The second HUPE Zagorje meeting this school year was held at Bedekovčina Secondary School on 14^th February 2020. 

There were three workshops held as well as the introduction to the 28^th HUPE Annual International Conference. The first one was a workshop held by Melinda Tupek, a great fellow teacher and enthusiast who works in OŠ Sesvetska Sopnica.  Melinda’s workshop titled (Old fashioned) Games in the ESL Classroom was great fun and all of the tired teachers attending it had a good time trying out the numerous games she provided for us. In this workshop Melinda presented an array of fun and interesting games that could be applied to any classroom at any level of students’ knowledge throughout the curriculum, no matter the subject or lesson. As we were having fun doing the activities and playing the games, so will our students when we try some of these great ideas.

 The second workshop was held by Barbara Hanjilec, from ŠUDIGO Zabok, an inspiring colleague with tones of experience and great ideas as always. Barbara’s workshop A Wee Talk on Northern Ireland was focused on culture and how to bring it closer to our students in the classroom. As we probably all focus too much on Great Britain, London, The USA, New York or similar more prominent elements of culture in our teaching, this workshop was an eye-opener and a much-needed inspiration to do something different in our classrooms. 

The third workshop was held by our branch president Gordana Bujanić Tretinjak, aka myself. The workshop titledWHYs and HOWs of Making Short Videos in the Classroom IATEFL focused on putting students’ mobiles to good use – how to teach them to make video materials that could be used in the classroom or for any learning goal you wish. All the weary and tired colleagues cheerfully took out their phones, and following the instructions, had fun in making their (sometimes first) short videos. Students are motivated to do such activities since they activate their creativity, their knowledge of digital tools and gadgets but also it sparks their interest in English and boosts self-confidence.

The last part of our meeting was dedicated to HUPE Conference News. The colleagues were informed on all the news about the Conference ahead of us. We discussed ideas about the HUPE Zagorje part in the From Us to You social event in the conference and had some great ideas from our members – join us at the Conference and find out! 

The energy at the meeting was great as always, so much so that when the meeting was over (on this Valentine’s Day mind you!), people were still chatting and drinking coffee, reluctant to leave.

HUPE Zagorje is thankful to our members and the speakers for coming. HUPE Zagorje will continue to inspire and hopefully become a bigger branch in the future.

If you wish to join us, contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Gordana Bujanić Tretinjak
HUPE Zagorje Branch President