Our project aimed to promote a comprehensive approach to language teaching and learning. It addressed the need for professional development (PD)among English language teachers (ELT). We saw an opportunity for an international development project with long-lasting cooperative results, leveraging the value of lifelong learning and sharing best practices among ELTs. To achieve our goals, we co-created the English Language Teaching Mentor Network (ELTMN), and held 10+1 online sessions, 1 hybrid and 1 in-person session throughout the project. We collaborated with 7 experts who were giving a lecture, workshop or moderated the ELTMN sessions. It has been serving as a platform for innovation, professional relationships, and the creation of publicly available ELT materials. Through our activities, we’ve focused on promoting a comprehensive approach to language teaching and learning. Another objective was to share tailored insights into Finnish ELT practices for English language educators. We organised 6 Finish school visits, 50 hours of workshops and on-site training in Finland and in Hungary. By forming 4 platforms for sharing PD materials and connecting ELT’s we succeeded in forming a self-running and supportive international community.
We applied for the project to address the urgent needs of English Language Teaching (ELT) teachers in Hungary and Finland. In Hungary, especially in rural areas, there is a lack of high-quality professional training for ELT educators. Through the co-creation of the English Language Teaching Mentor Network (ELTMN), we aimed to establish a supportive community of professionals, responding to the need of teaching best practices and building connections between Finnish and Hungarian ELT teachers. Addressing the lack of innovative teaching and professional development materials, we developed total videos and publicly available ELT training materials tailored to the specific needs of educators (comprehensive approach to language teaching and learning). We included 12 teachers (2 kindergarten,1 primary, 4 secondary, 5 high school) and 1 teacher on the autism spectrum ensuring inclusivity and a broader impact considering International relations and development of teachers’ cooperation. Our aim was to promote professional development (new learning and teaching methods and approaches), collaboration, innovation, lifelong learning, and mutual support for both Finnish and Hungarian ELT’s.