICT, and approaches to manage the Internationalisation of English language teacher training work placements and disseminate these across HE institutions in the EU Target groups: 1. University educators in teacher education/training programmes 2. Student Teachers of English (STEs) and Newly Qualified Teachers of English (NQTEs) 3. Teacher mentors and placement hosts The project will focus on 3 key groups and develop two core strands of activity. The first core will centre on the teaching institutions and on the innovation of their teaching practice programmes to develop key employability and trans-mobility skills. The second core strand will focus on the experiences of young people – both existing graduates and those still learning to become teachers of English – and will encourage them to be active members of the project in sharing their experiences and attitudes to working trans EU. The project methodology is one of experiential learning in undertaking visits to project partners institutions to experience first-hand what internationalisation and mobility mean in the context of the host institution and in the Intensive Study Programmes to observe the delivery of how Teaching Practice is delivered in local schools. 3 Intensive Staff Training events will offer a total of 54 opportunities to educators over the 3 years of the project and also 3 Intensive Study Programmes offering a total of 75 opportunities to students and 36 to educators. A TEFE conference inviting 180 delegates to share the work of the project. In addition, all participants will have the opportunity to input to, review and comment on the development of the intellectual outputs and their associated resources maintaining an action learning cycle of create-test-review-revise and in doing so become active members of the TEFE community. The planned results of the project are: ● Internationalisation of Teaching Practice Framework A document and resources setting out the key actions that institutions need to adopt in order to internationalise their teaching practice ● Employability Skills Framework A document and resources setting out the key actions institutions and learners need to put in place on the journey towards employment mobility of future teachers of English ● Online Centre of Evaluation & Diagnostic Tools A toolbox of resources for both educators, teaching practitioners and students which they can use when assessing internationalisation and mobility or self-reflecting on the experiences undertaken ● Communications Strategy and TEFE COIL Platform The outwards facing element of the project to facilitate communication at a Local, Regional, National and EU wide level. The web-based platform will curate all of the project resources, outputs and impacts and be a key dissemination tool. The web portal will also facilitate the peer-to-peer communications of the TEFE community and assist in the creation and sustaining of a network of professional educators. The envisioned project impacts: • Creation of an ongoing SP to continue to advocate the TEFE vision • Encouraging new STEs to experience both internationalisation and employment mobility first-hand by undertaking part of their Teaching Practice at one of the partner institutions • Stimulating institutions across the EU to use the materials at a curriculum or local level to promote internationalisation and employment mobility • Facilitating via the portal the continuance and growth of the TEFE community Overall, the TEFE Project taps into the need to transform and modernise Initial Teacher Education and contributes to the advancement of EHEA 2025.
Our project had 3 main objectives: 1. Methodology and Process Development: To develop processes for partner institutions to offer quality teaching practice opportunities that encourage students to experience mobility and internationalisation within their teaching profession in the EU. 2. Skills and Knowledge Definition: To understand and define the skills and knowledge needed by Student Teachers of English (STEs) and Newly Qualified Teachers of English (NQTEs) to work internationally across the EU. 3. Resource Creation and Testing: To create and test resources, including ICT usage and approaches for managing internationalisation of English language teacher training placements in EU higher education institutions. We also aimed to deliver 4 key intellectual outputs. These objectives contributed to the Multilingual European Educational Area 2025 Agenda and aligned with the Digital Education Action Plan. Our initial targets included: • To offer 54 places in 3 Intensive Staff Training events. • To provide 36 educator places and 75 student teacher places in 3 Intensive Study Programmes. • To hold a multiplier hosting 180 delegates. We achieved to exceed these targets. We also delivered the outputs in a more robust manner.
We applied for the TEFE project in the 2020 Call to address the need for preparing future English teachers for employability and mobility across the European Union. Our project aimed to: 1) Develop high-quality teaching practice opportunities that encourage mobility and internationalisation for student teachers of English and newly qualified teachers of English and help introduce the element of international teaching practice (ITP) as a standard component of the teacher education curriculum. 2) Define the skills and knowledge necessary for working internationally. 3) Create and test resources for internationalising English language teacher training placements. Our project targeted university educators, student teachers of English, newly qualified teachers, and mentors. Activities included experiential learning visits, staff training, study programmes, and a TEFE conference. The project's impacts included ongoing advocacy for the TEFE vision, encouraging student teacher mobility, and promoting internationalisation in institutions. In summary, the TEFE Project aimed to modernise teacher education, prepare English teachers for employability and mobility, contribute to the EHEA 2025 advancement.