Trinity Summer School

The Speaking Classroom: Practical approaches for developing meaningful communication

Brescia, Italy - 26-28 Aug 2026
from 9am to 5pm

Venue: Centro Congressi Paolo VI

Address: Via Gezio Calini, 30 - Brescia

Objectives

Start the new school year with three days of practical training, fresh ideas and professional exchange. This Summer School brings teachers together with Trinity trainers to explore what really matters in the speaking classroom, while also building connections.

Over three days, we will look at practical ways to develop learners’ speaking through purposeful classroom interaction. Participants will explore how to:

create supportive and focused speaking environments
design structured opportunities for regular speaking practice
develop spoken communication using drama and personalised storytelling

We will also create space for professional dialogue and community building through our social programme.

Target audience

The course targets English language teachers from both state and private sectors, alongside trainee teachers and university students. It welcomes participants from a range of teaching contexts and experience levels, including international attendees. Activities and discussions are designed to facilitate collaboration within groups aligned by teaching context and professional interests.

Training hours

The course is delivered in person, comprises 24 hours of training, and participants will receive a certificate of participation upon completion.

Note to participants from Italy

Trinity College London Italy è un Ente accreditato dal MIM per la formazione (Decreto 27.01.2001 confermato con Decreto 05.07.2005 ed adeguato alla Direttiva 170/2016). E' previsto l'esonero dall'insegnamento secondo la normativa vigente. Questa iniziativa è inserita su S.O.F.I.A. con codice identificativo numero 104153. Per ottenere l'attestazione è necessario iscriversi sulla piattaforma entro le ore 23:59 del 25/08/2026.

Trainers

Manuela Kelly Calzini

Senior Academic for English Language Trinity College London (Italy & Central Europe)

Manuela Kelly Calzini is Senior Academic for English Language at Trinity College London Italy and Lecturer in Primary Education Sciences at the University of Florence. She specialises in EFL education, with a focus on teacher education and professional development. Her work centres on communicative competence, particularly speaking, interaction and mediation, in line with the CEFR and the action-oriented approach. She designs and delivers teacher training programmes promoting communicative methodologies, storytelling, drama-based learning and collaborative speaking tasks. Her interests include early language learning and the use of drama and storytelling to foster meaningful communication and learner engagement.

Ben Beaumont

Head of Teacher Education and Pedagogy (United Kingdom)

Dr Ben Beaumont is Head of Teacher Education & Pedagogy at Trinity College London. Ben is an educator with teaching and training experience across primary, secondary and tertiary level of education and is also a researcher, specialising in teachers’ educational development and educator practices in English-medium contexts. As Head of Teacher Education & Pedagogy at Trinity, Ben works cross divisionally, overseeing teacher strategy and pedagogical implementation across Trinity’s English language and performance subject areas.
Actively engaged in teacher education research, in-service teacher training and materials development, Ben is keen to share learning across different educational sectors to support the development of positive and thriving learning environments

Registration form

To secure your spot, please complete the registration form below. Once submitted, you will receive instructions for payment via Bank transfer or "Carta Docente".

Registrations are open until July 30th 2026.

Registration Fee

Regular Fee: €199.00

The course can also be purchased using the Italian “Carta Docente”.

The fee includes:

All the summer school materials
Refreshment station according to the programme
Certificate of attendance

The fee does not include:

All travel, meals and accomodation arrangements.

Logistics Information

Getting Here: Directions and travel options to the Summer School venue

From Milan-Malpensa Airport (MXP)

By Car: The drive takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes. Follow signs for the A4 highway towards Venice, then exit at Brescia Centro.
By Train: Take the Malpensa Express train to Milano Centrale station. From there, take a direct train to Brescia (Trenitalia or Italo). The total travel time is approximately 2 hours.

From Milan-Linate Airport (LIN)

By Car: The drive takes around 1 hour and 15 minutes. Take the A35 (BreBeMi) highway towards Brescia, exiting at Brescia Centro.
By Metro: take the M4 line (blue) to San Babila, then switch to the M1 line (red) towards Rho Fiera/Bisceglie for one stop to Duomo, and finally take the M3 line (yellow) towards Comasina to Centrale FS.
By Taxi: about 15-25 min, cost € 25-35.

From Bergamo-Orio al Serio Airport (BGY)

By Bus: The Autostradale service (€12, one-way, 60 min travel time) connects Bergamo Orio al Serio Airport to Brescia, arriving at the SIA bus station (Via Solferino 6, platform 24). Buses run from 5:10 AM to 10:30 PM.
Alternatively, the new Orio al Serio Airlink provides a fast and direct connection between the airport and Brescia (Metro Poliambulanza stop), with dozens of daily departures.
By Car: The drive takes about 40 minutes via the A4 highway towards Venice, exiting at Brescia Centro.

From Verona Airport to Brescia

By car: Take the A4 highway towards Milan, exit at Brescia Centro (45 min).
By public transport: Aerobus to Verona Porta Nuova (15 min), then take a train to Brescia (Trenitalia or Italo).

From Brescia Train Station to Centro Paolo VI

By Taxi: take a taxi from the main exit (or call 030 35111); the ride takes 5-10 minutes and costs around €10-15, depending on traffic.
On Foot: The train station is about a 20 minute walk from Centro Paolo VI.