Activate English Group 2.3. – “Past Indefinite Tense”.
The year 2016 in Ukraine is the year of the English Language.
The Activate English Group at DOUNB library is an integral part of the EXPRESS-ENGLISH course offered to the Window on America Dnipropetrovsk readers in year 2016.
The Activate English Group 2.3. had a session today. They had a stroke of luck – two American guests visited their lesson: Mr. Stephen and Mr. Jason. The group had a chance to introduce themselves to the foreigners and tell them about their homes.
The group practiced Past Indefinite Tense and asking permission formally/informally. The home task was to prepare the story about the family.
All the participants found the session educational and helpful.
Instructor: T. Gavryliyuk
American guest: Mr. Jason and Mr. Steve
Pictures: S.Usenko
Number of participants – 31 persons.
Today the "Window on America" Center patrons, Gabfest Club members and Dnipropetrovsk activists participated in the Attempt to organize the Largest English Lesson in the World. The event was part of the “UkraineSpeaking” / УкраїнаSpeaking project that was launched in Ukraine in year 2016 which is the “Year of English Language”.
The Lesson’s objective was to introduce to the participants the grammatical structure “WOULD RATHER” and practice its use in the format of pair conversation.
The WOA and DOUNBV Library staff prepared a big room for event and arranged other things to comply with the “Guinness World Records” standards.
Some participants learned about the event from the participants “UkraineSpeaking” web-site. But the majority of the students were WOA’s patrons /Gabfest Club members.
The event was funny and educational. Besides the lesson material the group was offered a “Would Rather” Song to practice the auditing and demonstrate their preference.
The WOA’s participation in the Largest English Language in the world attracted the local reporters.
The TV crew of the local 9th TV channel arrived to the DOUNB Library and shot the first part of the event.
The Lesson’s participants were excited with the objective to see themselves on the TV screens.
Number of participants – 74 persons.
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This afternoon the second session of the Basic English Group took place at the DOUNB Library in Window on America Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine).
The Group was founded as a training site for people who never studied English or for those who need to return to the basics of the language.
The ABC introduction was helpful for all. Now they can sing along the ABC song. The learners of English tried very hard to understand the reading rules for English vowels and diphthongs.
All the participants found the session educational and helpful.
Number of participants – 65 persons.
BOOK GIFT No.2 FROM CALIFORNIA.
Our American friends Maryna Kolodiazhnaya and Mr. Glen Worthy donated the second load of books to the Window on America Center Dnipro.
Part of the load is donation from the Stanford University Library.
The rest of the donation is a collection of best-selling and literary prize-winning books and a comparatively fresh issue of the New York Times.
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The “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk. The members of club selected a film Runaway Jury, which is a part of the WOA’s collection of the best Hollywood movies.
Runaway Jury is a 2003 American legal thriller film directed by Gary Fleder, and stars John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, and Rachel Weisz. It is an adaptation of John Grisham's novel The Runaway Jury (Brian Koppelman - screenplay).
Plot: A juror on the inside and a woman on the outside manipulate a court trial involving a major gun manufacturer.
WOA’s patrons enjoyed the film and the discussion that followed.
Activate English Group 2.2. – Where do you live?
The year 2016 in Ukraine is the year of the English Language.
The Activate English Group at DOUNB library is an integral part of the EXPRESS-ENGLISH course offered to the Window on America Dnipropetrovsk readers in year 2016.
The Activate English Group was created for people who have been studying English for several years, but are too shy to speak. The objective of the course is to activate the passive knowledge and enable the students of English to express themselves in English no matter how small might be their vocabulary.
Activate English Group – 2: Lesson 2 – The Group’s Instructor T. Gavryliyuk was pleasantly surprised to hear the participants drill the new vocabulary and rehearse their home task dialogues before the start of the Lesson. In pair conversations the students of English practiced the phrases from the topic “My Home”.
All the participants found the session educational and helpful.
Moderator: T. Gavryliyuk
American guest: J.Rush
Pictures: S.Usenko
Number of participants – 40 persons.
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The Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk staff and volunteer Mr. Jason were invited to school No. 23 to participate in the Foreign Cultures school fair. We helped the 7th year students to present the USA and it's culture. The WOA's books and documents about USA were appreciated by the students and teachers. The cowboys treated the visitors with lemonade. The group of Native Americans landed at the wrong continent. The WOA's volunteer enjoyed speaking with the student in English about the diversity of cultures on our planet. The schoolchildren were pleasantly surprised to meet a native-speaker at the Fair.
Number of participants – 100 persons.
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Today’s session of the Gabfest Club at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) was dedicated to the complicated topic of Digital privacy and security.
To warm-up the group was offered to discuss the local news: the half-marathon organized by the local corporation during the week-end and unique art objects one can find on the corporation’s manufacturing site.
A set of funny cartoons introduced the phenomenon of digital privacy. It is increasingly recognized as an issue in the context of mass surveillance. In many contexts digital privacy specifically refers to information concerning personal identity shared over public networks.
The digital security issue was illustrated with a funny YouTube video about a password minder. The group was reminded that the Internet represents an insecure channel for exchanging information. A computer user can be tricked or forced into downloading software onto a computer that is of malicious intent. Such software comes in many forms: viruses, Trojan horses, spyware, worms, etc. A computer user should always be aware of the high risk of intrusion or fraud, such as phishing. Different methods have been used to protect the transfer of data, including encryption.
The group enriched the vocabulary with new terms and had a good laugh at cartoons and videos.
Number of participants – 35 persons.
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This afternoon the first session of the “Basic English Group – 2” took place at the DOUNB Library in Window on America Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine).
The Group was founded as a training site for people who never studied English or for those who need to return to the basics of the language.
All the participants found the session educational and helpful.
Number of participants – 27 persons.
Gabfest Club activists took part in the DOUNB Library’s events to observe the Vyshyvanka Day.
Vyshyvanka is the colloquial name for the embroidered shirt in Ukrainian national costume. It is used as a talisman to protect the person wearing it and to tell a story. Embroidery was used in vulnerable places on the garment where evil spirits could potentially enter the body: along the neckline, cuffs, shoulders, back and hem.
Vyshyvanka Day is celebrated on the third Thursday of May. It is intended to unite all Ukrainians over the world, regardless of religion, language they speak or their place of residence. It is a flash mob holiday, which is not attached to any public holiday or feast day. On this day many Ukrainians wear vyshyvankas to demonstrate adherence to the idea of national identity and unity and to show their patriotism.
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Library Science students at WOA Dnipropetrovsk.
This afternoon a big group of Library Science students visited WOA. The 1st and 2nd year students study at the Dnipropatrovsk College for Art and Culture.
The group was offered video presentation of the WOA Center and the promotional film for UkraineSpeaking project.
A short Q&A session followed as the future librarians enquired about the peculiarities of modern library work and the skills needed.
Participants 14 students+ 1 lecturer.
FOREIGN STUDENTS at WOA Dnipropetrovsk.
A group of foreign students visited WOA Dnipropetrovsk during their DOUNB Library Tour.
They have been briefed on the mission of the WOA Center, its collections of books and CDs, about popular activities for improving the English language skills.
As the students from Asian and African students study local language in Dnipropetrovsk they notice how quickly deteriorate their English language skills because they do not use them a lot.
We hope to see some of today’s visitors during our language activities. This will help the students to keep they English skills from “rusting”.
Participants number - 7 students +2 lecturers
“Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine, offered big-screening of the film ‘Labor Day’ (2014). The story is adapted by the director Jason Reitman from Joyce Maynard’s novel.
On a sleepy Labor Day weekend in September 1987 a single mother Adele (Kate Winslet) and her 13-year-old son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith) meet an escaped prisoner Frank (Josh Brolin) who holds them captives in their own home and shows the secrets of baking.
Ms. Kate Winslet convincingly portrays Adele, a despairing woman of low self-esteem just a twitch away from a nervous breakdown. The story is narrated by the grown-up Henry (Tobey Maguire). He became an aspiring baker after observing Frank and Adele mooning over pie crust in the kitchen. And the question is: «Is It Love, or Stockholm Syndrome?» It’s up to you to decide….
WOA’s patrons enjoyed the film and the discussion that followed.
Number of participants – 17.
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The Activate English Group at DOUNB library is an integral part of the EXPRESS-ENGLISH course offered to the Window on America Dnipropetrovsk readers in year 2016.
The year 2016 in Ukraine is the year of the English Language. The Activate English Group was created for people who have been studying English for several years, but are too shy to speak.
The objective of the course is to activate the passive knowledge and enable the students of English to express themselves in English no matter how small might be their vocabulary.
The participants of the group will be offered some revision activities to refresh their grammar skills. The vocabulary for the topics will be presented and illustrated with native-speaking videos to activate their comprehension skills.
The activation of the speaking skills will take place during the conversation pair practice.
The materials for the Activate English Group are compiled and presented by the qualified ESL teacher. They are based on original textbook by the reputable language house “Macmillan” and various free on-line resources for ESL study.
All the participants found the session educational and helpful.
Number of participants – 23 persons.
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Ділилися досвідом і поглиблювали співпрацю.
Директор ДОУНБ Надія Тітова та керівник центру «Вікно в Америку» Світлана Усенко брали участь у семінарі «Американські центри в Україні: зміцнюємо мережу», що відбувся у Вінницькій обласній універсальній науковій бібліотеці ім. К.А. Тімірязєва.
Захід організований Посольством США в Україні за підтримки управління культури і мистецтв обласної державної адміністрації та громадської організації «Асоціація бібліотек Вінниччини».
В семінарі взяли участь директори обласних бібліотек України та координатори центрів «Вікно в Америку», начальник управління культури і мистецтв облдержадміністрації Станіслав Городинський, директор ОУНБ ім. К.А. Тімірязєва, заслужений працівник культури України Наталія Морозова, аташе з питань бібліотек Посольства США в Україні Валорі Лі, координатор американських центрів Посольства США в Україні Валентина Пашкова, менеджер асоціації «Інформатіо Консорціум» Вікторія Чьочь.
«Суть наших зустрічей – поділитися досвідом та поглибити співпрацю» – зазначила Валорі Лі.
Координатор американських центрів Посольства США в Україні Валентина Пашкова зупинилася на питаннях академічної доброчесності в освіті та суспільстві загалом, як одного з актуальних питань запланованої серії семінарських занять, а також ролі бібліотек і центрів «Вікно в Америку» в проведенні кампанії проти плагіату. «Ми інколи забуваємо, що списування та плагіат – це також напрямки корупції» – сказала вона.
Наталія Морозова подякувала інститутам громадянського суспільства за тривалу та сумлінну співпрацю з мережею бібліотек області.
Координатори центрів розробляли проекти для ознайомлення громади з проблемою «академічної доброчесності», які потім будуть реалізовувати в своїх бібліотеках.
Within the framework of the educational project #УкраїнаSpeaking DOUNB Library and "Window on America" Center were presented to new comers.
This Saturday the Gabfest’s Club observed the UN Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (May, 21). Cultural diversity matters, because three-quarters of the world’s major conflicts have a cultural dimension. Bridging gaps between cultures is urgent and necessary for peace, stability and development.
The session’s moderator introduced a recent UN Alliance for Civilizations’ campaign “Do one Thing for Diversity and Inclusion”. 10 easy actions may improve the situation in different parts of the world. We defined these 10 actions and illustrated them with local opportunities. Among the actions were:
- visit to an art exhibit or museum dedicated to other culture
- learn about other religion
- watch a foreign movie
- listen to music from a different culture
-play a sport from a different culture
- invite a friend and cook a foreign meal
-learn about traditional celebrations from other culture
-volunteer with an organization working for diversity and inclusion
-learn another language
-invite people from different culture and share your customs.
The Club members shared their own experiences of other cultures during business and leisure trips abroad. The ones who has never been abroad told about their encounters with different cultures in Ukraine .We laughed about the funny cases when Ukrainians impose their traditions on foreigners (like offering huge servings of spirits and pork)..
The topic was not easy, but it was educational for all participants. We hope that some of the sessions’ participants will do at least one thing for Cultural diversity in Dnipropetrovsk.
Number of participants – 36 persons.
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Today the Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk was visited by a big group of the primary school students from the local School No.141. The school is a long-time partner of the DOUNB Library and the WOA Dnipropetrovsk.
As part of the Library Lesson the group of kids was introduced to the WOA Center. The WOA’s HEAD Svitlana Usenko initiated the young fellows into the history of the USA and told them fun facts about the US flag. Now the children know the name of flag colors in English and the number of stars on it.
The second part of the session was the introduction of the WOA’s image and book display ”Space is getting closer”. The children were very interested in the drawings by the older fellow students made for the “Global Astronomy Month” and “The First Human Space Flight Day”.
The topic allowed the WOA’s Head to introduced English vocabulary to the students. They learned the English words ”Earth”, “Moon”, ”Mars”, “astronaut”, “cosmonaut”, ‘telescope”, “rocket”, etc. While giving comments to the drawings we talked about US astronauts landing to the moon and possibility of extra-terrestrial life on other planets. It was a big surprise to us, adults, that young kids were able to keep a conversation about space and human space flight.
At the end of the session we had a chance to introduce the WOA’s book collection. The highlight of the WOA’s kids’ book collection was the pop-up book based on the W.Disney’s cartoon “Ice Age”.
Participants number – 31 (29 students + 2 teachers).
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“Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine.
The Green Mile is a 1999 American fantasy crime drama film directed by Frank Darabont and adapted from the 1996 Stephen King novel of the same name. The film is told in a flashback format and stars Tom Hanks as Paul Edgecomb and Michael Clarke Duncan as John Coffey with supporting roles by David Morse, Bonnie Hunt, and James Cromwell. The film also features Dabbs Greer, in his final film, as the old Paul Edgecomb. The film tells the story of Paul's life as a death row corrections officer during the Great Depression in the United States, and the supernatural events he witnessed.
The film was nominated for four Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for Michael Clarke Duncan, Best Picture, Best Sound, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
WOA’s patrons enjoyed the film and the discussion that followed.
Number of participants – 9.
#TheGreenMile
The most durable participants of "Activate English Group - 1" gained the certificates.
Graduation of "Activate English" group took place today at the WOA Dnipropetrovsk. The group had a 20 hour language course within the framework of the project “Express-English at the DOUNB Library”. The instruction was provided by the library staff member Tamara Gavryliuk who has the University degree equivalent of the MA in ESL.
The course was based on the materials from the textbook published by McMillan Language House and focused on the conversational practice for intermediate and advanced level learners of English.
During 10 educational sessions the students practiced popular conversational topics, studied new vocabulary and grammatical structures, learned about the basic etiquette of the English-speaking countries, mastered the skills of “small talk”. At the final session the most diligent students received certificates of attendance.
Number of participants – 6 persons.
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This rainy Saturday we did not expect many people at the "Window on America" Dnipropetrovsk / Ukraine, but the house was full again. A few week ago the UN had two observances which we decided to discuss today.
To start the session we have asked the new comers to introduce themselves. The introduction speeches of these people were interrupted several times as the moderator introduced authentic phrases and terms for their respective backgrounds: economic, hospitality, IT, military, sport, etc.
The Health Day is observed on April, 7.This year the official theme of the day is “Beat Diabetes”. The slogan of the campaign is – “Stay Super! Eat Healthy!”. We visited the US web site “ChooseMyPlate”. We followed the advice – to change our eating habits in small steps. The group learned new vocabulary for names of healthy foods and nutrients.
The Mother Earth Day is observed on April, 22. The official theme for year 2016 is “Trees for the Earth”.
We read and translated the article why trees are so important for the planet. While talking about trees in parks and landscape parks we recommended to our American volunteer Mr. Jason the Ukrainian parks “Sofia” in Uman and “Alexandria” in Kirovograd region.
Number of participants – 33 persons.
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Year of English events continue – participants are having fun!
Today the participants of the Basic English Group at «Window on America» Center Dnipropetrovsk practiced small talk about Easter holiday and reading a lot.
At the end of meeting group listened education video and enrich vocabulary with new words.
Well done! Keep learning!
Number of participants – 7 persons.
Sergey is our young patron, gamer and reader!
“
Wednesday Movie Club” was dedicated to the upcoming celebration of the VE Day’s 71th anniversary.
Window on America center Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine offered screening of the movie Patton.
Patton is a 1970 American epic biographical war film about U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. It stars George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Michael Bates and Karl Michael Vogler. It was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner from a script by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, who based their screenplay on the biography Patton: Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago and Omar Bradley's memoir A Soldier's Story. The film was shot in 65mm Dimension 150 by cinematographer Fred J. Koenekamp and has a music score by Jerry Goldsmith.
Patton won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
The opening monologue, delivered by George C. Scott as General Patton with an enormous American flag behind him, remains an iconic and often quoted image in film. The film was successful, and in 2003, Patton was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant".
WOA’s patrons enjoyed the film and the discussion that followed.
Number of participants – 13 persons.
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On the Easter long week-end several fans of English turned up at the “Activate English” group offered by the DOUNB Library Express English courses.
The small number of participants allowed to focus on the weak points of the learners and practice them more intensively.
The grammar structure today was ”I like/don’t like doing something” and the topic for conversation: "Visiting an exhibition at the Museum”.
Number of participants – 4 persons.
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Through the month – “Year of English” events continue: Space is getting closer.
Our junior friends draw a Space.
Window on America Center (Dnipropetrovsk / Ukraine) observed the 55th anniversary of the Humane Space flight and the Global Astronomy Month with 14 events "Space capital on the Dnieper".
We discussed with the students and teachers Stars and Space, the Solar system planets’ names, NASA, about the space food industry in the USA, astronauts, International Space Station.
The WOA’s presentations provided a lot of educational information in several subjects (physics, astronomy, literature, local history, etc.).
And now we can see opposite reaction as beautiful paintings of our young friends on Space topic.
Hurry up to see these positive impressions on paper.
