In late April 2026, I travelled from Galați to the island of Crete for a five-day Erasmus+ job shadowing placement at 5o Gymnasio Rethymnou, a secondary school in Sfakaki, Rethymno. The visit was part of the Erasmus+ accreditation project of my home school, Colegiul de Industrie Alimentară „Elena Doamna”, and it marked a meaningful step in my ongoing commitment to professional development and international exchange.
From the very first day, the warmth and professionalism of the host team made a deep impression on me. The teachers and school principal welcomed me not merely as a guest observer, but as a genuine colleague. Their generosity — with their time, their classrooms, and their knowledge — made the entire experience both professionally enriching and personally moving.
Throughout the mobility period, I immersed myself in the daily life of the Greek school. I observed ten English lessons in which environmental themes — sustainability, climate action, biodiversity — were woven naturally into language instruction. Watching experienced teachers handle these topics with such skill and ease gave me concrete models I could adapt for my own students back home.
I also had the privilege of co-planning and co-teaching several lessons alongside the host teachers, contributing my own materials and delivery while receiving direct mentoring feedback. Together, we developed a portfolio of ecology-themed teaching resources and explored digital platforms designed to support international student collaboration.
The week gave me a much richer understanding of how to bring environmental topics into the English language classroom in a way that feels natural rather than forced. I learned how to design lessons around ecological themes — selecting authentic materials such as articles, videos, and podcasts about sustainability — and how to adapt them for different language proficiency levels. Building on this, I deepened my grasp of CLIL methodology, discovering how to create lesson plans that develop language skills and ecological knowledge at the same time, using scaffolding techniques suited to non-native speakers. I also gained practical experience with digital tools and collaborative platforms, including eTwinning, which opened up exciting possibilities for engaging my students in international ecology projects. Beyond the content itself, I came away with a clearer sense of how to use active learning strategies — debates, role-plays, and simulations — to connect students emotionally and intellectually with environmental issues while they practise their English. Finally, working with the host teachers on assessment design helped me understand how to evaluate both language proficiency and content understanding through rubrics and feedback methods that truly serve integrated learning.
The learning does not end at the airport. On my return, I will organise a dissemination workshop at my home school — sharing what I discovered with at least 15 colleagues and providing practical resources they can use immediately in their own classrooms. My experience will be formally recognised through a Europass Mobility document and a certificate of completion issued by the host school.
The Erasmus+ programme exists precisely for moments like this: I return home not just with new ideas, but with renewed energy and a broader vision of what education can look like — shaped by the kindness and expertise of teachers in Crete who gave me so much more than I expected.