This year, the annual EdYouFest conference for English-language teachers and educators took place in Bucharest, Romania. I was honoured to conduct a workshop on teaching English through music, mime, rhythm, and rhyme. What makes EdYouFest conferences stand out (this being my third, after Mayfield 2019 and Trapani 2022) is their intimate atmosphere, which contrasts with larger events like IATEFL and TESOL. This setting allows attendees to connect more personally with one another.

EdYouFest attracts a diverse array of English teachers from around the globe, with participants from countries as varied as Belarus and Morocco, the latter of which will host the next EdYouFest conference in 2025. Upcoming EdYouFests will also be held in Malta and Tokyo. As a songwriter, I was asked by Giovanni Rottura, the founder of EdYouFest, to compose an anthem, which I presented during the event. It’s an ode to teaching and the EdYouFest experience, and you can listen to it here. (click).

Many presentations at EdYouFest focused on AI, including a plenary by Rob Howard, whom I saw again a few weeks later at IATEFL Poland. Howard emphasized the crucial role of teachers in the learning process and the importance of embracing AI as an assistant—an idea echoed at TESOL España in Cáceres, which I attended in March.

IATEFL Poland is a major event that draws teachers from across Poland and beyond, featuring prominent figures in the EFL community such as Hugh Dellar (author of the Outcomes series of coursebooks) and Russell Stannard (self-help videos for teachers). Interestingly, there were fewer AI-focused sessions and workshops, suggesting its integration into teaching may already be commonplace. I delivered another well-attended workshop on presenting new language through catchy educational songs. The trip also gave me the opportunity to meet the team at the Polish educational publisher MSM in Gdynia, for whom I’ve been writing educational songs.

These experiences underscored the value of teachers meeting and sharing insights with peers. Teaching can often be an isolating profession and the degree of “esprit de corps” in any institution largely depends on its management. In Italy, at least, there’s often little sense of community among teachers, who are frequently left totally to their own devices.