Member Event Fund Report: GLS (IH Berlin) Teacher Training Day

Over 75 language teachers, trainers, and external participants took part in a very successful GLS (IH Berlin) Teacher Training Day on Saturday 8th  October 2022. The aim of the event, which took place  on  the  GLS  Sprachenzentrum  campus  in  Berlin,  was  to  bring  teachers  of  all  languages together for a day of workshops and to provide an opportunity for reflection and the exchange of ideas. After nearly three years of the Covid pandemic, we felt it was high time to bring teachers together for a face-to-face event and provide a boost to morale, resilience, and team spirit through inspiring  workshops.    The  event  was  organised  by  the  GLS  Academic  Team  led  by  Christina Schmidinger, the Head  of Teacher  Training  and  generously supported  by Eaquals through the members’ event fund. In addition, 4 major publishers: Cornelsen (National Geographic Learning), Klett (Cambridge University Pres), Hueber (MacMillian) and Pearson sponsored workshops and provided book stands. The latter were located in the lounge along with the catering so that teachers could mingle and leaf through the latest publications in the breaks and the publishers were also happy for the chance to have direct contact with teachers again.

In all, teachers of over 7 languages were represented and we were delighted to welcome alumni from the GLS_IH Certificate in Teaching German as a Foreign Language and German teachers from other language schools in Berlin as well as our own teachers. The topics were relevant for all languages where possible and there was an equal mix of workshops in German or in English.

In the lively opening plenary, Stefan Deinzer (Hueber Verlag) reflected on the rapid developments our profession has faced over the last few years and asked where we are heading for the future. Later, there were 3 more 90-minute workshop slots with a choice of 4-5 workshops for each session.

Workshops topics included Mediation in the Classroom, Teaching 121 students, Revisiting Jigsaw Activities, Rhythm, Multiculturalism, Discrimination, and Differentiation.

The buffet lunch and refreshments provided were much appreciated and the day finished with a glass of wine and animated discussions. GLS would like to extend a huge thank you to Eaquals and all our sponsors for making the day possible.

Click here for a full report on the conference.