Why can advanced language learners still sound rude, distant, too direct—or simply confusing—even when their grammar and vocabulary are excellent? The answer is often culture. At higher levels, learners may know the language extremely well and still communicate unsuccessfully because they are using the cultural rules of their first language.

In this interactive talk, we’ll explore the hidden cultural rules that shape how we communicate: how we make requests, refuse invitations, give feedback, respond to compliments, use silence, and show politeness. We’ll look at real-life examples of cross-cultural misunderstandings, famous marketing blunders, and situations where the same words can carry very different meanings.

Throughout the session, we’ll also consider an important question for language teachers: Are we teaching a language, a culture, or a particular way of communicating? Through short discussions and practical examples, we’ll explore how we can help learners develop not just linguistic accuracy, but the intercultural awareness they need to communicate successfully across cultures.

An interactive workshop for teachers who want to grow their blog with more clarity, confidence and intention — without turning blogging into another full-time job.
During the workshop, you will use My Blogging Wheel to explore the key areas of your blog: positioning, audience, content, consistency, visibility, engagement, monetisation and enjoyment.
You will see what is already working, identify your growth points and decide what your blog actually needs next.
By the end of the workshop, you will have:

• a clear picture of where your blog is now;
• your key areas for growth;
• specific ideas and priorities;
• a realistic action plan for the next 3–6 months.

Your blog doesn’t need to be perfect.
It needs to work for you.

Why does the EGE seem so intimidating to both teachers and students? Is it really as difficult as it looks or does it simply become scary when we don’t understand what exactly it expects from us?

In this interactive workshop, we’ll take a closer look at the English EGE and explore what lies behind its tasks and requirements. We’ll start with the OGE and use it as a point of reference to see how the two exams differ, not just in format, but in the skills, knowledge, and strategies they require from students.
Together, we’ll take individual EGE tasks “by the horns”: unpack what they really test, identify where students tend to struggle, and look at how seemingly different tasks are connected by the same underlying language skills. We’ll also challenge the idea that successful exam preparation is simply about doing more practice tests.

Throughout the session, we’ll consider an important question for English teachers: Are we preparing students to practise exam tasks or are we teaching them to understand the system behind the exam? Through practical examples and short activities, we’ll explore how a clear understanding of the exam can help teachers plan preparation more effectively and make the EGE feel much less frightening for both teachers and students.

Details to be published soon

Teachers meet other teachers all the time — at conferences, workshops, online communities and professional events. We exchange contacts, subscribe to each other’s social media and very often, that’s where the collaboration ends.
But what if one professional connection could become a speaking club between two schools, a joint competition, an online project, a student exchange, a teacher event or something nobody has tried before?
In this practical workshop, I will share real examples of collaborations with teachers and other language schools and show how small ideas can grow into projects that create value for students, teachers and schools.
But this workshop will not be only about listening.
Participants will meet each other, discover the resources, audiences, expertise and ideas already present in the room, and work in small groups to design their own collaborative projects.
By the end of the session, every participant will leave with at least one new professional connection and a draft of a project that could actually be launched after the conference.
Because sometimes the best resource for your next project is not another course, platform or textbook. It is another teacher