PPLI Annual Report 2022 - Flipbook - Page 8
Director Review
PPLI has continued to adapt to the changes that have become so characteristic of the pandemic era. 2022 was
the year that we emerged from the pandemic era but some new behaviours as well as projects have become
embedded. Like many other organisations we facilitate more flexibility in terms of the way we work as a team.
We work less in the physical workspace and more in the virtual space. Our experience has been that this not
only improves the employee experience but has increased productivity and efficiency. With instant messaging
on Teams always available (except for quiet time on Friday mornings), and video calls the norm, we can stay
connected with people despite being in a virtual space. Timesaving is also encouraged with the now normal
collaborative file sharing which allows our project management and other collaboration to be done online. We
also have to travel less. We still go to the office a couple of days a week, but we are more intentional in supporting
the team to work collaboratively while not meeting as often and this is surely a good thing. We all still find that
big decisions and brainstorming are more effective when conducted in person and so we do still prioritise this
when necessary.
Many exciting projects and developments remain imprinted on the collective PPLI memory from 2022. These
included the development of 72 MFL CLIL resources to support teachers as they embed the practice of CLIL in
Ireland. Physical school language exchanges got back on track post-pandemic, and we supported a Japanese
exchange for the first time. Summer camps became more established and expanded to include Polish, Romanian,
Lithuanian and Chinese.
We managed and expanded projects introduced during Covid e.g., Primary and in-school #ThinkLanguages, but
simultaneously returned to participation in pre-Covid events and projects. In the context of the ‘Say Yes to
Languages’ primary sampler module there was an increase in the number of schools, the number of pupils, the
number of languages, the number of weeks, and we experienced the joy and the sense of pride that pupils
showed as they learnt something new about each other's languages and cultures. Over 15,000 TY students
from 180 schools nationwide were involved in #ThinkLanguages which was a 25% increase in participation.
The first cycle of implementation for new languages was completed and there was positive feedback from
schools and parents, students achieved good results and there was progress on integration of the teachers in
schools.
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- PPLI ANNUAL REPORT 2022 -