Зустріч за філіжанкою теплої поезії

 У ці останні квітневі дні в Інформаційному Центрі «Вікно в Америку» зібралась творча молодь на філіжанку теплої поезії. 

 Звучали власні вірші учасників, а також класичні твори українських та російських поетів. 

 Вразило уміння читати сучасну поезію та обрана тематика.

 Як зазначив один із учасників зустрічі, вірші пише тоді, коли переповнює невимовна радість або сум, на вершині емоцій і думок, аби була аудиторія, яка розуміла їх та хотіла слухати. Для когось ця задушевна поетична зустріч – це перше представлення власних віршів на суд слухача.

American English: a website for teachers and learners of English as a foreign language abroad

http://americanenglish.state.gov/search/solr?f%5B0%5D=bundle%3Aresource&f%5B1%5D=im_field_resource_categories%3A3

National Arbor Day is the last Friday in April
 You can read more about it: http://americanenglish.state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/arborday-and-earthday.pdf

/http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=406497736124059&set=a.168005749973260.36590.100002915097662&type=1&theater/

National Poetry Month

English Club with PC Volunteer, Mila H.

At WOA Center Before Debates

 Olga Polonets and Helen Cherepakha /photo: Michael Dixon/

Olga Polonets

A Debate on "isms"

Oleksii Riabokon, Michael Dixon and Maxym Horbatyuk /judges of this debate/

... debating

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH

NATIONAL POETRY MONTH. APRIL 2013. Let's read your favorite or own poems.

Inaugurated by the Academy of American Poets in 1996, National Poetry Month is now held every April, when schools, publishers, libraries, booksellers, and poets throughout the United States band together to celebrate poetry and its vital place in American culture. http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/41

Could This Earth Day Be Special to You?

Earth Day and the Environment 

Vinnytsia English Club participants gathered on 20 April to discuss a topic “Could This Earth Day Be Special to You?” The American volunteer and a leader of this activity spoke about various festivals in the U.S. taking place this day. Attendees shared their thoughts how to make this day a special and important yearly event in their community. The participants set the main goals of this day to help the surrounding environment. Most of them participated in the Earth Day activities and made the outcome to Vinnytsia community. 

Fun Fact of the Day: "The Florida Keys is home to 882 islands" (fanpop.com).

 Earth Day is Monday, 22 April!

1. What is "Earth Day"? Do you consider this as an important yearly event? What are the main goals of this day and how do you think it helps the surrounding environment? Have you ever participated in any Earth Day activities? If so, what did you do and what was the outcome? 

2. Do you know about any :environmental protection" movements? How essential is it to protect our environment? What does 'protection' mean? What can we all do to ensure that nature is unharmed? Do you think that the environment can recover from years of misuse and mistreatment? How does this protection relate to sustainability for future generations?

3. What do you personally to protect the environment? Do you recycle or use efficient energy sources? What are "renewable" energy sources, and do you think that they will play a large part in our future lives? What types of energy are the best and worst for the surrounding environment? Does they type of fuel and power have a large effect on nature? 

4. How do pollution and litter affect our environment? Do you think that they are big problems in our city? What can be done to improve nearby conditions? Should there be stronger punishments for litter or other environmental violations? How can we improve water and air quality around us? Can we minimize the "footprints" that we leave in our surroundings?

5. Do you think that environmental protection can improve people's standards of living? How directly are healthy lifestyles, overall health, and the environmental related? Do you think that people can be fully healthy in a place that has low standards for environmental protection? What incentives should people have for taking care of the environment and preserving nature?

6. If you could create one new initiative for Earth Day, what would it be? What would be your main goal of this project and who would you involve in the process? How could you make this plan an effective reality? 

Thursday, 25 April at 5:30 - DEBATE!!! 

Saturday, 27 April at 10:30.

English Club Discusses Professions and Jobs

English Teens Club About Happiness

On the 17th April Dasha B., FLEX alumna, led English Teens Club on the topic "Happiness". All the members of the club could feel this relaxing atmosphere in the air. At first, everybody got a chance to review English tenses. Then Dasha suggested to have a look at some useful idioms about happiness. 

Afterwards, participants made up their own sentences. At the end everybody listened to the song "Three little birds" by Bob Marley and filled in the gaps with missing words.

 The last task was to watch a very inspiring video about being happy and enjoying all things we have in our life.

Patriot's Day

For some people in the states of Massachusetts and Maine, the third Monday of April is a welcome day off work or school.
WHY? 'Cause of Patriot's Day in United States.

Patriot's Day (or Patriots' Day) commemorates the battles of Lexington and Concord, which were fought near Boston in 1775. Patriot's Day is annually held on the third Monday of April. It should not be confused with Patriot Day, held on September 11 to mark the anniversary of terrorist attacks in the USA in 2001.
More: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/patriots-day

Jazz Day at Vinnytsia WOA Center with Rostyslav Voitko

  В Інформаційному Центрі "Вікно в Америку" м. Вінниці (Вінницька ОУНБ ім. К.А. Тімірязєва) відбулась зустріч з джазовим виконавцем Ростиславом Войтко, сином відомого композитора Олександра Войтко.

 Ростислав з дитинства захоплюється музикою. На професійному рівні він займається джазом протягом останніх п'яти років, виконуючи композиції відомих джаз-виконавців, а також пишучи твори власноруч.

Неформальна дискусія з імпровізацією джазових композицій надала сьогоднішній зустрічі оригінальності.

Reminder

A special English Club at the regular time of 10:30 about... JAZZ! Special guest musician, Rostyslav Voitko, will be present to share some jazz music with us.

English Club Discusses Idioms

Topic: Idioms, Phrases, and Words
Fun Fact of the Day: “1,525,000,000 miles of telephone wire are strung across the U.S.” (tealdragon.com).
Topic:
1. What is an “idiom”? Are idioms literal or figurative phrases? How are idioms used in everyday interactions? How often do you use idioms? When is the last time that you used or heard an idiom? Was it a conscious decision or did it just come out without a thought?

 

2. What do you think these common idioms mean? Do you or will you use any of these?
Piece of cake Cost an arm and a leg
Break a leg Hit the books
Let the cat out of the bag Hit the nail on the head
When pigs fly Can’t judge a book by its cover
Bite off more than you can chew Scratch someone’s back
Love me, love my dog To give someone the cold shoulder
Between a rock and a hard place To dig deep
To chicken out Bite your tongue
The pot calling the kettle black Cream of the crop
Once in a blue moon Birds of a feather, flock together
3. How important are idioms in basic communication patterns? Do you think that it is possible to fully understand a foreign language if you do not use such phrases? How can idioms help you to develop a level of closeness with others and build rapport with those around you?
4. Are idioms related to anecdotes? What is an “anecdote”? Are they more similar or rather different from idioms in common speech? What are some interesting anecdotes that you know? How often do you use them? Do you think that their general meaning can be easily understood cross-culturally?
5. Are idioms and anecdotes used more commonly in spoken dialogue or the written word? Do you think that it is important to use or avoid them in writing? Do you think that they make situations more or less formal, or is this irrelevant?
6. If you could make a new original idiom in English, what would it be and why would you choose it? What would its general meaning be, and how could you promote it so that the phrase gains in popularity?
Schedule: Please put topic ideas in the Suggestion Box!
Saturday, 13 April at 10:30 - SPECIAL CLUB on “Jazz” with a Guest Performance!
Thursday, 18 April at 5:30

English Teens Club's Meeting

On the 10th of April the club was dedicated to reviewing English Tenses as the members of the club were asked to take a short test which consisted of 20 tasks. This test took 20 minutes. After that the cards with different questions were given to the participants. The participants did a great job in speaking and shared all their thoughts about various questions. They did a great job in speaking and sharing all their thoughts about various questions.

Доступ до електронних повнотекстових баз даних EBSCO

Шановні користувачі!

До 26 квітня 2013 року Ви маєте унікальну можливість скористатися доступом до електронних повнотекстових баз даних EBSCO – Applied Science & Technology Source, Legal Source, Education Source, Humanities Source, які містять повні тексти статей з періодичних видань, матеріалів конференцій, монографій, книг, рецензій тощо. Доступ до баз даних надається усіма структурними підрозділами Бібліотеки. Нагадуємо, що Бібліотека працює без вихідних. 

Чекаємо на Вас!

Using VOA Learning English/Special English in American Spaces Produced by ECA/A/L, Office of English Language Programs

Description: VOA Learning English/Special English (LearningEnglish.voanews.com) is a site that provides engaging and interesting content based on news and information. Special English is “special” because stories are read at a slower rate of speech than regular VOA English programs. Also, the stories are written at the intermediate and upper-beginner level, and in some cases at lower levels. The content changes regularly. There is something for everyone of all ages and fields of interest, whether learning or teaching English. Additionally, users can access content on foreign policy issues to review, discuss, or debate.

The site provides text and audio (MP3 files) so learners can read and listen to the stories to maximize learning. The social media support is wide-ranging: VOA Learning English has a Facebook page, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, and a YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/voalearningenglish). Short, captioned videos allow learners to watch and hear a report while reading the rolling script.

The main site has a built-in dictionary (click on any word in any story), a WordBook app for iPhone and Android, podcasts, RSS feeds, and much more.

For lovers of slang and vocabulary, and cultural meanings in an American context, there is the weekly program Words and Their Stories (for example, an episode on "grapevine" featured terms with "grape" in them: http://learningenglish.voanews.com/content/words-and-their-stories-grapevine/1613738.html)

Those who are interested in American English and linguistics can also use Wordmaster, an entertaining and informative show about language, with audio and texts of interviews in regular speed English. Archives are at http://learningenglish.voanews.com/search/?k=wordmaster#article

Do you want students to learn English through the discussion of current events in the news, including U.S. foreign policy topics? Use the daily "As It Is" news scripts and audio files posted on the home page of VOA Learning English.

Explore the site! Regular use of Learning English will help teachers and learners use and improve their English, while learning about a broad range of topics, in an innovative and creative way.

Technical Requirements for Group Use: Computer access and Internet connection. Printer if available. The stories can be printed or downloaded to a flash drive or burned onto CD or DVD. A good Internet connection will allow users to browse and listen to stories and watch the YouTube channel.  

Technical Requirements for Individual Use: Computer, smartphone or mobile device with Internet access.

Audio Files: You will find the audio controls on the left side of each story, under MULTIMEDIA, below the social media icons. You have a choice to play a story or download an MP3. An audio player appears when you click on either "listen" or "download."

Text of Stories: The easiest way to use this offline is to cut and paste the text into a word processing document.

Needs Assessment: What do your students need or want to know? What is their area of specialization? Browse the site or enter keywords in the search box and choose stories to use.

Using Special English 

4. Decide what activities go best with the story or for your class. Activities like discussion groups, giving speeches based on the topic, vocabulary study, and word games are some of the many options.

5. Now try the YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/voalearningenglish). How can you best use this resource? Over 1,000 short captioned videos on many different subjects are available.

6. Gather participants to use the material. Take this opportunity to preview ECA’s American English website (http://americanenglish.state.gov/) and Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/AmericanEnglishatState) as resources to use. Ask participants to "like" the Facebook page. This will 
give you a way to organize activities in advance of the arrival of Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur products, integrating these into American Spaces and other venues.
7. Organize a lesson around a Special English story. You may wish to focus on the story itself, reactions to it, or aspects of the language presented in it. This is a good way to work in foreign policy topics and promote discussion as relates to learners’ lives.

8. Let students work online or explore how they can use the stories working from their mobile devices or CDs you burn for this purpose (or on computers where you have downloaded a number of text/audio files.)

9. You or your participants may be able to take part in a Skype call-in show with VOA in Washington. Watch the VOA Learning English Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/voalearningenglish) for details.

English Club "What Happened When..."

Have you ever thought 'what could happen when...'. It seems we seldom think at all. Sometimes emotions lead us to situations that make you feel like in a mould. Let's discuss some questions related to this topic together. First, do you know the official 'national motto' of the United States? If 'yes', then let's be united in our thoughts.

Fun Fact of the Day: Do you know what the official “national motto” of the United States is (E Pluribus Unum)? What does it mean? “Out of Many, One” (awesomeamerica.com).

1. Have you ever… done something that you thought you would not like but actually loved it after trying? What did you do, and do you still p

articipate in this activity?

2. Have you ever… fallen asleep while in a compromising place or position? What happened when you woke up? Has a similar thing ever occurred again?

3. Have you ever… given a false excuse to get out of something that you did not want to do? If so, what did you say? Was this lie ever exposed afterwards? If you have not done this, have you thought about doing so? In what circumstances do people tend to give false excuses the most?

4. Have you ever… had a dream that you thought was real? What happened in this dream? Do you often have realistic dreams? Did you consider these as cases of “déjà vu”?

5. Have you ever… played a practical joke or prank on somebody you know or even a complete stranger? What did you do and how did they react to this situation? Is there a specific joke or prank you would like to do in the future? Who is your target and how do you think this will go over?

6. Have you ever… said something that you quickly regretted, or conversely, kept silence when you wish that you had spoken out? What were the results of your actions? What do you think would have happened if you had done the opposite?

7. Have you ever…spoken to yourself in public, or thought about something funny and started laughing out loud in the presence of others? How did they react to your outburst?

8. Have you ever… done something extreme or exhilarating? What did you do and how did you feel after accomplishing this feat? Would you repeat your actions in the future or try anything else that is similar?

9. Have you ever…forgotten what you were saying, doing, or where you were going at a given moment? Did this embarrass you? What is the strangest thing you have ever forgotten to do?

10. Have you ever…surprised another person or yourself with your actions or words? What were the circumstances of these surprises: a gift, a party, a new food, a letter, a vacation idea, a new job, etc.? Is there anything you wish someone would surprise you by doing someday? What other “have you ever” questions would you like to ask our club?

Schedule:
Thursday, 11 April at 5:30
Saturday, 13 April at 10:30

English Club on 'Human Relationships' with Igor and Olga

Fun Fact of the Day: “Jimmy Carter is the first known president to go on record as seeing a UFO” (www. Pophangover.com). 

1. What is your personal definition of an “ideal relationship” between a man and a woman? Who is an ideal spouse in your opinion? What characteristic should a good spouse possess? Is it possible to change somebody in a relationship? Can you make a not-so-perfect into the perfect one for you? 

2. What do you think about speed dating, blind dates, love at first sight, one-night stands, etc.? Have you ever participated in any of these activities, or do you know anyone else who has? What impressions followed? Would you or your friend do the same thing again? 

3. When looking for a partner, what qualities do you pay attention to first? Which features of character are not so important in a partner? Do you think that it is important for a man to have a physically attractive woman, or is this rather irrelevant? 

4. What qualities and characteristics cause women to be attracted to men, and why? Is it important for a man to look good, or should he care more about earning money? What catchy peculiarities about a man’s character might make him a more appealing partner? 

5. If you had some negative experiences in past relationships, does it mean that you should avoid trying to have another relationship? Do you think that people should always try to have new experiences, in spite of all negative ones from the past? What is your opinion about a person’s decision to stay single after a failed relationship? 

6. Can your “nuclear family” (parents and siblings) serve as a model for your “Ideal” family? Do you want to have the same family values that you were raised with, or rather different ones in your own family? What are the most important family values that you want to pass down from your parents to your children? Do you look at other families for such inspiration as well? 

7. Have you ever asked advice from a friend about relationships? Should we listen to friends’ opinions, or should we not let outsiders into private lives? Do you discuss your private life in public (with friends or colleagues)? What do you do if someone disagrees with your choices? Is it a good idea to give tips to friends if they have problems in their family relationships? How could this be both positive and negative? 

Schedule:
Saturday, 06 April at 10:30
Thursday, 11 April at 5:30

English Teens Club

 The participants of today's English Teens Club had the chance to review all the Grammatical Tenses learned.

On the 3rd of April Dasha led an English Club which was dedicated to reviewing English Tenses that the members had learnt before. At first, everybody got a chance to discuss that material that they had missed. The students felt free to ask questions , so there was warm atmosphere full of confidence. After that some exercises on the topic "English Tenses" were done. At the end of the club the participants listened to the song "One day in Paradise" by Phil Collins, filled in the gaps, translated the lyrics and learnt new words.