June 2018 @ Dnipro Window on America
center
Poster display: About US
Book display: American Flag Day
June, 2 –
ESC Gabfest at 2:00 p.m.
June, 5 – Activate
English! at 4:00 p.m.
June, 6 – Wednesday
Movie Club at 5:00 p.m.
June, 9 – ESC Gabfest at 2:00 p.m.
June, 12 – Activate English! at 4:00 p.m.
June, 13 – Wednesday
Movie Club at 5:00 p.m.
June, 14 – Grasshoppers Club at 3:00 p.m.
June, 14 – Start English at 5:00 p.m.
June, 16 – ESC Gabfest at 2:00 p.m.
June, 19 – Activate English! at 4:00 p.m.
June, 20 – Wednesday
Movie Club at 5:00 p.m.
June, 21 – Grasshoppers Club at 3:00 p.m.
June, 21 – Start English at 5:00 p.m.
June, 23 – ESC Gabfest at 2:00 p.m.
June, 26 – Activate English! at 4:00 p.m.
June, 27 – Wednesday
Movie Club at 5:00 p.m.
June, 30 – ESC Gabfest at 2:00 p.m.
June/July – Display «Picture US».
Dnipro Window on
America center presented a new display. Now it’s a good time to boast a WOA’s
collection – a set of images “Picture US”.
We
have decided to use them for an image display at the center dedicated to the
American Flag Day and Independence Day in the USA.
The
pictures from the set may be a very useful tool for language teaching and
learning. They bring authentic American life to lessons and motivate learners
to produce language.
The
strong side of the pictures is the sizeable format – it makes them suitable for
use in large classes.
The
sturdy material will allow this wonderful teaching aid to survive hands-on
activities.
The display seen by 150 persons.
June – Book and Image Display "American Flag Day".
For all who wish to know more about the United
States of America, the information and resource center “Window on America center” Dnipro offered the book and image
display "American Flag Day". It demonstrates how Americans are proud
of their flag: they raise it every day
on flag stocks near their homes, decorate state institutions, sell souvenirs
and clothing with state symbols.
The highlight of the
display was an authentic American flag – a gift from the WOA Center's
volunteer, Anna Akastelova.
The display seen by 150 persons.
on June,
2 – Clean Environment and Exotic Guests.
The session of the Gabfest Club today had a complicated topic so we
started with a warm-up activity.
The group was familiarized with a fitness activity that is sweeping the
world – plogging. Plogging is a combination
of jogging with picking up litter (Swedish: plocka upp). It started as an
organized activity in Sweden around 2016 and spread to other countries in 2018,
following increased concern about plastic pollution. As a workout, it provides
variation in body movements by adding bending, squatting and stretching to the
main action of running.
The official topic of the session was Environment Day 2018. We have
discussed in detail the theme of the year - “Beat Plastic Pollution”. We have examined the UN infographics about
the production of plastic in the world and the easy steps to refuse plastic in
the everyday life. The topic was illustrated with UN Environment videos about
Indian campaigns to beat plastic pollution. India is the host country for
Environment Day 2018.
The pleasant surprise for the Gabfest Club members was the arrival of
our foreign volunteers – Mr. Eric from Australia and Mr. Edwin from India.
After brief introductions of the guests we had a Q&A activity. The Club
members learned new things about
stereotypical Australian person and the cast system of India.
The session was educational and funny.
Participant number – 35
persons.
on June, 5 – Activate English group 9.4. 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.
This
afternoon the Activate English group participated in the regional TV shooting.
They will watch the video about the adult education at the DOUNB Library in a
few days.
The
new topic is "My Shopping Habits".
All
the participants found the session educational and helpful.
Number of participants – 20 persons.
June, 6 – «Wednesday Movie Club» / «Кіноклуб по середах»: Soul Surfer.
June, 06 MOVIE CLUB in DniproWOA.
This evening we bigscreened “Soul Surfer”(2011). It is an
American biographical drama film directed by Sean McNamara.
Bethany Hamilton, 24, returned to surfing just a
month after a 14-foot tiger shark bit off her left arm in 2003.She hadn't won a
major surfing event since just after her brave return to the ocean only a month
following her ordeal. In 2014 Hamilton won a major title for the first time in
nearly ten years. It was Oahu's Surf N Sea Pipeline Women's Pro, a major event
held in Hawaii's Banzai Pipeline.
Hamilton's captivating tale of fighting for what you
love against all odds was immortalized in the 2011 motion picture “Soul
Surfer”, in which she is portrayed by Anna Sophia
Robb.
Participants number – 11 persons.
on June, 9 – Surrealism in American and Ukrainian Art.
This week the DOUNB
Library hosts an exhibition of a modern Ukrainian artist who works in the genre
of Surrealism. This was a good reason to talk about this genre and introduce
the iconic American surrealist artists.
The introduction of
the American Surrealism started with John D.Graham (Dombrowsky) who was born in
Kyiv and eventually became a theorist of Art and a teacher of some surrealistic
painters in the USA. The group was very surprised to learn this fact.
Among the first names
that were introduced were: iconic US splash painter Jackson Pollock, sculptor
Noguchi and dream box master Cornell. The highlight of the session was
discussion about Peter Blume.
We were able to find
analysis of his two pictures: “South of
Scranton” and “The Shrine”. So we translated them to learn how to read a
surrealistic painting. To wrap up the introduction of US surrealists we watched
a slide show with the works of a female surrealist Kay Sage.
The group shared their
impressions about the works of the Ukrainian painter whose works they saw at
the exhibition at DOUNB Library. Translation of the paintings’ title was quite
a challenge for some Club members.
The session was
complicated, but very educational for all participants.
Participants number – 32 persons.
on June, 9 – Native speaking guest & his home.
WOA’s volunteer Mr.
Eric continues to entertain the group with fun facts about Australia.
This time we learned
how to grow bananas in your backyard. The photos of Eric and his family with
kangaroos were liked by everybody. All interested club members were shown the
Australian banknotes and coins. They looked very unusual as they are made of
plastic, not paper.
Participants number – 22 persons.
On June, 11 - Summer with WOA: Summer Camp Kids' Visit.
This morning the
Window on America center in Dnipro was visited by a big group of students from
the School 23 Summer Camp. We have learned summer vocabulary a Summer Jive song
and watched the video about popular fun activities for USA students in summer.
Participants number 38
students + 2 teachers.
on June, 12 - Summer with WOA: English-language Summer Fun.
The summer project of
cooperation with Schools’ Summer Camps is gaining momentum. Today, the
"Window on America" Center in Dnipro was visited by the students from
the partner school №99.
They were hosted by
the head of the WOA Center Svitlana Usenko and volunteer Hanna Motorina. The
children happily greeted library staff in English, examined the center’s
resources that will help to improve their English skills, watched slideshows
and videos. The main focus of the meeting was on the tourist attractions of
Dnipro city and Ukraine.
Our young patrons
learned about the Ukrainian steppe, the Scythian mounds, the Golden Pectoral
and other Ukrainian iconic places - the Sofyivka Park, the Kamyanets-Podilsky
Castle, the Khortytsia Island. To wrap up the visit the students played an
action game and sang along.
Participants number 18
students + 2 teachers.
on June, 12 – Activate English group 9.5. 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.
This
afternoon the Activate English group participated in the regional TV shooting.
They will watch the video about the adult education at the DOUNB Library in a
few days.
The
new topic is "My favourite book is…".
All
the participants found the session educational and helpful.
Number of participants – 20 persons.
on June, 13 – «Wednesday Movie Club» / «Кіноклуб по середах»: Raising Arizona.
The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center
Dnipro, Ukraine had watched a crime comedy film Raising Arizona.
Raising Arizona is a 1987 American film directed by
Joel Coen, produced by Ethan Coen, and written by Joel and Ethan. It stars
Nicolas Cage as H.I. "Hi" McDunnough, an ex-convict, and Holly Hunter
as Edwina "Ed" McDunnough, a former police officer and Hi's wife.
The Coen brothers set out to work on the film with
the intention of making a film as different from their first feature as
possible, with a lighter sense of humor and a faster pace. Raising Arizona
received mixed reviews at the time of its release, in particular by mainstream
critics. It was accused of being too self-conscious, manneristic, and unclear
in whether it is situated in the realm of fantasy or in that of reality. Other
critics praised the film for its originality and uniqueness.
The film ranked 31st on the American Film
Institute's 100 Years...100 Laughs list, and 45th on Bravo's "100 Funniest
Movies" list.
WOA’s
patrons enjoyed the
warm discussion followed the film watching and touched the different aspects of
the film: the actors’ playing, the director’s work, the soundtracks and the
lifestyles of the fiction heroes.
Participants number – 12 person.
on June, 14 - Summer with WOA: English-language Summer Fun.
The summer project of
cooperation with Schools’ Summer Camps is gaining momentum. Today, the
"Window on America" Center in Dnipro has been visited by the students
from the partner school № 23.
They have been hosted
by the head of the WOA Center Svitlana Usenko. The children happily greeted the
library staff in English, examined the center’s resources that will help them
to improve their English skills, watched slideshows and videos.
The children have
watched an interactive slideshow about tourist attractions of historic and
cultural importance of the city of Dnipro and Ukraine, more specifically,
Ukrainian steppe (heath, prairie), the Scythian earthen mounds, the masterpiece
of the Scythian art - the Golden Pectoral, Petrykivka painting, traditional
Ukrainian embroidered shirts, the national symbols of Ukraine, traditional
Ukrainian cuisine. This information is intended to help them to communicate
with foreign guests of the city, especially those ones who know a little about
Ukraine and wish to know more.
At the end of the
meeting the children enjoyed watching some amazing and entertaining videos in
English.
Participants number – 40 (38 students + 2 teachers).
on June, 14 – Volunteering Thursday: Grasshoppers Club and Start
English group.
The library is the sacred place which stands on the path of knowledge.
Volontier of Window on America Center Ganna Motorina met young and adult
patrons of the library to help them to walk this path. And the process of
entering English language reality started.
The schoolchildren who are members of the WOA’s “Grasshoppers” got
watching the movie and try answer the questions.
And the members of Start English group were also offered a great deal of
valuable information and learned plenty of new useful vocabulary.
Number of participants – 11.
June,
16 –
US Flag Day 2018.
Today’s session of the Gabfest Club was dedicated to
the National Flag day in the USA. The flag of the United States represents
freedom and has been an enduring symbol of the country’s ideals since its early
days. Many people in the United States honor this day by displaying the
American flag at homes and public buildings.
In the first part of the session we have been
listening to the introductions of the newcomers.
This year the group focused on the US flag history
and flag etiquette. We watched several YouTube videos about the US Flag Code.
The group has learned a lot of useful terms.
The topic was complemented with the book & image
display “AMERICANS Celebrate Flag Day”.
The Speed English activity puzzled the group with a
questions “How Patriotic Are You?”
During after session tea party the activists of the
Gabfest Club are discussing the plans for US Independence Day celebration.
Participant number – 33
persons.
June,
16 –
Tea Party.
During after session tea party the activists of the
Gabfest Club are discussing the plans for US Independence Day celebration.
on June, 18 – Summer Fun at DOUNB Library.
It
has become a good tradition to start a summer week with a visit to the DOUNB
Library. WOA Dnipro’s longtime partner is school No.23. The school’s Summer
Camp groups regularly visit the WOA Center to keep the English skills of the
students from rusting. Today the groups reviewed the summer vocabulary and
practiced to tell about Ukraine and Dnipro city in English.
As
a bonus the students had a big-screening of a cartoon in English.
Participants number –
10 persons.
June, 18
EFL Teachers’ Visit to WOA Dnipro.
The WOA’s long-time partner, Dnipro city Teachers’
Training Center, continues to upgrade teachers’ methodological skills
during the summer break. This afternoon a big group of EFL teachers from Dnipro
city and oblast visited the "Window on America" center (Dnipro /
Ukraine).
The WOA’s head
Svetlana Usenko introduced the facility to the teachers and presented the free
resources for improving the English skills available at the center.
Teachers examined the
WOA’s technical equipment, the DOUNB Library’s collection of documents in
foreign languages at the respective department, the poster display “About US”
and book display “American Flag Day”.
Teachers learned about
the popular WOA’s activities:
- free access to the
digital “eLibrary USA” to prepare academic papers,
- possibility to watch
US movies with authentic soundtrack (in a group or individually),
- possibility to meet
native speakers at the “Gabfest” English-speaking club sessions,
- “Activate English”
course.
The teachers reviewed
the promotional trailer about the library resources and received promotional
materials. They were invited to follow the WOA’s announcements via the website,
social networks (Facebook), to view reference materials and on-line links to
the blog.
We have discussed with
the Ukrainian EFL teachers different ways of cooperation with their schools and
students.
Participants number –
10 persons.
on June, 18 – Volunteering Monday.
The library is the sacred place which stands on the path of knowledge.
Volunteer of Window on America Center Ganna Motorina met adult patrons
of the library to help them to walk this path. And the process of entering
English language reality started.
The members of Start English group were also offered a great deal of
valuable information and learned plenty of new useful vocabulary.
Number of participants – 2.
on June, 19 – Goodbye to Summer Camp
Kids.
It’s time to wrap up the joint
project with the School 23 Summer Camp "Sonechko".
On their last visit to the "Window on America» Information and
Resource Center we offered the younger students a big-screening of a Disney
cartoon. The world famous Puss in Boots (2011) is a jewel from WOA’s the rich
collection of DVD films. The children were carried away by the adventures of
the sad-eyed cat.
The group of older students had a tour of the DOUNB library. As always,
it was fascinating for kids to examine the library treasures in the books’
storage. After that they listened to
the presentation about a special guest of DOUNB library - the American
astronaut Randolph Breznik, his 2017
space flight and unique gifts to the library (autographed photos, a WOA Dnipro
calendar that traveled to the Earth’s
orbit). The kids particularly liked the rare photograph by Colonel Breznik – a
photo of Dnipro city from outer space.
We are grateful to School’s Administration for the cooperation! See you
soon - at the beginning of the academic year 2018-2019!
Number of participants – 18.
on June, 19 – Activate English Group
at Dnipro Window on America center.
This afternoon the English learners at the WOA
Dnipro’s Express English course practiced conversation about favorite books and
authors in pairs. The home task was to prepare a speech about one’s work.
Number of participants – 20 persons.
on June, 20 – «Wednesday Movie Club» / «Кіноклуб по середах»: Legally Blonde.
The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center
Dnipro, Ukraine had watched a comedy film Legally Blonde.
Legally Blonde is a
2001 American comedy film based on the novel of the same name by Amanda Brown.
It was directed by Robert Luketic and star Reese Witherspoon. The film tells
the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who attempts to win back her
ex-boyfriend by getting a law degree. The title is a pun on the term
"legally blind".
The film received
positive reviews from critics. The critics' consensus states that "though
the material is predictable and formulaic, Reese Witherspoon's funny, nuanced
performance makes this movie better than it would have been otherwise".
WOA’s
patrons enjoyed the
warm discussion followed the film watching and touched the different aspects of
the film: the actors’ playing, the director’s work, the soundtracks and the
lifestyles of the fiction heroes.
Participants number – 9 person.
on June, 21 – Volunteering Thursday: Grasshoppers Club and Start
English group.
The library is the sacred place which stands on the path of knowledge.
Volontier of Window on America Center Ganna Motorina met young and adult
patrons of the library to help them to walk this path. And the process of
entering English language reality started.
The schoolchildren who are members of the WOA’s “Grasshoppers” played an active games.
And the members of Start English group were also offered a great deal of
valuable information and learned plenty of new useful vocabulary.
Number of participants – 8.
June, 23 – Summer
Plans at WOA Dnipro.
This afternoon the Gabfest Club session was dedicated to an important
summer activity – planning a vacation. We used this topic as an opportunity to
introduce several global phenomena: sharing economy and its pioneer – iconic
American company Airbnb.
We have introduced the most popular types of sharing (ridesharing,
housing sharing, tools sharing, etc) and the global brands that are pioneers in
the respective sectors.
The focus of the session was on the Airbnb. The group was offered
several YouTube videos about how this sharing platform operates, how it was
founded and how the owners see the future of the company.
The group was offered to suggest an unique local activity for Ukrainian
Airbnb hosts. The suggested activities ranged from a gastro tour of the biggest
market “Ozerka” to industrial tour of metallurgical plant and an art tour to
Petrykivka village to introduce the UNESCO Heritage painting technique.
Several Club members shared their experiences of using the Airbnb to
book accommodation for vacations abroad.
The Speed English activity offered the Club members the chance to
discuss their dream vacations, to tell the stories of the best and the worst
vacation.
Participants number – 25 persons.
on June, 25 – English for beginners: Sequence of Tenses.
The students of "Start English" group
together with its instructor, "Window on America" volunteer Hanna
Motorina, studied the topic " Sequence of Tenses ". It was
difficult, but interesting!
Number of participants – 4 persons.
on June, 27 – «Wednesday Movie Club» / «Кіноклуб по середах»: The Emperor's New Groove.
The members of the “Wednesday Movie Club” at Window on America center
Dnipro, Ukraine had watched an animated buddy comedy film.
The
Emperor's New Groove is a 2000 American film created by Walt Disney Feature
Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 40th animated Disney
feature film, it was directed by Mark Dindal.
The
film follows an arrogant young Incan emperor named Kuzco who is transformed
into a llama by his ex-advisor, Yzma. In order for the emperor to change back
into a human, he trusts a village leader named Pacha who escorts him back to
the palace.
WOA’s
patrons enjoyed the
warm discussion followed the film watching and touched the different aspects of
the film: the characters’ behavior, the message conveyed by the film, the
soundtracks and the lifestyles of the film heroes.
Participants number – 7 person.
on June,
30 – Ukraine’s Constitution Day at WOA
Dnipro.
The Gabfest Club (Window on America center in Dnipro, Ukraine) session
was almost “full house” even on a long week-end in Ukraine. The group was
offered to discuss the basic things about Ukrainian Constitution and to explain
them to our foreign volunteer Mr. Eric.
The group had to remember the fun facts about the Ukrainian Constitution
authored by Hetman Pylyp Orlyk. It was the first Constitution in Europe. The
group was familiarized with the term “amendment” to a constitution. We have
learned and translated the infographics about the amendments to the Ukrainian
Constitution and compared them with 10 amendments to the US constitution.
The complicated topic was illustrated with quotes about a democratic
constitution and the You Tube video about the authors of constitutions in
different countries of the world. Our Australian volunteer Mr. Eric told the
group about the most significant amendments to Australian Constitution.
Participants number – 21
persons.
June, 30
– Travel Story Time at WOA Dnipro.
The Gabfest Club members had a chance to have a Q&A session with our
foreign volunteer about his trip to the Black Sea country – Georgia. We have
learned about the popular tourist attractions of the country. The difference
between the Australian beaches and Batumi beaches was striking. But the food
and wine in Georgia was delicious. As always Eric demonstrates to the group the
Georgian banknotes and coins.
Participants number – 21
persons.
June, 30 – Surprise Donations to WOA Dnipro.
The WOA Dnipro's foreign volunteer Mr.Eric donated several best-selling books in
English. Some of them are real page-turners.
The WOA Dnipro's activist Mr. Viktor has donated an icon of Slavic
Apostles Cyril and Methodius. The DOUNB Library is named after them.
