TESOL Greece and the Preveza community joined forces for a second time and organized a two-day event which focused on tasks and activities a busy teacher can design and use in the classroom.
Co-organized by TESOL Greece, the Prefecture of Epirus, the Municipality and the Chamber of Commerce of Preveza, the event was held on October 13th at the Municipal Cultural Centre, K. Komenos (Oasis) with participants coming from Corfu, Ioannina, Arta, Lefkada, Preveza, Thessaloniki, Larissa, Kos, Ukraine, Russia, England, Iran, the USA and Athens. Entitled “Practical Activities for Busy Teachers”, the event featured 5 workshops focusing on effortless solutions for today’s busy professionals.
Roger House presented a workshop on practical and easy-to-prepare activities for all levels using pictures and music as the only input.
Cliff Parry, by telling the participants the mistakes he had made and what he had learned from them, gave food for thought because in reality it is not easy for somebody to say that he/she is a teacher without truly loving teaching.
Alexandra Chistyakova presented an activity that considerably increases student speaking time. The activity has been tested on university students during the last three years and so far has received mostly positive feedback from the learners.
Jeffrey Dooley and Eftichis Kantarakis presented how the Disabled Access Friendly campaign (http://www.disabled-accessfriendly.com/) can help the participants create an integrated society and break down barriers by raising awareness about people with disabilities. Teachers can do this by providing free downloadable teaching material and graded reading texts that can be used in class for skills building as well as examination practice. The best teachers have always done more than just prepare students for tests. They raise awareness of the world in which we live and try to make it a better place.
Last on stage was Ken Nilson with a workshop titled “Motivating the unmotivated”. He suggested ten ways to generate interest. Pre-event activities on October 12th gave visitors the opportunity to visit the archaeological area of Nicopolis (city of victory) and the Nicopolis museum and later enjoyed themselves at the amazing beach of Nicopolis club in Monolithi. A gem of Western Greece, Preveza sparked under the warm autumn light, captivating the guests with its natural beauty spots, picturesque streets, its monuments and the warmth of the local people. On Saturday night, a Music, Poetry and Drama night showed that culture and ELT have a lot in common.
The feedback received clearly indicates that Western Greece is in favour of professional development seminars and would like to establish the event as an annual institution which will last more than two days!
TESOL Greece wishes to thank the Mayor, Mr Christos Bailis and the president of the local Chamber of Commerce, Mr Ioannis Yiamas for their support as well as the head of the prefecture Mr Stratos Ioannou, the municipality of Preveza for sponsoring the coffee breaks and finally the British Council and Burlington Books for their generous sponsorships.
