Participants Feedback on the International English Webinar (Czech Republic, 2021)

The next international English webinar is planned for early spring 2022 and will be devoted to psychological issues.

For more information contact Iva Prudlová iprudlova@avs.justice.cz

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On 20th November, 12 participants from Bulgaria, Catalonia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Romania, and Slovakia attended the International English Webinar organized by the Czech Prison Service Academy and facilitated by Lithuanian expert Aurimas Nausėda.

The feedback form was divided into two parts: closed questions with the five rating scale that allowed the participants to express how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement; and open questions to which the participants give their personal comments. The organizer got 9 responses.

Part I

• The webinar was a valuable experience. 4 participants rated  5; 5 participants rated 4
• I gained new knowledge/experience applicable to my practice. 4 participants rated 5; 4 participants rated 4; 1 participant rated 3
• The webinar contributed to my English professional language proficiency. 8 participants rated 5; 1 participant rated 3
• The presentation of the facilitator was interesting and relevant. 2 participants rated 5; 7 participants rated 4
• I had enough time to present my ideas, express my opinions and ask questions. 5 participants rated 5; 4 participants rated 4
• I received sufficient and clear information from the organizer during the preparatory phase. 2 participants rated 5; 3 participants rated 4; 2 participants rated 3; 2 participants rated 2
• I would recommend my colleagues to participate. 6 participants rated 5; 3 participants rated 4
• I am interested in attending future English webinars in 2022. 8 participants rated 5; 1 participant rated 4

Part II

Most of the comments were positive.

• The format of the webinar was very good.
• The webinar was interactive.
• The facilitator Aurimas Nausėda was well prepared.
• I liked the way the facilitator gave quick and adequate feedback to our individual presentations.
• The feedback given by the facilitator was valuable in both fields – presentation skills as well as the level of English.
• I would like to congratulate the facilitator on his professionalism and to thank him for sharing his knowledge with us.
• It is a real pleasure to meet people and communicate.
• We always warmly welcome the possibility to meet our friends and new colleagues from abroad.
• I appreciate the possibility to compare my presentation with the presentations by the other participants.
• We enjoyed the variety of accents of the presenting participants.
• These seminars really should keep going

Challenges

However, two main challenges were addressed – the technology and the pre-phase of the webinar.

• Skype for Business, which is the only official platform of the Czech Prison Service as the English webinars organizer, is definitely not suitable for language training. If a different academy takes the role of organizer, the platform may be changed for a more effective one.
• The organization of the webinars is rather demanding and time-consuming. First, it is important to find an expert willing to facilitate a webinar for free. Next, the topic and methods have to be discussed to match the needs of the target group of participants. At the same time, pre-tasks for the participants are consulted.
• The invitation must be spread among EPTA members with the hope they pass the information to the prisons. Email communication with applicants must be led for about one month prior to each webinar. Sometimes a selection must be done because of the limited number of participants; however, keeping in touch with substitutes is very sensible.
• So far, the organizer has been transmitting information between the facilitator to the participants and among the participants if it was relevant or useful.
• A week before each seminar, a connection test on Skype for Business is planned with each participant. It has occurred that a few applicants couldn´t use the platform and so they couldn´t participate.
• Every time, there are a few persons who for various reasons resign (illness, other duties, sudden important meetings, etc.) The facilitator and the organizer have to decide if it is beneficial to integrate the substitute(s) or not. This particular webinar was affected by changing the list of participants during the last two days before the webinar. This complicated the final organization of the event.
• The Czech Academy would welcome any advice and active help with the webinars organization.

Conclusion

Generally, the webinar was considered inspiring. It contributed to the participants´ professional presentation skills development. In times of pandemic, international English webinars are one of the few forms that allow professional meetings with foreign colleagues and language training at the same time.

•  I would like to thank the organizer for putting so much effort into organizing the program.
• We would like to thank to the Czech Prison Service Academy for organizing such a unique event, which has enriched us – as always.

See also

• International English Webinars in Autumn 2021 (Czech Prison Service Academy)
• International online English seminars organized by the Czech Prison Service Academy in 2021