"Wednesday Movie Club" - Homeward Bound

Today the Dnipropetrovsk  WOA had a “Wednesday Movie Club” session.
We watched the movie "Homeward Bound" from Window on America collection. 

Remake of the popular Disney classic, this time featuring some well known voices as two dogs and a cat trek across America encountering all sorts of adventures in the quest to be reunited with their owners.

iPad

Video by 11 channel TV 

Window on America Center started the promotion of the donated by the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine iPad during the English Speaking Club and during the Library Day celebration in the Globa Park of Dnipropetrovsk city.

Have a look at more pictures, please 

English Speaking Club - “Positive Thinking”.

Today’s session of the English Speaking Club in Dnipropetrovsk WOA was a pleasant surprise to all Ukrainian participants.

Rather unexpectedly we had quite a number of the American guests.

Samantha, our regular Peace Corp.  guest, visited the session and stayed  longer than usual.

Our long time friend, Mr. J . Battilega, made a sudden appearance in an elegant summer outfit. He returned after his trip to the USA and shared the experiences.

Mrs. Virginia Kleist after a busy lecturing day at the Mining University visited our club. We knew that this day was her birthday and sang the “Happy Birthday”.

The topic of the session was “Positive Thinking”.

We read the article which explained the origin of the word “Optimism”. After that we had a small experiment to find out how many optimists do we have in the audience. The club members were shown a photo of a glass with water and were asked to describe it in one word.  Only 2 persons perceived the glass as a half-empty glass. The rest of the group described it as half-full.  Thus we made a conclusion that the majority of us are optimists.  Some smart guys apparently knew about this simple test, they gave tricky answers which did not allow to classify them.

We continued reading the article and later discussed the tips and techniques that help to fight autumn depression. Once the term “Positive thinking” was introduced we read the text about the progenitor of the Positive thinking theory Dr. Norman Vincent Peal. He was a minister and author of “The Power of Positive Thinking”. President Ronald Reagan awarded Mr. Peale, for his contributions to the field of theology, the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest civilian honor in the United States) on March 26, 1984. According to President Bill Clinton the name of Dr. Norman Vincent Peale will forever be associated with the wondrously American values of optimism and service.

We watched the video of the President’s Obama interview with Will Smith dealing with similar topic.

To round up the discussion we watched the video of the popular Ukrainian song by A. Danylko which is the quintessence of the Ukrainian positive thinking. The task was to explain to the American guests the plot of the video clip and the typical Ukrainian ways to combat depression.

The session was a real success and the discussions were not limited by the ESC timing.

The number of participants – 30 persons.

Have a look at more pictures, please 

POSITIVE THINKING - Quotations

You Are Invited! 

Dear Users of the Center "Window on America", you are welcome to participate in a discussion on 24th September 2011!

                     Quotations

• When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade.
•  Drop the idea that you are Atlas carrying the world on your shoulders. The world would go on even without you. Don't take yourself so seriously.
•  Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and who allow it to take hold and dominate their thoughts find that new worlds open for them. As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will new opportunities.
• It is of practical value to learn to like yourself. Since you must spend so much time with yourself you might as well get some satisfaction out of the relationship.
• Joy increases as you give it, and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself. In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy greater than you ever believed possible.
• Believe it is possible to solve your problem. Tremendous things happen to the believer. So believe the answer will come. It will.
• Never talk defeat. Use words like hope, belief, faith, victory.
• Watch your manner of speech if you wish to develop a peaceful state of mind. Start each day by affirming peaceful, contented and happy attitudes and your days will tend to be pleasant and successful.
• The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.
• A positive mental attitude is a belief that things are going to turn out well, and that you can overcome any kind of trouble or difficulty.
• The tests of life are not meant to break you, but to make you.
• Live your life and forget your age.
• If there is no fun in it, something is wrong with all you are doing.
• Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. 

"Wednesday Movie Club" - It's a Woderful life

Today the Dnipropetrovsk  WOA  had a “Wednesday Movie Club” session.

The Drama Fantasy Family film "It’s A Wonderful Life" was presented to all who wish to improve their language skills.

Number of the visitors – 11 persons.

George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all - and it's Christmas ! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town would have looked like if it hadn't been for all his good deeds over the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his family and forget about suicide? George Bailey spends his entire life giving up his big dreams for the good of his town, Bedford Falls, as we see in flashback. But in the present, on Christmas Eve, he is broken and suicidal over the misplacing of an $8000 loan and the machinations of the evil millionaire, Mr. Potter. His guardian angel, Clarence, falls to Earth, literally, and shows him how his town, family, and friends would turn out if he had never been born. George meant so much to so many people; should he really throw it all away?On Christmas eve, all of the citizens of the small town of Bedford Falls pray to the heavens to help George Bailey. It's then decided that Clarence, an angel who hasn't earned his wings, to help George. Before he does, he should know who George Bailey. George Bailey grew up in Bedford Falls, which is a small town, he dreams of somebody leaving it and making his mark on the world. His family's business is all what stands between the good citizens and Mr. Potter, a rich miser who takes sick pleasure in taking from everybody, without even caring how it affects them. George was all set to leave when his father died and George had to take care of the business. George would forever be stymied with his plans to leave and when he thinks that he is nothing but a failure, he decides to kill himself and that's when Clarence comes in and tries to convince him that he has made something with his life and that he had a "Wonderful Life". 

The Fulbright academic exchange lecturer

Today’s session of the  English Speaking Club in Dnipropetrovsk WOA was unexpectedly successful.

The Fulbright academic exchange lecturer from the National Mining University visited the WOA Centre.

Mrs. Virginia KLEIST is an associate professor of the West Virginia University and will be lecturing information technology and cybernetics in English for one month. She was refereed to our centre by another Fulbright exchange professor from USA – Youngtae Shin, a good friend of our club.

It was a nice occasion when we had   both Peace Corp. volunteers and the Fulbright program professor present at our session.

Mrs. Kleist introduced herself to the club members and listened to the introductions of all the club members.

She made an improvised presentation of 2 states - Pennsylvania where she lives and West Virginia where she works. Professor mentioned the analogies between these states and Ukrainian provinces where coal mining is the main industry, she told about the similar problems faced by the miners in the USA.

The club members asked a lot of questions about the social life in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

At some stage the discussion drifted to the travel impressions of Mrs. Kleist. She told us about the logistics of her trip and asked a lot of questions about the professor’s impressions after Istanbul and Dnipropetrovsk

In return the Professor asked the club members about the places of interest she should visit in Dnipropetrovsk and in Ukraine. The club members recommended a few nice places in Dnipropetrovsk and other places.

As a tourist attraction of the city we offered a visit to the local historical museum where a museum festival was taking place. The clubs’ friend Valentina, the museum’s guide, offered to Prof. Kleist a guided tour in English.

The session full of communication was enjoyed by all participants. We hope for further friendship and cooperation with Mrs. Virginia.

More about Mrs. Virginia

The number of participants – 15 persons.

All the KING's men

Today the Dnipropetrovsk  WOA had a “Wednesday Movie Club” session.

The film "All the KING's men" from Window on America collection was presented to all who wish to improve their  language skills.

The story is about the life of Willie Stark (played by Sean Penn), a fictional character resembling Louisiana governor Huey Long. The film co-stars Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Haley in his first film since Maniac Cop III: Badge of Silence thirteen years prior.

Filming took place in New Orleans, Morgan City, Donaldsonville, at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge and many other places in Louisiana.

The world premiere was held at the Toronto Film Festival on September 11, 2006. There the film was first screened to the press. A special screening was held at the Tulane University in New Orleans on September 16, 2006.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 

 

 Today’s WOA’s English Speaking Club session started with a brief reminder of the tragic events of 9/11/2001. The Club members were asked to find time tomorrow and commemorate the tragic death of 3000 persons by the minute of silence.

After that the club member Vladislav made a report about his unforgettable trip to Hawaii. He made a photo presentation with comments about the most interesting details of his journey.

The club members asked him many questions about his experiences on the famous American resort.

The second part of the session was dedicated to the International day of Democracy, celebrated on September, 15. 2011 theme for this day is: “What do Citizens expect from their Parliament?”

We have read and translated an article about the definition of democracy. Democracy is both an ideal and a set of institutions and practices.

 As an ideal, it expresses two very simple principles:

-that the members of any group or association should have control over the group's rules and policies; and

-that those members should treat each other, and be treated, as equals.

In modern States, these principles are realized through a continually evolving and complex set of institutions and practices that include:

- a legal framework that guarantees peoples' rights

- governing institutions that are representative and accountable to the people

- an active citizen body or civil society

- political parties that articulate the views and aspirations of the people

- communication media that inform people about public affairs.

We have watched and discussed the You Tube videos about the Ukrainian political situation which is described by the “Voice of America” reporter as “a test for democracy “.

To sum up the topic we have discussed the political caricatures about democracy. This activity was enjoyed by all the present as it showed differences of perception in different generation groups.

The number of participants – 25 persons.
Have a look at more pictures, please 

Fields of Dreams

URL of the Picture

Today we have watched the movie "Field of Dreams" from Window on America center collection.

An Iowa corn farmer, hearing voices, interprets them as a command to build a baseball diamond in his fields; he does, and the Chicago Black Sox come. 

Field of Dreams Trailer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Filn is a 1989 American drama-sports-fantasy film directed and adapted by Phil Alden Robinson from the novel Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella. The film stars Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Gaby Hoffmann, Ray Liotta, Timothy Busfield, James Earl Jones, Frank Whaley, and Burt Lancaster in his last major film appearance.

Film was nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Original Score, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.

INFORMATION CENTER "WINDOW ON AMERICA": EC English Language Centres

Useful information from our Vinnytsa's friends

INFORMATION CENTER "WINDOW ON AMERICA": EC English Language Centres

The Window on America Center in Luhansk: Програмa імені Фулбрайта для науковців

Dnipropetrovsk Fulbright Corner

The Window on America Center in Luhansk: Програмa імені Фулбрайта для науковців: Нагадуємо, що до 15 жовтня 2011р . триває прийом заявок на черговий щорічний конкурс за Програмою імені Фулбрайта для науковців/ Fulbrig...

Ресурси про події 11 вересня 2001 р. на допомогу бібліотекарям

URL of the picture

Ресурси про події 11 вересня 2001 р. на допомогу бібліотекарям

Від woacenter

Відразу після атак 11 вересня 2011 р. Бібліотека Конгресу почала збирати свідоцтва і відгуки про ці події – від пересічних громадян і з інших джерел. Ці матеріали доступні зараз за адресою: the Library’s September 11, 2001, Documentary Project, і містять посилання на аудіо, відео та зафіксовані в текстовому форматі інтерв’ю з американцями щодо цих подій, а також фото й інші матеріали.

Бібліотекарі можуть скористатися також ресурсами інших проектів Бібліотеки Конгресу – онлайновою виставкою Witness and Response: September 11 Acquisitions from the Library of Congress, веб-архівом  September 11, 2001, Web Archive.

Для викладачів і вчителів можна рекомендувати ресурс  «Teaching About September 11 Using Primary Sources from Library of Congress»: http://blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2011/09/teaching-about-september-11-using-primary-sources-from-library-of-congress/

Події 11 вересня 2001 р. вплинули на весь світ. Новий ресурс – Архів телевізійних новин про події 11 вересня (http://www.archive.org/details/911) – пропонує матеріали новин, як їх представляли американські та міжнародні медіа. Він розрахований на студентів, дослідників, аналітиків, усіх, хто вивчає ці події. Досі матеріали телевізійних новин не архівувалися, тож цей ресурс покликаний закрити цю прогалину і надати інформацію про події 11 вересня так, як про них розповідали у телевізійних новинах. Пропонується доступ до 3000 годин міжнародних новин з 20 каналів за 7 днів, а також вибрані аналітичні матеріали дослідників.

English Speaking club - American media

Today’s session of English Speaking Club was attended by a group of three Peace Corp volunteers, our long time friends Patrick, Sam and Kathryn.

The new club members introduced themselves and once again asked questions about The Peace Corp. activities. Having explained briefly the goals of the Peace Corp. organization the volunteers informed the club members about the projects they are working on in Dnipropetrovsk and the projects they plan for the future.

 After that all the participants were given the opportunity to communicate in English. The club members were offered to share their opinions about the most memorable events of the week.

It turned out that the most memorable event for the majority was the1st of September Day – the beginning of the school year in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Club members told the American counterparts about the rituals and ceremonies of this day in the schools and Universities. The American guests were positively impressed by these traditions and wished there were something similar in American schools.

The discussion drifted to the problems of the Ukrainian education in general. For example, the club members explained to the American  guests this year’s situation of the shrinking markets in education services, the problems with admissions  for some Ukrainian Universities, the visit of the Minister for Education to Dnipropetrovsk,. Etc

The second part of the session was dedicated to the topic “Modern American Media”. We read and translated an article about the history of the American newspapers.  The most influential American newspapers and magazines and their logos were introduced.

The questions about newspapers and media credibility raised a lot of debate.

The session was enjoyed by all the participants!

The number of participants – 24 persons.

A lot of pictures here 

We read this article and discussed this questions:

Media

1.     What images spring to mind when you hear the word ‘media’?

2.     What is the media?

3.     Do you think the media have too much power?

4.     What are the good and bad things about the media in your country?

5.     Do you like the fact that today, media coverage of world events in instantaneous and extensive?

6.     What do you think about countries that ban or restrict the media?

7.     Do you always believe the media?

8.     Is the media of your country biased towards the views of your government over important issues ?

9.     How is today’s media different from that of 30 years ago?

10.  Can you think of any examples of the media being irresponsible?

11.  Would you like to work for the media?

12.  What do you think of the mass media?

13.  What countries do you think have very good media and which have not so good media?

14.  Why do people fear the media?

15.  Should there be any censorship of the media?

16.  Are reporters in today’s media lazy?

17.  Do you think the media tries to manipulate people or change their views?

18.  Is it a good idea for a country’s media to be controlled by the government?

19.  Do you trust the media?

20.  Does the media care more about truth or profits ?

News

1.     What images spring to mind when you hear the word ‘news’?

2.     Do you think news is usually happy or sad?

3.     How important is keeping up to date with the news to you?

4.     Do you prefer to watch, listen to or read about news?

5.     What areas of the world are you most interested in?

6.     What kinds of stories hit the headlines in your local newspaper?

7.     What are your favorite sections of the newspaper?

8.     What was the last piece of good news you heard?

9.     What news story are you following at the moment?

10.  Do you trust everything you read, see or hear on the news?

11.  What is news? What makes something news?

12.  How can you comment the phrase, “No news is good news”?

13.  Would you like to work as a newscaster or a news reporter?

14.  What is your favorite news program?

15.  What’s the best satellite news station, BBC, CNN, other?

16.  What do you think of news stations being under state control?

17.  What’s the most tragic news you’ve seen on TV?

18.  Is news and propaganda the same thing in some countries?

19.  Do you think news programs should include Hollywood/celebrity stories and gossip?

20.  Do you think news reporting in your country is fair and balanced? How about in other countries?

Book Display: The Road of American Democracy

To the International Democracy Day (15th September) Book Display: «The Road of American democracy» was presented. The books give the insight on the history of US democracy, its major documents

(The Bill of Rights, The Constitution), its  major bodies (The Presidency, The Congress) and personalities.

The display is complemented with the materials of the Bureau of International Information programs.

Welcome to this site:
the International Day of Democracy