In January – February 2025, Zaporizhzhia National University (Ukraine) delivered a professional development course for in-service language teachers developed under the umbrella of the Erasmus+ eRead project. The course entitled ”Reading in Ukrainian in the Digital Age: From Theory to Practice (eRead)” brought together more than 70 educators from various regions of Ukraine who met in an online format to enhance professional expertise.

The course was aimed at improving the professional competence of teachers in the field of teaching reading, forming reading literacy and developing motivation for reading in a digital environment, in particular in the context of teaching Ukrainian as a foreign language, and working in an inclusive environment.

The participants discussed a wide range of topics relevant to a 21st-century language teacher: Reading as a basic skill of today. Digital reading. Reading strategies. Teaching reading in Ukrainian as a foreign language. Digital tools for teaching reading. Motivation for reading. Reading for people with special needs.

The speakers Iryna Bakalenko, Olha Stadnichenko, Olena Shulha, Nataliia Nadtochii shared their vision of the changing approaches to teaching reading, their findings on the ways to teach digital reading effectively, and their hands-on experience of applying digital tools in language classes.

After joint sessions, the participants completed an Individual task – prepared multimedia books with materials that can help motivate students to read. At the final meeting, they presented their works, discussed them, exchanged experiences and shared methodological highlights of using digital tools in their practice.

The course provided a holistic view of modern changes in reading culture, equipped the educators with practical tools to cope with the challenges of teaching reading in the digital age, gave them a chance to share professional experiences, and received positive feedback from the participants.