The first-ever joint inter-ELTA conference event!

This is HELTA Member Yasmin Herrmann writing about Inter-ELTA Members’ Day in November 2020:

On the last Saturday of November (28 November 2020), the very first Inter-ELTA Members’ Day was the place to be, if you’re a tired and jaded English teacher trying to stay motivated and merry this December in this weird Corona year. It was totally professionally organised on zoom and offered a veritable cornucopia of interesting talks. These talks were full of highly useful information and/or just downright fascinating. 

As with all these zoom events, it was surprisingly gripping and therefore very tiring, so it was a great idea to finish off the day with a short presentation from an opera singer/English language trainer who gave us a chance to get up and out of our chairs and do some breathing exercises. After doing said exercises, my zoom fatigue was banished and I felt re-vitalised. It made me realize just how important it is, to sometimes get up, even during zoom teaching and move around. Also very useful, were the tips on how to protect or soothe an over-tired voice…

It’s well worth checking out the slides from the other great presentations and these can be found under the following link: 

https://uni-siegen.sciebo.de/s/bIhWPirXu3DoZ6yPassword: ELTAMD2020

I was delighted to be able to see so many teachers from all over Germany on-screen and to catch up with a couple of people I’ve met via zoom for the first time this year. It was quite heart-warming to meet this amazingly, dynamic and talented teaching community and to feel a part of it, especially as for some of us teachers, we can get a little cut-off from our colleagues at times.

I’ve been a member of HELTA for two years and am thrilled and humbled by the talent, hard-work and dedication of our committee members old and new. I must admit that, ironically, it has only been during this second year, that I have become more aware of what HELTA offers and have taken part in some of the many events. A big thank you to the committee (old and new) for what you offer us and of course for all that you do for us!