La scuola gioca un ruolo centrale nelle giornate degli studenti, influenzandoli non solo dal punto di vista educativo, ma anche relazionale ed emotivo. Il benessere degli studenti è fondamentale per garantire un corretto comportamento in classe, concentrazione, apprendimento e raggiungimento degli obiettivi didattici. Negli ultimi anni, la crescente preoccupazione per la salute mentale di preadolescenti e adolescenti ha sollecitato un maggiore impegno da parte di scuole, famiglie e professionisti. Allo stesso tempo, il benessere degli insegnanti è altrettanto cruciale, poiché il loro equilibrio emotivo e professionale ha un impatto diretto sull’ambiente scolastico e sulla qualità dell'insegnamento. Riconoscere il benessere o il disagio degli studenti e degli insegnanti, e di conseguenza adottare strategie per promuovere un clima positivo e supportivo in classe rappresenta una risorsa indispensabile per migliorare l’esperienza scolastica e favorire il successo educativo di tutti i membri della comunità scolastica.

Bilingualism, the ability to use two or more languages, is a dynamic process that reshapes the brain through complex interactions among linguistic, cognitive, and neural systems. These regions, crucial for both language processing and executive control, undergo changes as the brain adapts to manage multiple languages. Factors like age of acquisition, language proficiency, and immersion influence the activation patterns in these areas, demonstrating how the brain fine-tunes its networks. Immersion-based learning, where learners are immersed in real-life linguistic environments, accelerates the development of neural pathways that support language proficiency, engaging both language-specific and cognitive control networks. These findings highlight the importance of creating immersive, interactive learning environments for language acquisition, and emphasize the broader cognitive benefits of bilingualism, including enhanced attention, problem-solving, and mental flexibility. The presentation will further explore the neural mechanisms underlying bilingualism and offer practical insights for educators and teachers.

The rise of AI has brought about both optimism for its potential and concerns about its implications for English Language Teaching. Designed to address teachers’ needs and concerns, this session will introduce practical ways to integrate AI. Focusing on efficiency, student engagement, and pedagogy, the session will demonstrate how AI can help teachers streamline lesson preparation while inspiring students with innovative activities. Participants will explore three practical AI classroom applications: AI for creating fun educational activities from YouTube videos; AI for generating podcasts from text; AI for creating interactive vocabulary games and icebreakers. By the end of the session, participants will gain practical insights and actionable strategies to make their teaching more innovative and time-efficient! The session includes step-by-step demonstrations and a digital handout for participants to revisit and implement the activities confidently in their practice.

Graded reading is an effective tool for language learners, offering a structured approach to improve vocabulary and comprehension. In this session, Samuel Williams will discuss the role of graded readers in language acquisition, showing how texts tailored to different proficiency levels help learners gradually build skills. He will highlight how graded reading fosters not only comprehension but also cultural understanding and critical thinking. Drawing from his experience, Samuel will demonstrate how immersive content, like his "CATchy English" project, enhances motivation and confidence. The session will provide educators with practical strategies to incorporate graded reading into their teaching to support students' language development.