On the last Friday of November, the Centre for Foreign Languages Study of PSU held another English Speaking Club meeting. Jocelyn Pihlaja, her friend Mary Beth Leon Getten, a writer and the Director of the Minnesota State Orchestra, and Jocelyn’s daughter Allegra, a freshman student at Carleton College (Northfield, Minnesota), were the honorable guests from America.
“We were lucky to have three native English speakers. The meeting was organized in the way that each participant had an opportunity to chat with them in English,” explained Olga Zhuravskaya, Head of the Centre.
As there were three guests, the participants were divided into three groups, headed by one of the native speakers. Mary Beth, Jocelyn and Allegra paid attention to all the participants.
The Centre teachers had to think hard to create new tasks. The tasks should be within the students’ powers, fun, diverse and interesting. Judging by the feedback, the teachers managed to create such tasks.
Our guests assessed the meeting as well: “Everything was just great, the atmosphere was amazing, and the students were really great!” Mary Beth shared her impressions. Jocelyn felt the same and Allegra, who is very shy, said she had a great time and didn’t regret that she had come.
It should be noted that international students are also interested in Club meetings. This time the Club gathered together the students from Congo, Iran, Russia and Tajikistan. It was pleasant to hear their good impressions of our country. You may find some of the feedbacks at the end of the article.
The main aim of the meeting was to tell our American guests about Belarus national characteristics and traditions in use, such as Belarusian cuisine, for example. The moderators avoided boring school topics and encouraged the participants to share the most important and useful information. Thus, Jocelyn, Allegra and Mary Beth left the meeting with the list of Belarusian dishes recipes. They decided to taste all of them. Besides, they got a list of Polotsk and Novopolotsk sights and places to visit.
Moreover, the prize for the best feedback about one of the Club meetings found its holder. Elena Kolesova was the lucky prize holder, chosen by the random numbers generator. E. Kolesova received a very beautiful personal organizer with the first note from Mary Beth, who was the sponsor of the present.
The moderators promised that such lotteries would be regular in their VKontakte group. The Centre has recently launched a large project “Centre for Foreign Languages Study in Faces” in the early December. It provides an opportunity to become better acquainted with the Centre staff and get some presents for active participation in the discussions.
Attention! The following meetings will be held on December 14 and 21. The Centre is waiting for you to come over for a cup of tea.
“I liked the English Speaking Club meeting. The tasks were exciting and unusual. I have the most positive impressions,” says Mbuyi Muadiamvita Karsi.
“I like English very much. I’ve never attended the club meetings before. And I chatted in English with the students and American guests. If you want to make your English better, you should visit this Club,” says Embeya Tshodi Emmanuel, Congo.
“English Speaking Club is a wonderful opportunity to practice English and improve it in this way. It is also an opportunity to get acquainted with people from different countries, Americans, for example. Chatting with the native English speakers is a very useful experience. All in all, the Club meeting was interesting and exciting,” says Jan Kristof Ngoy Ngoy, Congo.
Let’s discover the world diversity together!
Centre for Foreign Languages Study