http://sorinpopescu.com/, http://moot.ro/

Sorin Popescu, Bucharest (2026)

30/03/2026

Ideas matter.

Not as abstractions, but as lived convictions, spoken aloud, in front of others, with something at stake. There is a particular kind of courage in standing up to defend a thought you actually believe, and a particular kind of joy in watching young people discover they are capable of it.

I spent part of my weekend listening to that, the Bucharest municipal heat of the National Public Speaking Competition hosted by the ESU. Speaker after speaker, voice after voice. Students who had chosen to be there, who had prepared something worth saying, and who said it.

What struck me was not the polish. It was the sincerity. The sense that the ideas being expressed about hope, about light, about what we owe each other, belonged to the people delivering them.

A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle, our theme for this year. I heard that thought refracted through many voices across many panels, and each time it landed a little differently.

This is what The English Speaking Union Romania. Not competition for its own sake, but the quiet, considered belief that giving young people a voice is among the most important things we can do. Special thanks to International Computer Highschool Pallady for partnering and supporting our work!

I left with more than I arrived with. That is the mark of a good day.

26/03/2026

Great event! Fantastic people!

23/03/2026

Today I had the privilege of sitting on the jury for the public speaking competition at Școala Europeană București, the first day of their Special English Days, a three-day celebration of language, ideas, and student voice. The competitors were in 5th and 6th grade.

One of the topics asked them to imagine school subjects as people. One student took that invitation and built an argument I wasn't expecting: that we don't choose what we love rather that what we love chooses us. Delivered in English, with clarity and conviction.

It was one of those moments that quietly recalibrates your assumptions about what young learners are capable of when they are genuinely challenged and genuinely supported.

The creativity and intellectual complexity on display today had nothing to do with age and everything to do with the standard that the teachers and staff at Școala Europeană București have built patiently, seriously, over time. That kind of work doesn't announce itself. It shows up in moments like this one.

I am grateful to have been invited into that room today. Two more days to follow

10/02/2026

Grateful reflections as we close the first edition of Bridge.

Over the course of the conference, we welcomed 580+ unique participants, bringing together teachers, trainers, researchers, and education professionals from across our community and beyond. Seeing this level of engagement around meaningful conversations in ELT and education was genuinely inspiring.
A huge thank you to our speakers for their thought-provoking sessions, to our institutional partners for their trust and support, and to everyone who joined, asked questions, and contributed to the discussions. Events like this only work because of the collective commitment of so many people behind the scenes.

Until next time !

06/02/2026

BRIDGE '26 is almost here and we couldn't be more excited!
This Saturday, we're bringing together an incredible line-up of speakers for a day focused on what matters most: teaching skills for real life in an AI world.
With 1,333 educators already registered from around the globe, BRIDGE '26 is shaping up to be a truly inspiring community event.
Our Speaker Line-Up:
🔹 Thom Jones – What Now? Teaching for Real-Life Communication in an AI World
🔹 Nik Peachey – Supporting Ethical and Constructive AI Use in the English Language Classroom
🔹 Louisa Mundachali Searle – Oracy & the Education of the Whole Child
🔹 Julie Lehner – Teacher Training in the Age of Generative AI: the IH Bucharest Training Experience
🔹 John Slade – From Fear to Function: Using AI Effectively in Language Teaching
🔹 Melih Duman – Helping Students with IELTS Reading
🔹 Ciprian Nita – When AI Meets Mixed-Ability Classrooms: Beyond Planning
🔹 Laura Rebeca Stiegelbauer – Confidence, Interaction, and Speaking Performance: Teaching What AI Cannot Replace
Theme: From Language to Communication: Teaching Skills for Real Life in an AI World
A huge thank you to all our partners and supporting institutions for making this event possible. Your commitment to teacher development and educational innovation means the world to us.
Saturday can't come soon enough. Let's learn, share, and grow together!

05/02/2026

Very happy to announce thet Ciprian Nita will be joining Bridge '26 as a speaker.

Ciprian is an education enthusiast and a thoughtful advocate for meaningful change in teaching and learning. With over 13 years of experience in private education, his journey spans roles from EFL teacher to Social Studies teacher in multicultural settings, coordinator of an international high-ability curriculum, and currently Learning & Development Director at EdVenture School in Bucharest.

In his workshop, “When AI Meets Mixed-Ability Classrooms: Beyond Planning,” Ciprian invites us to look past AI as a mere lesson-planning tool and instead consider its potential inside the classroom, where differentiation really happens. He’ll explore how AI can support adaptive practice, live scaffolding, learner choice, feedback, and extension, helping teachers navigate mixed-ability realities more sustainably.

Expect practical ideas that keep teacher agency front and centre, reframing differentiation as a process of pedagogical decision-making rather than a materials problem. Looking forward to the conversation!

30/01/2026

John Slade is coming to BRIDGE ’26. Thank you Stafford House International for making this happen! John brings over a decade of experience teaching EFL in the UK and Australia, working across a wide range of ages, levels, and learning contexts. He is a teacher trainer on both full-time and part-time CELTA courses at Stafford House, and a regular contributor to Modern English Teacher.

📌 Session title:
From Fear to Function: Using AI Effectively in Language Teaching
This session is designed for teachers who may feel unsure about AI, but are curious about how it can be used meaningfully and responsibly. John will share five practical ways AI can support engaging, effective language lessons, without increasing screen fatigue or replacing good teaching. Participants will leave with concrete ideas they can apply immediately in their next class.
📍 Online
🗓️ 7 February 2026
🔗 Registrations are open and participation is free: https://lnkd.in/dVj8uYpv

29/01/2026

Looking at the world post-2020, it’s becoming obvious that we are now in an age of instant information access. Particularly with modern Large Language Models like ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini, etc., access to definitions, facts, and explanations is almost instant; these are no longer skills we train. We seem to be hyper-focused on reasoning skills and critical thinking, but I fear we risk confusing accessing information with possessing knowledge. It’s easy to access information, but we are increasingly lacking structure and internalised language. This is not a problem for those who have gone through classic education (roughly those born up to the early 2000s), but for new generations we need to think carefully about whether or not they can reason fluently without some key knowledge they don’t carry internally.

I find myself being an advocate for some very conventional strategies: memory exercises like learning poetry or short, dense texts, particularly at young ages. And while I’m fully aware of the problematic, often ideological nuance of this, if done carefully, it helps with a lot of key skills which seem to be cornerstones in the age of AI: an inner sense of language, rhythm, syntax, structure, and fluency — training an internal voice. Learning by heart gives structure.

This seems to fly under the radar because we take for granted some core skills that we are visibly not delivering to new generations, and it’s arguably why, despite countless hours of critical-thinking-centred sessions (in ELT, but not only), we still don’t see the results we should be seeing.

Choice, meaning, and variety are key when doing this (history demonstrates the dangers of not doing it right), but for young learners I think we have to take a step back and not throw the good out with the bad.

27/01/2026

Delighted to introduce Julie Lehner, Head of Teacher Training at International House Bucharest as a speaker at BRIDGE ’26, ESU Romania’s national conference for English Language Teachers.

📌 Session title:
Teacher Training in the Age of Generative AI: the IH Bucharest Training Experience

Language teachers remain indispensable in the age of generative AI, and this belief sits at the heart of the teacher training approach at International House Bucharest. In this webinar, Julie will explore how teacher training is adapting to generative AI, using real examples from CELTA and DELTA courses.

The session will share practical ways AI is currently being used to support teacher development, while preserving the core values of good teaching, reflective practice, and critical thinking. It will also address common concerns around AI, ethical use, and how trainers are helping teachers engage with technology in thoughtful and responsible ways.

Julie has extensive experience teaching EFL and ESL at all levels, with a background in one-to-one Business English. Over the years, she has worked as both teacher and trainer across two continents, continually innovating in course design, scheduling, teaching practice delivery, and trainee group dynamics. She is now based in Bucharest and regularly delivers training and conference sessions across Europe and Central Asia.
📍 Online
🗓️ February 7, 2026
🔗 Registrations are open

27/01/2026

We’re proud to announce our first confirmed speaker for BRIDGE ’26 brought to you by the fantastic team at International House Bucharest.

Nik Peachey will be joining us with a session titled:
Supporting Ethical and Constructive AI Use in the English Language Classroom

As generative AI tools become increasingly present in learners’ lives, English language teachers are facing new questions around ethics, responsibility, and effective classroom use. In this practical, classroom-focused session, Nik will explore how teachers can guide learners to use AI as a support for language development, not a shortcut that replaces learning.

The session will cover:

Classroom-ready AI prompts and tools for common ELT activities
Task design principles that promote transparency and learner responsibility;
Key ethical considerations, including academic integrity and over-reliance on AI;
Practical ways to strengthen learner agency in an AI-supported learning environment;
Participants will leave with clear principles and concrete examples they can apply immediately in their own classrooms.
About the speaker;

Nik Peachey is an internationally recognised educator, author, and learning technology consultant with over 30 years of experience in English language teaching and teacher development. He has taught and trained teachers around the world and is widely known for his work in digital literacy, blended learning, and AI in education.

Nik is the author of several influential books, a prolific contributor to educational journals and online platforms, and the recipient of two British Council Innovations Awards. His work continues to shape how teachers worldwide engage thoughtfully and critically with educational technology.

🔗 Learn more about Nik’s work:
Books: https://payhip.com/peacheypublications
Edtech & ELT Newsletter: https://substack.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikpeachey

📅 BRIDGE ’26 – The ESU Romania Conference for English Language Teachers
📍 Online | 7 February 2026
🎟️ Free to attend | Registrations open now: https://lnkd.in/dVj8uYpv

Sorin Popescu

30/03/2026

26/03/2026

23/03/2026

10/02/2026

06/02/2026

05/02/2026

30/01/2026

29/01/2026

27/01/2026

27/01/2026

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