OPTIMO: Empowering Language Teachers with New Tools for Teaching Communication

At Teacher Studio, we’re always looking for ways to support language teachers with fresh ideas, practical tools, and meaningful collaboration. That’s why we’re thrilled to be a partner in a brand-new Erasmus+ project called OPTIMO—a Europe-wide initiative focused on helping language teachers better support immigrants in learning not just vocabulary or grammar, but real-world communication skills.

Let’s face it—language learning is never just about memorising words or practising verb tenses. True communication goes beyond that. It’s about understanding context, listening actively, reading body language, and knowing when and how to speak. These are the skills that help someone feel at home in a new country, find a job, make friends, and navigate everyday life. OPTIMO is all about making sure language teachers feel confident and equipped to teach these vital human skills.

Who’s Involved?

OPTIMO brings together a vibrant team of organisations from Spain (that’s us!), Finland, Austria, and France—all passionate about language education, inclusion, and sharing practical expertise across borders. Together, we’re creating a toolkit of resources to make a real impact in classrooms across Europe.

What’s the Project All About?

OPTIMO focuses on one main goal: giving teachers practical tools and inspiration to teach communication skills to immigrants learning a new language.

We’re talking about:

• How to help learners build confidence in everyday conversations.

• How to teach listening and observation—not just speaking.

• How to make your classroom a place where real-world communication happens.

To make this happen, the project is built around three core parts:

1. Research That Connects the Dots

We’re diving into existing research and teaching theory to find out what’s already out there—and what’s working. We want to make sure OPTIMO is grounded in solid knowledge, while also staying super practical and down-to-earth for teachers who are right there in the classroom every day.

2. Collecting the Best of the Best

Next, we’re gathering best practices from all four partner countries—real strategies and activities used by language teachers who are doing brilliant things with communication. These will be transformed into a material bank of 100 ready-to-use communication exercises, designed for different levels and situations. Whether you’re working with complete beginners or more advanced learners, there’ll be something useful for you.

3. Masterclasses for Teachers

Because professional development should be inspiring (not boring!), we’re creating 8 themed Masterclasses that explore different aspects of communication and how to teach them. These sessions will be used in 4 live training events—one focused on the materials themselves and three that explore the Masterclass topics more deeply across two-day workshops.

We’re also publishing 4 articles based on the Masterclasses, so even if you can’t attend a training session in person, you’ll still be able to learn from the content and bring new ideas into your teaching practice.

What’s In It for Teachers?

By the end of the project, you’ll be able to:

• Access a free online material bank packed with tried-and-tested communication exercises.

• Attend Masterclasses or read about them to dive deeper into teaching communication skills.

• Discover new lesson planning tips and strategies that work across cultures and languages.

• Connect with a European network of teachers who care about inclusion, diversity, and making language learning meaningful.

Why It Matters

At Teacher Studio, we believe that language is connection—and communication is at the heart of that. Teaching immigrants how to speak a new language is powerful work, but giving them the tools to truly communicate is life-changing.

OPTIMO helps us do that. It helps you do that.

We’re so excited to be part of this journey and can’t wait to share what we’re learning along the way. Stay tuned—we’ll be updating you as the project develops, and we’d love for you to get involved, whether it’s by joining a training, trying out the new materials, or simply following the project’s progress.

Let’s build a Europe where every language learner feels heard, understood, and empowered.

For more information on the OPTIMO project, please visit the project’s website: https://www.optimoproject.com/

THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION. VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE HOWEVER THOSE OF THE AUTHOR(S) ONLY AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION OR THE EUROPEAN EDUCATION AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY (EACEA). NEITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION NOR EACEA CAN BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM. AGREEMENT NUMBER: 2024-1-FI01-KA220-ADU-000248711