On Friday 24th September some of the teachers from Ih headed deep into the province of Buenos Aires…. well to La Plata, to attend a talk given by Herbert Puchta, President of IATEFL.
Having figured out the easiest way to get to La Plata, Al, Clementine, Emma, Lucila, Maggie, Robin and Silvana met at school to catch the train to Retiro. Whilst waiting for the train the inevitable happened when we met some students, none of whom could understand why we were going to La Plata purely to listen to one man talk about teaching. Having reassured them that what we learnt would undoubtedly benefit them in class, we caught a packed train heading to the capital. Buying the bus tickets and locating the platform was straightforward enough, and we were soon heading towards La Plata.
Once in La Plata we made our way to the school where the talk was being held, and were pleased to find it was opposite the famous Cathedral. We had enough time to visit the cathedral before heading back across the road to attend the talk where we met Dany who had made his way to La Plata earlier in the day.
The talk lasted a little under 2 hours and was not only entertaining but informative. Speaking on the topic of getting students talking in class, Dr. Puchta spoke of the importance of fluency over accuracy, especially with lower levels. To this end, he gave different ideas and methods, some of which he demonstrated.
The talk over, we headed to a nearby café to relax a bit before heading all the way back to San Isidro.
IH San Isidro Teacher Development 