Welcome to Dnipro Window on America center in January 2018!

Schedule for December

Interest in Basic English

Today Window on America center had a new-comers that got interested in the opportunity to study English in the new format.
The Window on America center offers the library patrons an “Express English” activity that will help adult students to learn the basics of the English language.
The new patrons were informed about the DOUNB’s resources and modern services.
Come to get the basics of the English language at the DOUNB Library!
Participant numbers – 25 persons.
Presenter: T. Gavryliyuk.
Pictures: S.Usenko.

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Gambler

Today the Wednesday Movie Club members were offered big-screening of the film “The Gambler” in Dnipro Window on America center, Ukraine.
The Gambler (2014) is a remake of the 1974 film written by James Toback. It is an American crime drama directed by Rupert Wyatt. The screenplay by William Monahan, starring Mark Wahlberg as the title character.
The critics think, "well-paced and reasonably entertaining in its own right, The Gambler still suffers from comparisons to the James Caan classic that inspired it”.
Jessica Lange's performance in the film has received critical acclaim. James Berardinelli from ReelViews described her as "heartbreaking as the cold, rich widow who blames herself on some level for her son's failure."

Dr. M. Krause visit to WOA Dnipro

«Window on America Center» (Dnipro, Ukraine) was visited by  the «Windows on America» project manager, the representative of the US Embassy in Ukraine, Doctor of Information Sciences, Ms. Magia Krause. She inspected the WOA center, the DOUNB Library departments which host WOA’s events, met the DOUNB Library director  Ms. Nadia Titova, the center's staff members Svitlana Usenko and Tamara Gavryliuk.
 Dr. Krause reviewed the statistics that give the idea of the Center’s work, gave advice on planning future events.
The highlight of the visit was a presentation for WOA’s Express English students – «Discovering America through Pictures». After presentation the English learners had a Q@A session with our American guest. Ms. Krause answered a wide range of questions. The most fluent English learners came over to Ms. Krause to express gratitude for the meeting. They also expressed appreciation of the US Embassy’s project “Windows to America" (Ukraine). They   think, it’s a wonderful resource for studying   American culture and American English.
Participants number – 45 people.

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To the International Student’s Day

This afternoon the GABFEST speaking club session (Window on America center in Dnipro, Ukraine) was attended by our American volunteer – Mr. Jason.

As the topic of the session was “International Students’ Day” we have asked our guest about his work with students in Ukraine. Mr. Jason spend a lot of time as a native-speaking teacher of English with young and adult learners. We asked him to name the most striking differences between the students in Ukraine and in the USA. Once a difference was named the club members tried to explain to our foreign guest why that particular difference exists. University students present at the session named the most typical features of a Ukrainian student and explained them to our US guest.

Another guest at the session was Mr. Mikhail who shared his experiences about the student exchange “Work and Travel USA” several years ago. The Club members had fun listening to the stories about work opportunities in Alaska at fish processing plants.
The session was educational as well as: the participants   learned quite a few idiomatic phrases and new words relevant to the topic.
Participants number – 35 person.

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The Old Man and the Sea - the 65th anniversary

This afternoon the Window on America center in Dnipro was visited by a mixed group of NMetUA students and NMetAU teachers (Myrgorodska Oleksandra and Pavlienko Anna). 

This group has been studying English through the great writing by E. Hemingway, which brought his author the Nobel Prize. It is The Old Man and the Sea. In the course of studies, the students a bi-lingual (English and Ukrainian) edition of The Old Man and the Sea. This very edition allows reading the original and comparing the professional translation with the own decisions. The translation was made in1974 by Volodymyr Mitrofanov and published by Dnipro Publishers (Kyiv) in 1991 with wonderful illustrations by a Ukrainian artist Mykola Pshinka.
We briefly looked through E. Hemingway’s milestone facts with the presentation of the WOA and watched the beautiful cartoon film, a screen version of The Old Man and the Sea by E. Hemingway. We discussed the themes touched in the novel: the teacher and the student, the life and the death, relations between the generations. We even tried to act as the actors and played the dialogue as if we were shooting a new screen version of the novel. The students had a good opportunity to exchange the ideas about the novel with Mr. Jason, an American volunteer who also decided to participate in the class. 

We continue working with the novel. What did the fisherman do with the marlin’s head? Why did everything in the old man’s house was old and dirty though he was strong enough to do the jobs around the house?
Participants number – 6 person.

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Schedule for November

Welcome to our Dnipro Window on America center in November! 

Autumn School Break with the DOUNB Library and DniproWOA

The students of the local school №28   know how to combine “business and pleasure” – during the autumn break from school they usually visit the "Window to America" Information and Resource Center.  Today they started with a book display of WOA’s English-language dictionaries. Paper-based dictionaries sometimes provide more information than on-line dictionaries.

 After that the students got acquainted with the biography of the famous American lexicographer Noah Webster. His achievements were so outstanding that a national holiday was introduced in the USA - the Dictionary Day. The kids were impressed by the fact that 100,000 copies of the English textbook by Noah Webster were published; 5 generations of Americans studied the language with its help.

At the end of the meeting, the group was offered information on the principles of academic integrity – they learned the etymology and meaning of the word "plagiarism". We analyzed several examples of plagiarism which Ukrainian students practice. The students promised to be careful and virtuous while making their school projects.

Participants number – 15 persons.

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Music that builds bridges between cultures.

Patrons of the DOUNB Library and the "Window to America" Center are accustomed to various events that allow them to meet English-speaking guests of the city.

 But the meeting on October 30 was special - the US Embassy's diplomat Sean O'Hara visited us with an informal visit. Mr. O’Hara is a diplomat and cultural affairs attaché with the US Embassy in Ukraine, but he is also an amateur jazz musician. All afternoon Mr. O'Hara used the jazz language of his alto-saxophone, he learned to play it in school years. Besides he plays Hawaiian guitar and can perform a popular Ukrainian folk song "You tricked me!".

 Mr. Sean demonstrated a slide presentation which introduced the audience to jazz and its founding fathers – Ben Goodwin and Louis Armstrong; He performed selected musical fragments in which basic jazz elements (swing, syncopation and others) were demonstrated to the audience.

The real fun was an attempt to create a human jazz band (imitating the sounds of musical instruments). All the band members enjoyed the process, clapped their hands and smiled.

At the end of the session Mr. Sean answered the questions, told about himself, his life-long friendship with music and his diplomatic mission in Ukraine. He urged the group to monitor the ads and attend the show of the Broadway dance team that will visit Ukraine soon! Professional dancers can attend the casting and receive a chance to join the Broadway team.

The DOUNB Library director, Ms. Nadiya Titova city, gifted library memento’s to Mr. Sean to commemorate his visit to Dnipro city. A DOUNB Librarian Ms. Alexandra   performed for him a violin number – a popular rock composition.

The meeting with the American diplomat was arranged in partnership with the Dnipro Academy of Music at the American Art Residence of DOUNB Library. It was a pity that only few students could make it to the session. Student Katerina Dyomina sang a popular jazz piece.

The JAZZ event participant experienced no language barriers.

Mr. Sean talked to all the participants who came over to communicate with him. Several persons were complimented for their   good command of English. Knowledge of English these days is essential, especially now when Ukraine’s economic and social reforms are supported by the European Union, the USA, Canada, Australia .

Photo by Svitlana Usenko and Galyna Shevtsova.

Participants number – 63 persons.

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Activate English group 7.2. - 7.3. - 7.4.

on October, 10  – Activate English group 7.2. at Dnipro Window on America center.
on October, 17  – Activate English group 7.3. at Dnipro Window on America center.
on October, 24  – Activate English group 7.4. at Dnipro Window on America center.

The DOUNB Library and the Window on America Dnipro center offer the library patrons an “Express English” activity that will help them to activate their passive knowledge of the foreign language and to overcome the fear of speaking in English.
Ten two hour- lectures are offered for the participants to improve their conversational skills in pairs.
The professional EFL lecturer T. Gavryliuk combines the lexical exercises with important cross-cultural information that will help the English learners to understand their foreign counterparts better and to avoid awkward situations in communication.
On the second session of the Activate Group – 7 students introduced themselves and asked questions. The second part of the session was dedicated to the phrases which help to talk about one’s HOME.
All the participants found the session educational and helpful.
Number of participants – 29 persons.

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Fundamentals of Academic Integrity Project for schools students

on October, 9 and 10 – "Fundamentals of Academic Integrity" Project for schools students.
"Window to America" Information and Resource Center has many partner schools in Dnipro city. For school students we offer events that improve their English skills.
 But this academic year the WOA staff started to familiarize students with the concepts of "plagiarism" and "academic integrity." The Window to America Head Svetlana Usenko presented a slide show aimed to emphasize to the students that knowledge acquisition is hard and independent work they should do on a daily basis. In senior classes students begin to write scientific papers for different projects, they will need to prepare themselves for the Final Tests and University studies. The ability to distinguish plagiarism from non-plagiarism, familiarity with the quotation rules, and the awareness of the codes of honor in colleges – all these steps will lead today’s school kids to a successful career.
The participants number – 11+8 people.
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The Old Man and the Sea

on October 9/10-
“The Old Man and the Sea”- the 65th anniversary.
This afternoon the WOA Dnipro was visited by a group of students from school No. 141.
They listened to a presentation about the popular E. Hemingway’s book. The information was illustrated with the YouTube videos about the writer and his novel. We focused on the most important things that one must know about the novel.
The highlight of the presentation was the DOUNB Library’s book – a bi-lingual (English and Ukrainian) edition of “The Old Man and the Sea”. It was translated in1974 by Volodymyr Mitrofanov and published by Dnipro Publishers (Kyiv) in 1991 with wonderful illustrations by a Ukrainian artist Mykola Pshinka.
The students were impressed with the story and the symbolism of the novel. Some of them promised to read the original novel.
Participants number – 11+8.

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