The Foreign Languages Centre and the Center for the Study of the Hellenic Language and Culture of the University of Ioannina participated in the National Languages Championship in Italy.

In particular, Dr. Alexandra Galani, Senior Teaching Fellow in Greek as a second/ foreign language, and Dr. Theodora Tseligka, Senior Teaching Fellow in EAP/ESP, were invited speakers at the Conference: “Recent Experiences and New Challenges in Language Learning and Teaching”, held in 16-17 February 2017 at the School of Foreign Languages and Literature of the University of Urbino Carlo Bo (Italy), as part of the National Languages Championship (N.L.C).

The N.L.C. has been organised for the last seven (7) years. This year an unprecedented number of 14,000 secondary education students from the whole country participated in the Championship and competed in one of the following languages: English, French, German and Spanish. The first three winners in each language win significant awards while the champion secures a scholarship for the first year of studies at the University of Urbino. The Championship aims at promoting foreign language education at a national level in Italy.

It is noteworthy that this is the first time that a Conference was organised within the framework of the Championship, enabling, thus, the attendant language teachers to get trained on current issues of language education.

We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Dr. Enrica Rossi, the Director of the Foreign Languages Centre of the University of Urbino, for the invitation, hoping that this opportunity will serve as a springboard for future collaborations between the respective institutions.