To enable educators who were involved in the piloting of the EYL curriculum to successfully implement it in their classes, the EYL project team designed and developed a teacher development programme that initially consisted only face-to-face teacher training seminars. More specifically, since the EYL curriculum’s introduction into Greek primary schools, several training events have been organized by the EYL project team. These seminars took place all over Greece and have been attended by more than 2000 in-service Greek English language teachers. Face-to-face teacher training seminars have also been organized and run by local district school advisors that participate in the EYL project. In fact, their contribution to the teacher development programme has been invaluable.

During the first two piloting years of the EYL programme, it became apparent that there were significant changes in the composition of the English language teachers’ population (30%-40% of those in-service teachers who were called on to teach in the first two grades of primary school had never taught first and second graders) and that therefore the training programme could not only be based on face-to-face seminars. Accordingly, the EYL project team decided to also provide EYL teachers with a distance-learning on line programme (that currently contains both an “EYL e-course” and a teleconferencing teacher training programme). 

Teacher Training Events – Seminars

For the school year 2012-2013, various one-day face-to-face teacher training seminars have taken place all over Greece. Responsible for these seminars were the collaborating school advisors and members of the EYL project team.

The EYL e-course

The on line teacher training programme gives Greek in-service EFL teachers the chance to “attend” a self-study e-course entitled "TEACHING ENGLISH TO EARLY LANGUAGE LEARNERS" (TELL) that consists of 6 modules that provide guidelines and examples of good practice.

Greek in-service EFL teachers can watch all 6 modules offered at whatever order they wish and at their own pace by registering and logging into the portal. All other interested parties (EFL teachers, researchers, teacher trainers) can access only the first module of the e-course. Nevertheless, individual researchers who would like to access the rest of the modules for research purposes can request permission by contacting the EYL project team, at peap@enl.uoa.gr