30 September, 2013

Ukrainian Libraries Day @ WOA

Ukrainian Libraries Day @ Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine.
WOA’s long time partner - local high school No. 141 – delegated a group of students to congratulate the library staff with their professional holiday – Ukrainian Libraries’ Day. The greetings sounded in two languages - English and German.
The students presented a photo collage “Libraries of the World”, a wall poster, bouquets of flowers and sweet presents.
Number of participants - 14.

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American Hospitality Culture

The WOA continues its project “Discover USA” with partner Universities of Dnipropetrovsk city.  On September, 30 the facility was visited by two groups of students from the local faculty of the National University for Culture and Arts. The students major were Tourism and Hotel Management.
The WOA staff member Ms. Tamara Gavryliuk delivered a lecture about the American Hospitality Culture. The modern trends in the US hospitality technologies were presented to the students in a slide show. Screening of videos about the leading American hotels, theme parks and cruise companies illustrated the topic and gave an insight into the differences in hospitality across nations.
The professional periodicals available at the DOUNB Library were also introduced to the University students.
Number of participants - 12.





28 September, 2013

The Fire Crosser

The Gabfest Club members and WOA patrons had an opportunity to learn more about the life and culture of the North American Indians.
Screening of the modern Ukrainian movie «The Fire Crosser» was offered to all who is interested in the History of America’s Indians.
Participants – 26 persons.

World Tourism Day

Today’s session of the Gabfest Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was dedicated to the World Tourism Day. We had a US guest – Mr. Andrew - who told us about the modern trends in American tourism – both in-bound and out bound.  The club members were asked to tell the group about their dream destinations in the USA.
Most popular destinations were tropical Miami and world famous national parks. The second task was to recommend tourist destinations in Ukraine for Mr. Andrew – the ones that will give him an insight into Ukrainian culture and nature. The list of the tourist destinations was very long. Andrew was afraid that his 2 years service in Ukraine won’t be enough to visit all the recommended places. To wrap up the topic we watched a video about Las Vegas city – one of the most popular tourist destinations in the USA.
Additional activity for the club members was to act as a jury in a contest organized by the DOUNB Library partner – the secondary school No. 141. The children of different age groups were given a task – to make a wall newspaper ( a school poster in American English) about the Study of English. The Club members pre- selected a group of posters -finalists and by public vote selected the winner – a newspaper by high school students that described “Beatles” pop group as their motivation to study English. The professional jury made of the library staff introduced several nominations and judged the posters by age groups. The winners will get certificates from the DOUNB Library.
The session was both funny and educational, especially for the numerous new-comers.
Number of participants – 31.





"Heroes"

Today’s session of the American Teen Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was dedicated to the topic "Heroes".
Club members need inspirational heroes as role models for our lives. Many of today's heroes are often sports figures, celebrities, and rock stars. 

Where can we find exemplary heroes with proven values demonstrating respect for their fellow humans? How can we learn conflict resolution practices ending in peaceful solutions with dignity and respect being preserved for all? When will we understand and value a work ethic showing the rewards for diligence and quality? How long before forgiveness presides over revenge? We discussed this question during our lesson. 
Darya told everyone who Martin Luther King was and his influence on American history. 
At the end everyone was entertained by the word game.
Number of participants –13.



 

26 September, 2013

Library Lesson for school students

A library lesson for the 6th year students (2 groups)  from school # 141 was conducted by the WOA Centre Head Svitlana Usenko.
Students have learned about the importance of libraries in modern life; saw the images of the best libraries of the world. They were introduced to the basic library technologies for readers: how to search for information, how to use the library catalogues – both paper-based and electronic.
The most appreciated information was about the free resources for English learners available at the Window on America Center and the Foreign Literature department of the DOUNB Library.
In the final part of the lesson the guests were offered a screening of popular American animated cartoons and an American English karaoke session.
Number of participants – 30 persons (28 students and 2 teachers).




 


25 September, 2013

An American in Paris

Mr. Joseph Battilega continues his project of introducing American idioms and difficult expressions to the Movie Cub members for the better comprehension of the film content.
The film «An American in Paris» (1951) was presented to all who wish to improve their language skills.

An American in Paris (1951) is one of the greatest, most elegant, and most celebrated of MGM's 50's musicals, with Gershwin lyrics and musical score (lyrics by Ira and music by composer George from some of their compositions of the 20s and 30s), lavish sets and costumes, tremendous Technicolor cinematography, and a romantic love story set to music and dance. Gene Kelly served as the film's principal star, singer, athletically-exuberant dancer and energetic choreographer - he even directed the sequence surrounding "Embraceable You." The entire film glorifies the joie de vivre of Paris, but it was shot on MGM's sound stages in California, except for a few opening, establishing shots of the scenic city. Nonetheless, it remains one of the most optimistic American films of the post-war period - with Paris at its center.


21 September, 2013

Іllusionist David Copperfield


Today’s session of the Gabfest Club (at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine) was dedicated to the anniversary of the world famous US illusionist David Copperfield. We started the session with watching a parody on Copperfield’s tricks by a famous Russian comedian Gennadiy Vetrov.   This Ukraine born artists boasts to be a “look alike” of David Copperfield who also has Ukrainian roots. We spend some time commenting on the Vetrov’s parody and his photos with David Copperfiled.
After this introduction we watched a biographical video about D. Copperfield and videos of his top illusions - vanishings the Statue of Liberty, walking through The Great Wall of China and others.
David Copperfield (born David Seth Kotkin; September 16, 1956) is an American illusionist, and has been described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. His TV shows have won 21 Emmy Awards of a total 38 nominations. Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, Copperfield’s career of over 30 years has earned him 11 Guinness World Records, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a knighthood by the French government; and he has been named a Living Legend by the US Library of Congress. Copperfield has so far sold 40 million tickets and grossed over $4 billion, which is more than any other solo entertainer in history.
In the second part of the session we talked about magic in our life.  The club members who can perform tricks showed them to the group. We made a list of equipment the magicians use and talked about dangerous tricks which deceit people and deprive them of money (The shell game AKA Thimblerig, Three shells and a pea, the old army game). Several idioms with the word “magic“ enriched the vocabulary of the Club members. Several newcomers to the Club introduced themselves at the end.
The session was funny and educational for all participants.
Number of participants - 25.

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19 September, 2013

Motivation


Today's session of American Teen Club was dedicated to the topic of Motivation
It was very interactive and educative.
The number of visitors – 11 persons.