YALS Association of Language Schools of Serbia
Udruženje škola stranih jezika Srbije
N E W S L E T T E R

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11

IZVEŠTAJ O RADU YALS-a 2010-2011

Izvestilac: Marija Pejatović, Predsednica YALS-a

Protekla školska godina bila je jedna od najuspešnijih za naše Udruženje. Prepoznali su nas kao ključnog partnera za kvalitetet jezičkih usluga u Srbiji te smo učestvovali u mnogobrojnim dešavanjima koja su organizovali EAQUALS, Britanski Savet i ELT izdavači kako u Srbiji tako i u inostranstvu.

Naše predstavnice - Vesna Stakić I Danijela Veljković išle su na EAQUALS –ovu radionicu u London 2010. i EAQUALS-ovu Godišnju Skupštinu u Pragu 2011.

Zajedno sa Britanskim Savetom YALS je organizovao jednodnevni seminar u Beogradu u maju, 2011. sa novoizbranom predsednicom EAQUALS-a, gospođom Ludkom Kotarskom, kao predavačem. Bili smo srećni što smo domaćini g-đe Kotarske u njenoj prvoj poseti Beogradu i Srbiji. Seminar pod nazivom “Dobra praksa u stalnom stručnom usavršavanju i ocenjivanje'' izazvao je veliko interesovanje ne samo među profesorima koji rade u privatnim školama već i među profesorima engleskog jezika koji rade u državnim školama po Srbiji. Kako je seminar bio veoma uspešan YALS i Britanski Savet su se složili da nastave da zajednički organizuju seminare u budoćnosti.

Kao jedino Udruženje škola stranih jezika u Srbiji koje je u potpunosti organizovano i ima sva neophodna dokumenta Britanski Savet nas je pozvao da predstavljamo Srbiju na Sastanku Udruženja iz regiona održanom u Zagrebu u februaru 2011. Sastanak je organizovao Britanski savet ali ga je EAQUALS podržao. Na sastanku je YALS postao član Mreže za kvalitet jezičkih usluga zajedno sa nacionalnim Udruženjima iz Makedonije, Hrvatske, Rumunije, Bugarske i Bosne. Mreža će imati zajedničku mejling listu i radiće zajednički na ostvarenju istih ciljeva.

Sporazum o saradnji između Britanskog Saveta i YALS-a je obnovljen na godinu dana.
I ove godine smo organizovali Književno takmičenje YALS 2011 i oko tridesetak đaka dobilo je knjige koje je obezbedio naš darežljivi sponzor Pearson Longman. Ovo je saradanja koja će se nastaviti.

Predstavnica YALS-a, Maja Gavrilović, predstavila je naše Udruženje na seminaru English Book-a ” Menadžment škole'' održanom u Beogradu u februaru 2011. Ovo je bio proizvod sastanka organizovanog između predstavnika English Book, Aleksandra Ilića, i predsednice YALS-a, Marije Pejatović. Na sastanku je dogovoreno da će English Book i YALS podržavati jedni druge u aktivnostima vezanim za poboljšanje kvaliteta u školama jezika u Srbiji.

Nastavljamo našu saradnju sa Udruženjem profesora engleskog jezika –ELTA.

Za sledeću školsku godinu smo već rezervisali Guarnerius za YALS-ovu dvodnevu Konferenciju koja će se održati u oktobru, 2011. EAQUALS i Britanski Savet su već potvrdili njihovo aktivno učešće a očekujemo i od izdavača da daju svoj doprinos.

Sledeći YALS-ov interni seminar biće održan u Leskovcu u maju 2012. godine.
Kao rezultat naše kampanje o promociji kvaliteta u školama jezika u Srbiji, na YALS-ovoj Godišnjoj Skupštini u junu 2011. English Club, škola jezika iz Ćuprije, postala je pridruženi član Udruženja. Iskreno se nadamo da će više škola pronaći svoj interes u priključivanju YALS-u i pozivamo ih da se '' priključe YALS-u da nađu izvor''.

YALS REPORT 2010/ 2011

by Marija Pejatović, Chair of YALS

This school year was one of the most successful for our association. We were recognized as a key partner in quality language services in Serbia and participated in numerous events organized by EAQUALS, British Council and ELT publishers in Serbia and abroad.

Our representatives – Ms Vesna Stakic and Ms Danijela Veljkovic,  went to EAQUALS workshops in London, 2010 and EAQUALS AGM in Prague in 2011.

Together with the British Council, YALS organized a one-day seminar in Belgrade in May, 2011 with the newly elected EAQUALS president, Ms Ludka Kotarska, as a speaker. We were happy to be Ms Kotarska’s hosts during her first stay in Belgrade. The seminar entitled Good practice in continuing professional development and assessment aroused great interests not only among English teachers from private language schools but also English teachers working in state schools throughout Serbia. As the seminar turned out to be a real success both YALS and the British Council agreed to continue to jointly organize seminars in the future.

As YALS is the only Association of language schools in Serbia which is fully organized and possesses all the relevant documents we were invited by the British Council to represent our country at the Regional Associations Meeting in Zagreb in February 2011. The Meeting was organized by the British Council and supported by EAQUALS.  At the meeting YALS became a member of the Quality Language services Network together with national associations from Macedonia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and Bosnia. The Network will have its own mailing list and will work together on fulfilling the same goals.

The Memorandum of Understanding between the British Council and YALS was renewed for one more year.

Again this year we organized YALS Literary Competition 2011 and about 30 students were awarded readers provided by our generous sponsor Pearson Longman. This is an ongoing cooperation which will continue.

YALS representative, Ms Maja Gavrilovic, presented our Association at the English Book seminar on School management in Belgrade in February, 2011. This was a follow-up of a meeting organized by the English Book representative, Mr Aleksandar Ilic, and YALS president , Ms Marija Pejatovic. At the meeting it was agreed that both  the English Book and YALS would support each other in activities relating to enhancing the quality in language schools in Serbia.

We continue our cooperation with the English Language Teachers’ Association – ELTA.

For the next year we have already booked Guarnerius for YALS two –day Conference which will be held in October, 2011. EAQUALS and British Council have already confirmed their active involvement and we expect the publishers to give their contributions too.

The next YALS In-house seminar will be held in Leskovac in March 2012.

As a result of our campaign on promoting the quality in language schools in Serbia, at YALS AGM in June, 2011, English Club, a language  school from Cuprija, became YALS associate member. We sincerely hope that more schools will find their interest in joining YALS and we invite them to “Join YALS to find the well”.

JEDNODNEVNI SEMINAR U ORGANIZACIJI YALS-a I BRITANSKOG SAVETA

Izvestilac: Marija Pejatović

U petak, 13.maja, 2011. YALS i Britanski Savet su organizovali jednodnevi seminar, koji je održan u Guarneriusu – Centru lepih umetnosti u Beogradu.

Tema seminara bila je ’’Dobra praksa u trajnom stručnom usavršavanju i ocenjivanju – institucionalni i individualni aspekti’’, a predavač je bila gospođa Lutka Kotarska, predsednik EAQUALS-a. Ona se već trideset godina bavi podučavanjem engleskom jeziku i obukom profesora i radi kao nastavnik, akademski menadžer i direktor škole. Trenutno je direktor  menadžmenta u školama ELS –BELL u Poljskoj. Aktivna je kao inspektor u EAQUALS-u više od 10 godina, bila je predsednik  podkomiteta za inspekcije od 2001. do 2007.i specijalni savetnik od od 2007. do 2010 . Koordinirala je razvoj verzije 5.2 EAQUALS-ove Inspekcijske Šeme i bila je uključena u njenu nedavnu reviziju. Vodila je obuke za EAQUALS-ove inspektore, učestvovala je kao predavač na profesionalnim konferencijama i deo je projekata koji se odnose na razvoj šema za obezbeđivanje kvaliteta. U skorije vreme je vodila Projekat za posebna interesovanja o samoproceni.

Bilo nam je zadovoljstvo da lično upoznamo gospođu Kotarsku koja je novoizabrana predsednica Evropske Asocijacije za kvalitet jezičkih usluga.

Ukupno je bilo oko 80 učesnika iz svih delova Srbije. Seminar je trajao od 10 do 14 sati.

Na početku seminara skupu se prvo obratio gospodin Marko Ilić, menadžer za razvoj poslova pri Britanskom Savetu a zatim i gospođa Marija Pejatović iz YALS-a.

U toku dve jednoiposatne radionice učesnici su imali priliku da se upoznaju sa najnovijim trendovima u evropskim školama jezika; sa važnošću kontinuiranog stručnog  usavršavanja i načinima ocenjivanja različitih aspekata koji postoje u jednoj kvalitetnoj školi stranih jezika. Na seminaru je prezentovan EAQUALS-ova tabela za stručnjake u obuci predavača.

Osim dobijanja pregršta korisnih materijala, učesnici su imali mogućnost da postave pitanja u vezi sa temom seminara i da nauče korisne veštine.

Nakon što smo dobili toliko puno pozitivnih komentara i YALS i Britanski Savet  jedva čekaju da organizuju sledeći seminar.

A ONE-DAY SEMINAR ORGANIZED BY YALS AND BRITISH COUNCIL

by Marija Pejatović

On Friday, 13 May 2011, a one- day seminar organized jointly by YALS and the British Council was held at Guarnerius – Centar lepih umetnosti, Belgrade.

The topic of the seminar was “Good practice in continuing professional development and assessment – institutional and individual aspects” and the presenter was Ms Ludka Kotarska, President of EAQUALS. She has been involved in English language teaching and training for 30 years and has worked as a teacher, academic manager and school director. She is now the Managing Director of ELS-Bell schools in Poland. She has been active in EAQUALS for over 10 years as an inspector, Chair of Inspections Sub-committee from 2001 to 2007 and a special adviser from 2007 to 2010. She coordinated the development of version 5.2 of the EAQUALS Inspection Scheme and was involved in its recent revision. She has conducted training sessions for EAQUALS inspectors, has participated as a speaker in professional conferences and has been engaged in projects related to development of quality assurance schemes. Recently she has led the Self-Assessment Special Interest Project.

It was a great opportunity to meet in person Ms Kotarska, who is a newly appointed chair of the European Association of Quality Language Services.

There were about 100 participants from all parts of Serbia. The seminar lasted from 10am  till 2 pm.

The seminar started by a brief greeting by Mr Marko Ilic from the British Council and Ms Marija Pejatovic from YALS.

During the two one and a half hour long sessions the participants had the chance to get acquainted with the latest trends in the European language schools; the importance of continuing professional development and the ways of assessing different aspects of a good language school. On the seminar EAQUALS Profiling grid for language training professionals was presented. 

Apart from obtaining a lot of useful materials  the participants had the chance to ask questions related to the topic and learn the tips of the trade.

After having so many positive comments about the seminar, both YALS and British Council are looking forward to organizing the next seminar.

Učesnici Seminara o stalnom stručnom usavršavanju i ocenjivanju u Beogradu, 13.05.2011
Participants of Seminar on Continuing Professional Development and Assessment, Belgrade, 13.05.2011

LITERARNO TAKMIČENJE 2011.

Kako je to već postalo tradicija u YALS-u, i ove godine je proleće procvalo sa novim, talentovanim, mladim piscima koji su napisali veličanstvene sastave i eseje na sledeće teme:
A1 – My free time activities                                                
A2 – The legends from my country                                   
B1 – Write an essay:
Technology in everyday life
B2 – Write a review of a TV sitcom you enjoy. Write about the characters, about what makes you keep on watching it and if you would recommend it to everyone.
C1 – In class you have been discussing ways in which Facebook can have positive and negative effects on our lives. Your teacher has asked you to write an essay based on your discussions, called „Facebook – sign up or not“.
It seems that this year’s topics were really inviting so a number of students decided to participate and it was a very tough decision to choose the best ones:

NIVO A1:
1.mesto
Jelena Ilić, Blue Moon
Teodora Danilović, Hello
Mateja Dimitrijević, Livingston
Pavle Bosiljčić, Oxford School
Andrijana Pavlović, Lingva
Milica Stojanović, Oxford School

NIVO A2:
1.mesto
Milica Milutin, Blue Moon
Staša Korceba, Blue Moon
Mila Damjanović, Hello
Nikola Damjanović, Hello
Dušan Popov, Livingston
Luka Petrović, Penguin English
Aleksandar Kovačević, Tom i Ema
Ivan Stepanović, Tom i Ema
Milica Terzić, Big Bird
Aleksa Mirković, Lingva

NIVO B1:
1.  mesto
Nikolina Kapetan, Blue Moon
2. mesto
Ivana Stojanović, Blue Moon
Magdalena Josipović, Lingva

NIVO B2:
1. mesto
Milica Cvetinović, Lingva
Maša Hamović, Big Bird
Vera Protić, Livingston
2. mesto
Zlata Govedarica, Hello
Petra Boskovic, Penguin English
Dragana Pivic, Big Bird

NIVO  C1:

1.mesto
Dorotea Janić, Blue Moon
Aleksandra Đorđević, Oxford School
Pavle Bošković, Penguin English
Ivana Jakovljević, Lingva
2. mesto
Sonja Bajagić, Blue Moon
Natalija Urošević, Livingston
Jasna Popović, Livingston

Pobednicima će biti uručene knjige na ceremonijama povodom dodele sertifikata u školama jezika koje pohađaju.

YALS želi da čestitia svim učesnicima a posebno pobednicima I da se zahvali Pearson Longmanu na podršci našem godišnjem takmičenju.

Literary Competition 2011

As it has become a tradition in YALS, again this year the spring has blossomed out some new, skillful, young writers who wrote magnificent compositions and essays on the following topics:
A1 – My free time activities                                                
A2 – The legends from my country                                   
B1 – Write an essay:
Technology in everyday life
B2 – Write a review of a TV sitcom you enjoy. Write about the characters, about what makes you keep on watching it and if you would recommend it to everyone.
C1 – In class you have been discussing ways in which Facebook can have positive and negative effects on our lives. Your teacher has asked you to write an essay based on your discussions, called „Facebook – sign up or not“.
It seems that this year’s topics were really inviting so a number of students decided to participate and it was a very tough decision to choose the best ones:

LEVEL A1:
1st place
Jelena Ilic, Blue Moon
Teodora Danilovic, Hello
Mateja Dimitrijevic, Livingston
Pavle Bosiljcic, Oxford School
Andrijana Pavlovic, Lingva
Milica Stojanovic, Oxford School

LEVEL A2:
1st place
Milica Milutin, Blue Moon
Stasa Korceba, Blue Moon
Mila Damjanovic, Hello
Nikola Damjanovic, Hello
Dusan Popov, Livingston
Luka Petrovic, Penguin English
Aleksandar Kovacevic, Tom i Ema
Ivan Stepanovic, Tom i Ema
Milica Terzic, Big Bird
Aleksa Mirkovic, Lingva

LEVEL B1:
1st place
Nikolina Kapetan, Blue Moon
2nd place
Ivana Stojanovic, Blue Moon
Magdalena Josipovic, Lingva

LEVEL B2:
1st place
Milica Cvetinovic, Lingva
Masa Hamovic, Big Bird
Vera Protic, Livingston
2nd place
Zlata Govedarica, Hello
Petra Boskovic, Penguin English
Dragana Pivic, Big Bird

LEVEL C1:
1st place
Dorotea Janic, Blue Moon
Aleksandra Djordjevic, Oxford School
Pavle Boskovic, Penguin English
Ivana Jakovljevic, Lingva
2nd place
Sonja Bajagic, Blue Moon
Natalija Urosevic, Livingston
Jasna Popovic, Livingston

The winners will be awarded readers at the certification ceremonies in their language school.

YALS wishes to congratulate all the participants and especially the winners and to thank Pearson Longman- Serbia for supporting our annual competition.

MEDJUNARODNA KONFERENCIJA EAQUALS-a,
PRAG, 8-9 APRIL

Izvestilac: Danijela Veljković

Medjunarodna konferencija EAQUALS-a ove godine se održala u Pragu, od 8. do 9. aprila. Konferenciji su prethodili sledeći dogadjaji: obuka inspektora, radionica o obuci u menadžmentu za članove EAQUALS-a i  dvadeseta godišnja skupština. Konferenciji je prisustvovalo 140 učesnika iz 23 zemlje.

Izmedju ostalih, na konferenciji su bili sledeći predavači: Piter Medgijas (Peter Medgyes), Džordž Pikering (George Pickering), i Pit Šarma (Pete Sharma).
Tema EAQUALS-ove međunarodne konferencije je bila  ‘Poboljšati učenje jezika u učionici: izazovi za nastavnike, trenere i direktore'.

Konferenciji je prisustvovala Danijela Veljković, kao predstavnik YALS-a.

Glavne teme su bile:

• Šta mogu nastavnici da urade kako bi podučavanje i usvajanje znanja njihovih učenika bilo i efektivnije i više ohrabrujuće, i kako bi učenici mogli brže da napreduju?

• Šta mogu da urade vlasnici škola i direktori da se obezbedi optimalna infrastruktura za učenje jezika i da stvore takvo zadovoljstvo kod učenika koje bi dovelo do odličnih usmenih preporuka i većeg broja polaznika?

• Kako organizovati nastavni plan i program, nastavni materijal i ocenjivanje kako bi podučavanje bilo delotvornije?

• Koji su najkorisniji materijali dostupni polaznicima da bi nastavili da efektivno uče van učionice za vreme i posle kursa?

• Kako mogu nastavnici, čak i oni najiskusniji, da na najbolji način nastave da se profesionalno usavršavaju kako bi bili još bolji?

Na godišnjoj skupštini EAQUALS-a kao pridruženi članovi primljeni su: Medjunarodni centar za pedagoške studije (CIEP) iz Francuske i Kancelarija za inostrane poslove i poslove Komonvelta Ujedinjenog Kraljevstva - odsek za jezik i standardizaciju jezika.
Univerzitet iz Perudje – Lingvistički centar za ocenivanje i sertifikaciju iz Italije, Zajed univerzitet, iz Dubaija i Industrijsko-tehnički institut Buonaroti iz Italije primljeni su kao projektni partneri.
Izabrani su sledeći članovi Glavnog odbora:

• Brajan Nort – Potpredsednik
• Ian Pauni – Blagajnik
• Aksel Frojdenfeld – Član

Sledeća konferencija održaće se u Trstu, u novembru 2011.

EAQUALS International Conference, Prague, 2011

by Danijela Veljković

EAQUALS 2011 International Conference was held in Prague on Friday 8th - Saturday 9th April. It was preceded by inspector training, a management training workshop for EAQUALS members, and the 20th Annual General Meeting of members. One hundred and forty participants from 23 countries attended the Conference.

Invited speakers included Peter Medgyes, George Pickering, and Pete Sharma.
The theme of the conference was ‘Enhancing Classroom Language Learning: the Challenges for Teachers, Trainers and Managers'.

The EAQUALS 2011 Conference was attended by Danijela Veljkovic, who represented YALS.

The main thematic questions included:

• What can teachers do to ensure that their teaching and their students' learning is both effective and rewarding, and that learners progress as fast as they can?

• What can school owners and managers do to provide the optimum infrastructure for language learning, and to generate the kind of student satisfaction that will lead to excellent word-of-mouth recommendations and growth in enrolments?

• How can the curriculum, teaching resources and assessment be organised to guide and support the effectiveness of teaching?

• What are the most useful and innovative resources available to learners to continue effective learning outside the classroom during and after their course?

• How can teachers, even the most experienced, best continue to develop professionally so as to enhance their own effectiveness?

In the Annual General meeting two new associate members were accepted into EAQUALS: Centre International d’Etudes Pedagogiques (CIEP), France and UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office – Language Policy and Standards Unit.
Universita per Stranieri di Perugia – Centro per la Valutazione e le Certificazioni Linguistiche (Italy), Zayed University (Dubai) and Istituto Tecnico Industriale Buonarroti, Trento (Italy) were accepted as project partners.
The following Board Members were elected:

• Brian North, Eurocentres Foundation – Vice Chair OF EAQUALS
• Ian Powney, International House London – Treasurer
• Axel Freudenfeld, Eurocentres Berlin – Board Member (governance)

The next EAQUALS meeting will be held in Trieste in November 2011.

Predstavnice YALS-a na sastanku regionalnih asocijacija u Zagrebu, 24-25 februar 2011
YALS representatives at Regional Association Meeting in Zagreb, 24-25 February 2011

Podrška kvalitetnim jezičkim školama
Zagreb, 24.-25. februar 2011

Regionalnom sastanku asocijacija privatnih škola stranih jezika, organizovanom od strane Britanskog saveta u Hrvatskoj, prisustvovale su sledeće nacionalne asocijacije:
Bugarske (OPTIMA), Rumunije (QUEST), Makedonije (MAQS), Bosne i Hercegovine (APLS), Hrvatske (CALS) i Srbije (YALS). U svojstvu posmatrača bile su prisutne delegacije iz Crne Gore, Albanije i Kosova. Sastanku su prisustvovali i predstavnici Britanskog saveta iz navedenih zemalja.

Prvi deo sastanka činile su desetominutne prezentacije nacionalnih asocijacija.

U drugom delu održana su sledeća predavanja:

• What is quality in language teaching organisations: beliefs, challenges and schemes – Ludka Kotarska ( EAQUALS )
• Quality by association – Tony Millns ( English UK )
• Quality from experience – Elizabeth McLaren ( Accreditation UK )

Prva tema je bila:
Entry qualifications and quality assurance – Croatian and Serbian perspective
Srpsku asocijaciju (YALS) predstavljale su:

• Danijela Veljkovic koja je govorila o svom učlanjenju u YALS,
• Dijana Kisić koja je govorila o preduslovima za učlanjenje,
• Eva Bako koja je govorila o redovnoj inspekciji za stalne članove.

Nakon toga je usledila razmena iskustava i ostalih asocijacija po tom pitanju. Došlo se do zaključka da su nam problemi slični, ali da je hrvatska asocijacija postigla veći uspeh u saradnji sa državnim organima.

Sledeća tema bila je:
Managing the association – Macedonian and Romanian perspective
U diskusiji koja je usledila izlaganju, primećuje se da rad makedonske asocijacije počiva na entuzijazmu predsednika asocijacije, dok se u rumunskoj asocijaciji oseća sistematičniji i masovniji pristup radu asocijacije, što se vidi kroz njihovo prisustvo u velikom broju projekata.

Poslednja tema je bila:
Government support and legal status – Bosnian and Bulgarian perspective
Bosanska asocijacija je tek osnovana i suočava se sa brojnim zakonskim preprekama u ostvarivanju svojih ciljeva, dok se čini da bugarska asocijacija ima razrađenu taktikuu sprovođenju svojih ciljeva.

Nakon ove tri teme, direktor Britanskog saveta, Les Dejndžerfild (Les Dangerfield), predložio je da se u internacionalnim timovima daju predlozi za buduću saradnju u regionu.
Na samom kraju sastanka, svi učesnici su se složili sa sledećim akcionim planom:

1. da se buduća saradnja odvija pod imenom: Quality Language Learning Network,
2. da se uspostavi forum svih regionalnih učesnika gde bi se nastavio proces dalje saradnje,
3. da se i dalje razmenjuju iskustva u vezi sa inspekcijskom šemom i
4. da se stvore uslovi za učešće u zajedničkim projektima, a naročito u onim od regionalnog značaja.

Sastanak je protekao u kooperativnoj atmosferi sa puno kreativnih predloga. Osećala se želja svih učesnika da nastave saradnju u budućnosti.

Supporting Quality Language Schools
Zagreb, 24&25 February 2011

The regional meeting of Associations of Private Language Schools that was organized by the British Council Office in Croatia was attended by the following National Associations Bulgaria ( OPTIMA ), Romania ( QUEST ), Macedonia (MAQS) Bosnia and Herzegovina ( APLS ), roatia (CALS ) and Serbia ( YALS ).  Representatives from Montenegro, Albania and Kosovo were also present together with the representatives of the British Council from the respected countries.

The first part of the meeting included ten minute presentations of all the mentioned associations.

The second part included the following presentations:

• What is quality in language teaching organisations : beliefs, challenges and schemes - Lutka Kotarska ( EAQUALS )
• Quality by association    - Tony Millns ( English UK )
• Quality from experience - Elizabeth McLaren ( Accreditation UK)

Further work was carried out under the following topics:

The first topic was: Entry qualifications and quality assurance- the Croatian and Serbian Perspective

• Danijela Veljkovic : spoke about her she became a member of  YALS
• Dijana Kisic: dealt with the prerequisites of becoming member of YALS
• Eva Bako : described what regular inspections, every two and three years, for YALS members consisted of.

A joint discussion followed the presentations. It was evident that all associations were faced with similar problems and difficulties.
However the Croatian Association has succeeded in achieving cooperation with their Ministry of Education.

The next topic was: Managing the association- Macedonian and Romanian perspectives
The discussion which followed the presentations, it was evident that the work of the Macedonian association was primarily bases on the
enthusiasm of its head-chair whereas the Romanian colleagues are more systematic in their mutual work within the association. This is especially evident in the large number of European projects.

The final topic: Government support and legal status- Bosnian and Bulgarian perspectives 
The Bosnian association has only just been founded and is faced with numerous legal obstacles in their work. The Bulgarian association, on the other hand, has a worked out plan for carrying out its goals.

As a conclusion to these three topics, the director of the British Council, Mr. Les Dangerfield, suggested that the international associations need to start a working cooperation within the region.
All participants have decided to take the following steps>

1. future cooperation should come under the heading – Quality Language Learning Network
2. a forum should be organised through which all the regional participants may continue their work
3. the exchange of experience, in regards to the inspection scheme, should continue
4. to take part in future projects, especially ones of regional significants

The meeting was carried out in a creative atmosphere where the participants showed their willingness to continue their future cooperation.

Vlasnica škole Livingston Maja Gavrilović prezentuje YALS na seminaru English Book-a o upravljanju školama, 25.02.2011
Owner of Livingston School Maja Gavrilović presenting YALS at English Book Seminar on School Management, 25.02.2011

Predstavljanje YALS na seminaru The English Book o upravljanju školom, 25. 2. 2011. u Beogradu

Prvo želim da se zahvalim The English Book i The British Council što su mi omogućili da danas i ovde,  na seminaru koji su organizovali, u ime svih članova YALS predstavim naše udruženje.

Želim da se predstavim svima onima sa kojima danas nisam imala priliku da se upoznam. Ja sam vlasnik Centra za strane jezike Livingston, jedan od osnivača udruženja YALS i od 1999. njegov punopravni član.

Kao što je nekima od vas sigurno poznato, YALS je Udruženje vlasnika privatnih škola stranih jezika Srbije.  Od osnivanja do danas broj članova se kreće oko broja 13  povremeno više ali I manje. Naša želja je da povećamo broj članova udruženja i da omogućimo da taj broj bude stalan.

Zašto  YALS?

Odgovor na ovo pitanje nalazi se u činjenici da mi, vlasnici škola stranih jezika, verovatno imamo isti cilj u radu. Kada govorimo o YALS, naš cilj je dvojak:  težimo da ostvarimo kvalitet u nastavi stranih jezika kao i da usavršimo načine na koje obezbeđujemo i pružamo naše usluge.  Put ka ostvarenju ovog cilja bio je kroz pridruženje organizaciji  EAQUALS, 2001. godine, u svojstvu pridruženog člana, što nam je omogućilo da pratimo dobar uzor i da imamo jasne smernice u daljem radu.

Ne želeći da predugo držim vašu pažnju, izneću vam samo  nekoliko ideja  koje bi mogle da vas navedu da razmislite o priključenju Udruženju YALS.

U kratkim crtama izneću svoje lično iskustvo za koje, sigurna sam, nije usamljeno, već slično iskustvu mojih kolega iz YALS.  Tokom 2001., ali i 2002., pa i 2003., moja škola bila je u procesu usklađivanja sa standardom EAQUALS. Na papiru, spisak  stavki  izgledao je više nego jednostavno i jasno. No praksa je bila nešto sasvim drugačije, te se konačni cilj samo nazirao I izgledao povremeno sve dalji.  Zbog toga, ne jednom, pitala sam se, kao i moje kolege iz škole: “Čemu sve ovo?” Ali, kada smo posao priveli kraju i kada smo osvojili jednu razvojnu stepenicu u životu naše škole (nismo znali da je još mnogo takvih pred nama!) i moje kolege i ja mogli smo samo da budemo vrlo ponosni na sve ono što smo postigli.  Rezultat je sledeći: naša škola i mnoge stvari u vezi sa njom su jasne, definisane, postupci imaju svoj cilj i procedure i svakako na kraju, tu je i nagrada za uloženi trud. Kad to kažem, mislim na nagradu u najširem mogućem smislu a pre svega na to da uspevamo da ostvarimo onaj cilj koji  sebi i postavimo.

Ovakav razvoj škole bio je pre svega moguć zato što smo se priključili grupi škola čiji su vlasnici visoko motivisani,  istrajni,  preuzimaju inicijativu i umeju da traju. To su škole i ljudi iz YALS. Pa, kako kaže narodna poslovica, s kim si takav si, nije bilo druge nego da kao i ostali, pođemo u potragu za kvalitetom.

Svakako, mi znamo  da van YALS postoji veliki broj škola koje su ostvarile i održavaju kvalitet u svom radu. Bilo bi nam izuzetno drago kada bi te škole našle razloga da se pridruže YALS te da unesu svežinu, različitosti i  nove ideje u naše udruženje. Bile bi dobrodošle, a radeći zajedno sigurno bismo postigli još više.

Školama YALS je takođe omogućeno da prate aktuelna događanja u regionu. Evo, baš danas, naša tri člana su na konferenciji u Zagrebu, koju su zajedno organizovali EAQUALS i The British Council. Sastanak je organizovan sa idejom da se stvori novo, regionalano udruženje koje bi takođe imalo za cilj da zagovara kvalitet u nastavi stranih jezika kao i kvalitet same organizacije nastave.   U svetlu ovog događaja prirodna je i razumljiva težnja i namera škola YALS da streme povećanju broja članova i stvaranju istinski nacionalnog udruženja privatnih škola stranih jezika u Srbiji. Zbog toga, ponoviću još jednom, razmislite o mogućnosti da postanete član YALS, da od njega stvorimo široko, nacionalno i još uspešnije udruženje. Sa svoje strane, članstvo u Udruženju povratno svakoj od škola donosi poslovne pogodnosti i napredak.

Za sve detaljnije informacije o YALS posetite naš vebsajt na www.yals.rs i obratite nam se u svako doba.

Zahvaljujem vam se na strpljenju, i još jednom zahvaljujem se The English Book i The British Council.

Maja Gavrilović
Livingston Language Centre, Beograd

Presenting YALS at The English Book event on school management, 25. 2. 2011. Belgrade

First, I wish to thank The English Book for giving me the opportunity, at the event they have organized, to speak to you on behalf of YALS and about YALS.

I haven’t had a chance to meet all of you today but for those who don’t know me, I am Maja Gavrilović, the school owner of Livingston Language Centre. My school is one of the founder schools of YALS,  and has  been a member since 1999.

YALS, as some of you may know, is  an association of private language schools of Serbia. Since its beginnings it has had a varying number of member schools fluctuating around the number of 13. Our desire is to change this number into another one, steadier and a lot higher.

Why YALS?

The answer might be that, we, the school owners probably share the same aims. Our aim, in YALS,  is twofold: to pursue and promote quality in language teaching as well as to perfect the ways of provision of this service. In order to achieve this aim we have succeeded in joining the EAQUALS, as an associate member, in 2001  which enabled us to follow and develop along the well thought out and carefully set path.

I don’t wish to keep you any longer then just necessary with my speech so I will lay out before you just a couple of ideas about why you may wish to consider joining YALS.

I will briefly relate to you my personal experience which, I believe, is more or less similar to the experience of my colleagues in YALS.  At times, during 2001 and 2 and 3, as my school was undergoing the change through the process of complying with the set of standards,  simply and clearly laid out, and when the light in the tunnel was quite dim and far, far away, I did wonder (together with my staff), whatever are we doing this for?! But once the job was done (one developmental stage was behind us /  although still many more ahead, /  of course we weren’t aware of that!) I can only be proud of what both my staff and I have achieved. The result is: our school, and everything about it has its reason, direction, a goal and certainly a reward in all its possible meanings but mainly in that that we do accomplish what  we set out to accomplish.

This was made possible to happen thanks to joining a group of schools and meeting their owners whose enthusiasm, motivation, initiative and endurance were and are  endless. They are YALS. When in such company, you can’t but go with the flow and think and do alike.

Another thing is, we, in YALS, are very well aware of the fact that there are quite a few good schools outside YALS. We would be very happy if these schools would consider the possibility of joining YALS where they, together with their fresh school image, different and new ideas, would be more than welcome. Together we could achieve more.

Being in YALS makes it possible to keep us up-to-date with the events going on in the region. At the moment, three of our members are attending the regional conference in Zagreb, which is organized jointly by the EAQUALS and the British Council. The idea behind the meeting is to form a regional association to promote the shared goal regarding the quality of language teaching and the provision of the services. In view of this action it is only natural to strive to form a wider national association of schools in Serbia, therefore, I once again repeat, re-think the possibility of becoming a YALS member, in order to turn it into a wider, national and more capable association.

For all the factual data about YALS please visit our site www.yals.rs and feel free to contact us at any time.

Thank you so much for your time, and once again, thank you, The English Book and The British Council.

Maja Gavrilović
Livingston Language Centre, Belgrade

Biljana Barna i Katarina Ristić otvaraju YALS-ov seminar „Igre u nastavi engleskog jezika“
Biljana Barna and Katarina Ristić opening YALS seminar “ELT Games“

Yals-ov seminar u organizaciji New English School, Pančevo

Izvestilac: Katarina Ristić

U subotu, 11. decembra 2010. godine u Pančevu je održan interni seminar Yals-a u organizaciji New English School. Okupilo se više od 20 nastavnika u cilju postizanja što veće praktične obuke.

Tokom seminara urađene su dve radionice (obe u trajanju od 60 minuta). Radionice je vodila Katarina Ristić, profesor New English School , čiji je cilj bio predstavljanje različitih aspekata upotrebe igara u procesu učenja engleskog kao stranog jezika. Ujedno je predstavljen i odabir igara koje lako mogu da upotpune svaku temu, jezičku veštinu ili segment gramatike i vokabulara nekog nastavnog programa. Učesnici su dobili veliki broj gotovih materijala koje će moći da odmah upotrebe na času.

U periodu između ove dve radionice, Kristijan Rajković, predstavnik Britanskog Saveta ukratko je predstavio Cambrigde ispite i neke nove on-line projekte.

Domaćin ovog seminara, Biljana Barna predstavila je „domaći proizvod kuće“ – Letnji kamp engleskog jezika – Zlatibor 2011. Ova prezentacija je kod učesnika takođe izazvala veliku pažnju.

English Book je ponovo pokazao svoju velikodušnost i sve učesnike obradovao malim ali vrednim poklonima, a njihov predstavnik Olja Milović uputila je sve prisutne u neka nova izdanja knjiga koje za teme imaju upotrebu igara i sličnih aktivnosti u učenju engleskog jezika.

Seminar je trajao od 11.00 do 16.00 sati,  a na kraju je ocenjeno da je seminar u potpunosti ispunio očekivanja učesnika i svi su izrazili želju da se ponovo sretnu što pre.

YALS Teacher Training Seminar: ELT Games

by Katarina Ristić

On Saturday, December 11th  2010, an in-house Yals teacher training seminar was held in Pančevo , organised by New Engish School. Over 20 teachers gathered to aquire as much practical training as possible.

There were two workshops (60 minutes each)  by Katarina Ristić, a teacher from New English School. The purpose of these workshops was to present different aspects of using games in ESL classroom in the process of language learning. It was also a selection of ELT games that can easily become an integrated part of any topic, language skill or grammar and vocabulary of the target  syllabus. Participants were provided with a large number of ready-made materials that they will be able to use immediately in their classrooms.

In between the sessions, the British Councel representative Kristijan Rajković made a short presentation themed British Councel Examinations and the latest on-line projects.
The host, Mrs Biljana Barna presented the ’’home-made product ’’– English Summer Camp, Zlatibor 2011, which also attracted a lot of attention from the participants.

Once again The English Book showed its generosity having given small gifts to all the participants. Their representative Olja Milović informed the present teachers about the latest editions of books on ELT games and activities.

The seminar lasted from 11.00 to 16.00. In the end, it was evaluated that this teacher training seminar has fully met the participants ’ expectations and  all of them expressed their wish to meet again soon.

Izveštaj sa radionica EAQUALS-a
Škola Eurocentres, London, 11-13. novembar 2010.

Konferenciji je prisustvovala Vesna Stakić, kao predstavnik YALS-a i Škole ’Tom & Emma’ 

Cilj radionica je bio da se članovima EAQUALS-a pruži mogućnost da zajedno rade na projektima (SIPs – special interest projects) za koje su zainteresovani i koji su relevantni za institucije u kojima rade. Rad se ostvarivao u sledećim paralelnim sesijama:

• CEFR (Zajednički jezički okvir Saveta Evrope) diplome: obuka i podrška školama, cilj: da se obezbedi podrška i da se obuči osoblje u školama koje su zainteresovane za izdavanja EAQUALS-ovih diploma;
• Procenjivanje znanja polaznika zasnovano na CEFR, za razne jezike, cilj: da se pripreme uzorci i primeri zadataka za svaki nivo CEFR;
• Okvir za obuku i profesionalni razvoj nastavnika, cilj: SIP koji nastavlja sa izradom deskriptora obučenosti i profesionalnog razvoja nastavnika;
• Korišćenje novih tehnologija u nastavi stranih jezika i obuci nastavnika, cilj:da se upoznaju nastavnici sa novim tehnologijama  (na pr. interaktivna bela tabla ili virtuelna učionica) i materijalima koji se mogu naći na Internetu i da se daju primeri praktične primene novih tehnologija na času;
• Komplet za obuku menadžera u školama jezika, cilj: da se vlasnicima škola/iskusnijim menadžerima obezbede uputstva za obuku mladjih menadžera;
• Apliciranje za evropske projekte, cilj: da se izrade uputstva članicama EAQUALS-a za apliciranje za sredstva EU namenjenih projektima vezanim za nastavu jezika.

Učesnici u radionicama su birali jedan projekat u kojem će da učestvuju i meni je najinteresantniji bio projekat Korišćenje novih tehnologija u nastavi stranih jezika i obuci nastavnika. Rukovodilac grupe je naglasio da je jedan od ciljeva SIP-a da se umanji tehnofobija kod nastavnika. Napravljen je spisak raznih načina korišćenja tehnilogije u nastavi stranih jezika koje je  uključio sledeće: interaktivnu belu tablu, virtuelnu nastavu (na pr. Moodle), korisne sajtove koji nude planove časa i druge nastavne aktivnosti, tehnologiju koju učenici već imaju kao što su mobilni telefoni ili MP3 plejeri, društvene mreže (Facebook, Twitter). Cilj SIP-a je da se pripremi kratko, jednostavno uputstsvo za besplatnu/jeftinu internet tehnologiju dostupnu nastavnicima.

Takođe sam prisustvovala lansiranju Zbirke ključnih engleskih reči, izraza i gramatike koju su izradili EAQUALS i Britanski savet, u saradnji, a kojoj je cilj da se CEFR učini pristupačniji kako nastavnicima tako i odraslim učenicima opšteg engleskog. Zbirka predstavlja klučne segmente engleskog jezika na svim CEFR nivoima od A1 do C1 i uključuje jezičke funkcije, gramatiku, vokabular i teme koje se obrađuju na svakom nivou. Ovo će olakšati utvrđivanje ciljeva i planiranje tečajeva engleskog kao i izradu nastavnih planova i programa.

REPORT on EAQUALS Workshop Meeting
Eurocentres School, London  11th–13th  November  2010

The event was attended by Vesna Stakić who represented YALS and the 'Tom & Emma School of English' Belgrade

The aim of the annual workshop meeting of EAQUALS members, was to provide an opportunity for members to work together on special interest projects  (SIPs) relevant to them, which are as follows:

• CEFR Certificates: support and training for schools, aim: to provide support and practical training to EAQUALS members interested in issuing EAQUALS CEFR-based Certificates of Achievement to students;
• CEFR assessment tasks across languages, aim: to produce a set of templates for tasks for each level of the CEFR;
• Framework for language teacher training and development, a continuing SIP which aims to produce descriptors for teacher training and development;
• New technology in language teaching and training, aim: to help familiarise teachers with new technology and web-based resources and give examples of actual classroom use;
• The Language School Manager's Training Pack, aim: to create a training pack for school owners/experienced managers to provide introduction to managerial skills for staff and provide them with training in these skills;
• Applying for European Projects – a toolkit, aim: to produce guidance for EAQUALS members on how to apply for EU funding for projects related to language teaching.

Each participant in the meeting had to choose one SIP they would work on and I chose the
New technology in language teaching and training SIP. The facilitator stressed that one of the main aims of the SIP was to reduce technophobia in teachers A list which included different ways of using technology in class was drawn up which included the following: interactive whiteboards, virtual learning environments (VLEs) i.e. Second Life, Moodle, free or inexpensive software for ELT, useful web resources which offer lesson plans or other ELT activities, existing technology such as mobile phones and MP3 players, social networks (Facebook, Twitter). The objective of the SIP is to create a brief user friendly guide to free/inexpensive technology available to teachers.

I also attended the launch of the Core Inventory for English, a joint project of EAQUALS and the British Council, the aim of which is to make the CEFR accessible to teachers and adult learners of General English. It lists key language points for each CEFR level from A1 to C1 and includes language points (functions, grammar, vocabulary, topics and discourse markers) at the levels at which they are considered of most relevance to the learner. This will facilitate defining objectives, writing syllabuses and planning courses.