There were 7 days in May when seven students and two teachers isolated themselves from Ukrainian and Russian-speaking world in one of the health resorts not far from Kiev. We called it Diving into English.
This was a customized project developed and implemented for one of the corporate clients of MIM-Kyiv.
So… 7 days had to be serious — but interesting, true to life — but not boring, useful — but not tiresome, fun — but not just for fun!
The task was to create the atmosphere where the participants would have no other way, but communicate in English.
Fulfilling this task seven days from morning to night, almost round the clock, students were debating and presenting, role-playing and watching films, playing games and performing on the stage.
The weather was favourable, so 50% of activities were done outside — in the park, on the banks of the lake, or at the café in the open air.
The whole event was designed as a workshop, which turned to be a very convenient framework within which it was possible to practise all language skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing. All these and many-many other things were arranged in such a way that the activities lasted from 8 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. Everybody was happy and excited. Sounds fun, does it not? So it was. But behind it there was a lot of preparation, hard work and life-long experience.
One of the major problems for English learners is to switch from textbooks to realistic English, from the world of learning to the world of real life, real English, real communication. The challenge always remains the same — to bridge the gap between academic environment and the real life.
The aim of the Diving into English was to bring the English language closer to the students, to make them believe that English can be a vital tool of communication.
The FEEDBACK we received was beyond our most optimistic expectations. And is there anything more valuable for a teacher?
