My name is Adami Eleni and I am a French language teacher. I am a graduate of the Department of French Language and Literature of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, with a postgraduate degree in Teaching French as a foreign/international language at the Hellenic Open University (HOU). At the same time, I try to constantly educate myself by attending seminars and workshops about special education, psychology, and cultural issues, as I believe in lifelong learning.

My love for children prompted me to become a volunteer at the Hellenic Children’s Museum. This specific activity has further developed my creativity and empathy, qualities that I also apply in teaching. I work as a French teacher with the aim of imparting both an excellent knowledge of the language to my students and cultivating skills that will be useful to them in the future. In the past, however, I have worked as an interpreter for seminars, as well as multinational companies.

With a background in theatre and the performing arts, I began teaching some 40 years ago quite by chance. I had graduated from the Sorbonne, Paris III with a degree in French Studies and was asked by a neighbor to tutor her son.

To my surprise, I was able to help this very introverted and insecure boy not only from an academic standpoint but also on a personal level. The experience changed my life and my dream was to try and marry the two disciplines: Theatre and Teaching the concept being to use the creative self as an impetus in overcoming the many inhibitions felt when learning a foreign language.

Teaching has given me a creative voice and has challenged me every day. The experience has been wonderful indeed.

My name is Mina Hanzen. I was born in Germany, to a German father and a Greek mother. I graduated from a Greek school and the Goethe Institute in both the language and Department of Translation Studies. I have already been teaching German for 25 years.

What I love about my job is, above all, communicating with children. Being able to impart knowledge to them, but also playing your own part in them becoming good people, as well as professionals, is the most important thing. Every person has their own character and that’s why I always try to get what they need from everyone, so that I can make them reach the desired result, learn, and, at the same time, love the language.

It is known that German is considered a difficult language by many, but it is not. If you have a way of making it easy, then it’s not hard. I try to find ways and constantly improve, so that I make studying and learning easy for them. Times are changing and we can nowadays use the new teaching-related media available to us, which the students like and make the lesson more enjoyable. That’s why I use them.

Vana has been teaching English for 25 years and she holds a BA in English from ACG, The American College of Greece. Continuing education is a constant need to be informed about new educational trends and appropriate ways to integrate them into the learning process. She has attended numerous training programs and seminars of the Hellenic American Union, the British Council and other educational organizations.

Her aim is to encourage students to become autonomous in the use of the English language by creating a safe environment, with respect for the different educational needs of students, in which they will be able to express themselves and learn in their own unique way.

Her teaching practices include innovative approaches such as Deeper Learning, in which she has been trained and she integrates it into teaching using CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning), according to which language and its content are taught as a whole, involving the student directly in the acquisition of knowledge.

“Teaching is a great way to keep learning”

I am a graduate of the Department of English Language and Literature of the University of Athens and I participate in the Special Education training program of the University of the Aegean.

I believe that the strength of a class lies in the uniqueness of its members. My goal every time, is to preserve the uniqueness of my students and create an environment where everyone can be authentic, learn and at the same time bring out their abilities and talents.

My most important tool in the classroom is teamwork and collaboration, as I believe that team spirit inspires us, makes us feel confident and always leads to the most creative paths.

She is a graduate of the Department of English Language and Literature of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. She has a flair in foreign languages and loves teaching. Attending a variety of teaching seminars in combination with her travel experiences through Erasmus +, have inevitably shaped her alternative way of teaching.