Summer is finally over, but it’s been one to remember. As usual, OUP’s four-day intensive course and conference for teachers in Budapest at the end of August is the sign that the new school year is upon us, a warning bell of sorts for us to make plans and get prepared for the much-awaited (dreaded?) becsengetés. It’s always an encouraging sign to see how many teachers are willing to devote the last few precious days of August to professional development. It’s a real sign of commitment. Either that, or teachers are just desperate to get out of all those boring start-of-year staff meetings and fire-and-safety presentations. 🙂
A sad note this year was the news of the death of Headway co-author John Soars, whose materials have been extremely influential here in Hungary as well as around the world. Many teachers signed a card of condolence and paid personal tribute as well. One teacher wrote “Once I was a Headway student; now I am a Headway teacher.” Few ELT coursebooks can have had such a sustained impact and influence. May he rest in peace.
The course itself was as good as ever. As well as morning sessions for the various groups, there were also afternoon plenaries. My own plenary was an updated version of the ‘Gates and Bridges’ talk. As promised, you can access a pdf copy of the slides here: Gates and bridges Budapest
The conference on the last day was on the topic of images and videos. The keynote speaker was Images author Jamie Keddie, who gave two fantastic plenaries. I’m already looking forward to trying out a few of his ideas in class.
Good luck to everyone for the new school year!