The subject of our project is “Developing secondary level students’ speaking skills and improving their general command of English”. It is to be carried out mainly through some of our teachers’ participation in a methodological course in Exeter, UK. PROJECT OBJECTIVES • Improving the course participants’ linguistic competence • Enhancing the participants’ intercultural awareness, e.g. through their gaining knowledge of other European education systems • Broadening the knowledge of methodology in order to improve linguistic competence, particularly speaking skills, among the students of both schools • Enhancing the participants’ professional skills as well as their knowledge of teaching approaches and methods of developing oral fluency among the bilingual class students of both gimnazjum and liceum • Initiating international cooperation with fellow course participants with a view to setting up further Erasmus+ partnerships • Enriching our educational offer with new techniques and methods of generating increased confidence in speaking English and encouraging learners to use the language as a tool for real communication COURSE ORGANIZER: International Projects Centre in Exeter, UK (www.ipcexeter.co.uk) PROJECT PARTICIPANTS Three English teachers who work in both schools, that is gimnazjum and liceum, will take part in the project. Therefore both schools will benefit from the knowledge and experience the teachers will gain during the course. We also wish to call your attention to the fact that all the three project participants teach English in bilingual classes, in which the level of teaching as well as teaching demands are considerably higher. What is more, one of the teachers holds the position of the coordinator for bilingual classes in our school. STEPS TAKEN OR TO BE TAKEN TOWARDS OUR OBJECTIVES Having diagnosed our school’s strategic needs, we carefully selected the project participants. After that we initiated cooperation and established email contact with the course organiser– International Project Centre in Exeter. Then we commenced preparing our application for financial support for the teachers’ participation in “Developing Oral Fluency in Secondary English Language Classroom” course. The course is meant for teachers working with secondary level students ( aged 11-19 ) and comprises 14 training sessions. Not only does it support the participants’ professional development or provide them with a variety of helpful materials easily adaptable to use with different age groups and ability levels, but it also offers a number of activities outside the classroom. These include exploring the local area, visiting places of historic and cultural interest, experiencing the language in its cultural and social setting. Another major advantage of taking part in the course is meeting colleagues from other European countries and the opportunity to set up international school partnerships in the future. What we plan to do after the course is disseminate the project outcomes. One of the means we intend to apply in order to do so is launching a campaign to inform people and promote the project in our school, in the local community and in our region. Additionally, we would like to organize a number of methodological workshops so as to share the acquired knowledge and experience with the other teachers. It is also our intention to prepare a brochure/guide containing a range of useful methods and techniques of developing oral fluency as well as some practical activities and tips to be used in the English language classroom. The aforementioned brochure/guide will be one of the ways to promote the project in our school and in the local community. Our final step will be evaluating the project and preparing financial and final reports. METHODOLGY Refreshing the knowledge of methodology by analyzing Jeremy Harper’s “How to teach English” EXPECTED OUTCOMES AND IMPACT • improved linguistic competence of the project participants • better communicative skills among the students of gimnazjum and liceum of ZSO Nr 1 in Olsztyn • increased quality of teaching in bilingual classes with the emphasis on teaching oral fluency • the other teachers will enhance their professional skills by adopting new techniques and methods of teaching English, mainly oral fluency • greater motivation among students to communicate and develop their speaking skills in terms of accuracy, fluency and confidence • heightened intercultural awareness among the course participants • promotion of our project and our school in the local community and abroad • more effective functioning of our school As far as the long term benefits are concerned, we intend to extend the school’s educational offer by applying new methods and techniques of improving linguistic competence among the students of both schools of ZSO Nr 1, particularly developing oral fluency and improving accuracy. Moreover, we want to continue cooperating with with fellow course participants.