In July of this year, Marlene van Heel-Bradbury, lecturer researcher at the research centre GlobaI Minds @ Work, was invited to give a two-day workshop to teachers of foreign languages at the University of Porto in Portugal. 

Global competences and building an international classroom

The workshops were two-fold: to develop the teachers own global competences AND to teach skills and share ideas on how to build an inclusive (international) classroom and how to implement activities to develop the students' global competences in foreign language lessons. Due to the enthusiasm and openness of the participants, it was a very enjoyable two days. It was lots of fun exploring the differences in communication styles augmented with stories from own experiences. Participants took a deep D.I.V.E. into their own worldviews, again learning from each other. Finally, they finished with outlines on what is needed to ensure an inclusive learning environment for all: teachers and students, and lesson plans for foreign language activities that allow students to think more globally.
 
The best part was the positive responses to each other as well as the workshops, and the ideas the participants took away with them to implement into their own lessons. All in all, an inspirational two days!