On September the 14th, all the Pilgrims Teacher Trainers got together to celebrate the success of this past summer programme and plan the long term future. Highlighting  the amazing dispersion of the trainers around the world, the meeting took place online.

Phil, the teacher training DOS and editor of the Teacher Trainer Journal, described the atmosphere on the Pilgrims’ courses in Segovia this summer: an eminent example of how the 51 years experience of Pilgrims courses still wows even seasoned teachers. Nearly 100 teachers attended one of the  programmes  in Segovia (many through the Pilgrims’ partnership with the Learn & Lead). The courses represented the best of pilgrims: humanistic approach to  language lesson management.

Beyond the pedagogical programme, many planned activities brought the participants together, drawing on the wealth of opportunities that the city of  Segovia offers. The atmosphere on the last night of the course was fabulous!

​The assembly of Pilgrims Trainers then cast their minds to the vision for the courses, more specifically, how can Pilgrims sharpen even more the impact of  these programmes on the participants.. Humanistic language teaching covers most aspects of the skills required to deliver inspiring lessons that  motivate young learners. However it was felt that a further emphasis on the wellbeing of teachers and pupils could bring a very much needed shift in the way teaching is framed in the teacher’s mind with a positive knock on effect of enhanced value for their pupils.

No conference, whether in education or any other field, would be complete today without a reference to AI, and Pilgrims is no exception! A lively discussion took place to try and tease out both the significance of AI in its application to language teaching and the framework  teachers might need to embrace the technology in their classroom without losing the personal touch which is so central to humanising language teaching.

The next big subject for Pilgrims was the introduction of online training: it is well documented that since COVID, very much more training has moved on line; yet, the life changing benefits of a Pilgrims course has always come from the in-person interaction between trainers and trainees on the one hand and  trainee emulation on the other. This leaves us with a dilemma: can the humanistic approach be transmitted in a zoom session? The great surprise of the day was that most of the trainers gave the online approach an overwhelming seal of approval! Pilgrims will be developing an online course option in the next few months.

This was not your average conference where never ending discussions take place and very few firm decisions are taken: the Pilgrims 2025 Conference was very much the opposite: focused discussions followed by decisions: an immense success.

Pilgrims is really magic!

Coming soon! Please check the Pilgrims in Segovia Teacher Training courses 2026 at Pilgrims website.