By Sanela Šabović, Marigold Language Center, Subotica
At the BETA Bulgaria conference (September 2025), ELTA Serbia’s representative, Sanela Šabović, found what every teacher quietly hopes for at a conference: genuine professional exchange. Beyond strong sessions, BETA created generous spaces for comparing materials, swapping routines, and speaking honestly about what works—and what doesn’t—in real classrooms. This report gathers the ideas she is bringing home, the people she connected with, and the practical steps she will take to share these findings with our community.
In line with the programme, she led a hands-on workshop on brain-friendly routines for young learners, focusing on low-anxiety repetition through movement, rhythm, and quick games. Why another “set of games”? For pre-literate children, learning depends less on lengthy explanations and more on predictable routines with built-in novelty. When children feel connected and safe, they’re more willing to try new language, tolerate ambiguity, and notice form.
In practice, this means designing short cycles that repeat essential vocabulary and patterns, while varying topics—such as animals, seasons, and classroom objects—to keep curiosity alive. Blending rhythm, gesture, and role-play strengthens memory traces and turns “mistakes” into part of the game rather than a threat.
When emotion, movement, and language align, pre-literacy classrooms become braver, calmer, and far more memorable.
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