We also had the opportunity of meeting very interesting people and learning a lot from each other.
Doctor Daniel Fernández, President of FAAPI, opened the Conference with his usual enlighted discourse ability. He is always able to put into words thoughts we share but can't often make explicit. Great!
Mag. Ana Marina Suárez Gianello gave an enriching lesson on teaching art. Or should I say “the art of teaching”? Her presentation provided us with an enormous amount of food for thought. Do we teachers need to expand our general knowledge in order to prepare lessons which aim to educate rather than instruct? I invite you all to consider this and share among colleagues. Maybe sometimes, some of us, due to the haste in which we live, just teach contents presented by books. It is good stuff to be taught, but we should also try to develop some material ourselves from time to time. It helps us to go on re-creating our teaching strategies.
Alan Maley discussed the value of exams. I took from what he said that he was against exams. Luckily, I had the opportunity to ask him for clarification and learnt that he sometimes feels the effect of exam results are not too positive. Maybe we should change some examiners’ attitudes? Definitely, we need some frame of reference to see how we are doing, don’t you think?
Then, we also saw how different kind of poems can be excellent triggers for profitable lessons.
Jeremy Harmer showed us, once more, what a wonderful teacher he is. He put into practice many of the strategies he teaches in his books. And he also proved to be an excellent performer. I personally loved the way he recited Shakespeare’s poem. The way he combined poetry and music made evident he is an artist at heart. Maybe that is why he is such an inspiring teacher?
Herbert Puchta, now President of IATEFL, displayed the possibilities we have to be members of the organization and made it clear why it could be useful for in-service teachers to join it. He showed what a nice person he is when he stayed to talk with people who wanted to ask him different questions and didn’t dare to do it in front of the audience. Good for him!
It is true we need to improve many things, but teachers’ participation in the debate made me feel that we have the people who can make change possible. A message of hope, at least!
And let's start thinking about our 2011 meeting!
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