Bridge ’26 – ELT conference

🗓️ February 7, 2026 | 📍 Online | Free | One Day

We’re excited to announce BRIDGE ’26, a new national conference for English Language Teachers in Romania, hosted by ESU Romania.

With the theme:
“From Language to Communication: Teaching Skills for Real Life in an AI World”, this one-day online event is designed to offer practical, teacher-focused content, relevant to today’s rapidly evolving classrooms.

Speakers & Sessions – BRIDGE ’26

Thom Jones
What Now? Teaching for Real-Life Communication in an AI World
A reflective, discussion-led session exploring what truly matters in language education as AI reshapes classrooms, assessment, and ideas of progress, with a focus on real-life communication over tools and trends.

Nik Peachey
Supporting Ethical and Constructive AI Use in the English Language Classroom
A practical and principled look at how teachers can engage critically, ethically, and constructively with AI, drawing on decades of experience in digital literacy and learning technology.

Louisa Mundachali Searle
Oracy & the Education of the Whole Child
An exploration of oracy as a foundational element of learning, character development, and civic readiness, with practical strategies for embedding structured talk and dialogic teaching into school culture.

Julie Lehner
Teacher Training in the Age of Generative AI: the IH Bucharest Training Experience
A grounded, practice-based session examining how AI is being integrated into CELTA and DELTA teacher training at International House Bucharest. Drawing on real course examples, the session explores how AI can support professional development without replacing sound pedagogy, critical thinking, or reflective practice, while also addressing ethical considerations and what genuinely works in teacher education today.

John Slade
From Fear to Function: Using AI Effectively in Language Teaching
A practical session offering five concrete ways teachers can use AI responsibly and meaningfully to support effective language learning without replacing good teaching.

Melih Duman
Helping Students with IELTS Reading
A focused session on teaching reading sub-skills more explicitly in IELTS preparation, helping learners move beyond plateaus and become more strategic, efficient readers.

Laura-Rebeca Stiegelbauer
Confidence, Interaction, and Speaking Performance: Teaching What AI Cannot Replace
A practical exploration of how teachers can continue to develop real speaking skills, confidence, and interaction in AI-rich classrooms, grounded in Cambridge Speaking assessment principles.

At ESU Romania, we believe that language education is about more than vocabulary and grammar — it’s about communication, confidence, and preparing young people for the real world.

🧠 Join us as we bridge ideas, classrooms, and communities.
🔗 Register here