Hi everyone! My name is Hanka, I am 22 years old and I come from a small town in Slovakia. Last June I finished my bachelor‘s degree in Psychology at Leiden University in the Netherlands. In the middle of September I have started my volunteering program „Building an inclusive society“ , in Udruga Amazonas within the European Solidaroty Corps, and I will stay until the end of June.
In the Solidarity blog I will update you every month about the actvities me and the other three volunteers are doing and about some insides about Amazonas organization. In this article, I will explain how the language classes work, what you can learn there and how our first classes went! So, if you want to know more, keep on reading!:)
One of the activities the volunteers do as a part of their ESC program in Amazonas is teaching a language class. This year Katrina is teaching beginners German, Valentine teaching beginners French, Dino teaching beginners Italian and Hanka teaching conversational English. The classes will be held during two semesters. On the week of 18th of October, the first semester has started and will last until December (Christmas time). The second semester will start in February and last until the middle of June.
These classes are held once a week in a form of informal workshops and are for free! As we want everyone to be able to join, the participants are required to volunteer a minimum of 3 hours in Amazonas organization (by the end of 30th of June).
How can I apply?
For now, the application process has been already closed, however in February? The second semester will start and there will be another open call, so keep your eyes open for that! There will be a post about it on Amazonas Facebook page.
How did the first classes go?
German for beginners
• Tuesdays from 19:00 to 20:30 (Library Kajfešov brijeg, Ulica Grada Gualdo Tadino 4)
The first class was held on the 19th of October with 7 people present. To get to know each other the participants played a speed dating game, during which they had a few minutes to talk in pairs and then rotate between each other. Since it is a beginner‘s class they needed to learn the basics first. Firstly, they covered the alphabet and how to pronounce the letters in German, and afterward, they learned some basic greetings in German.
For the second class, one new person joined the class. The students repeated what they have learned last time and a new verb was introduced to them to like. To practice and use this verb they played bingo. In the end, they listened to an old german song which they translated in groups.
French for beginners
• Wednesdays from 19:00 to 20:30 (Library Kajfešov brijeg, Ulica Grada Gualdo Tadino 4)
8 participants joined the first class on the 20st of October. The speed dating game was also played to get to know each other. Afterward, the alphabet was covered with exmaples of English and French words for each letter to better explain how to pronounce the letter. The participants learned basic greetings and started on the numbers.
One new person joined the second class during which they repeated the greetings and the numbers. To practice with the numbers they played „The just price“ game during which they had to guess a number their pair had written down. Participants learned how to introduce themselves by reading dialogues and the vocabulary regarding hobbies. Lastly, the verbs to be and to like were explained.
Conversational English
• Wednesdays from 19:00 to 20:30 (Local Committee ban Keglević, Trg Francuske republike 11 )
The first class was on the 20st of October with 6 people present. First, the basic introductions were done in a circle, where everyone explained their motivation for joining the class. Then the game 2 truths and 1 lie was played in pairs to get to know each other and to see what level of English everyone has. The participants rotated the pairs so they got the chance to talk to multiple people. At the end of the class, they wrote their expectations for the classes and wrote down the topics they would like to cover.
For the second class, 3 new participants were present. Since the participants had asked to cover some grammar as well, we started with explaining the theory of conjunctions and practiced with some exercises. The theme of the week was Halloween so we discussed what Halloween traditions everyone knows, what traditions they have in their family, and whether they follow any of these traditions. Then we watched a video where the 5 most famous Halloween traditions and their history is explained. After each tradition, a pair of participants was asked to summarize and tell in their own words what was said in the video.
Italian for beginners
• Thursdays from 18:00 to 19:30 (Local Board “Dr. Ante Starčević”, Dragutina Golika Street 44)
6 people joined the first class on the 21st of October with 3 more people expecting to join for the next class. The class was divided into 2 parts. The first was about the basic Italian grammar, consisting of the alphabet, pronounce, verbs to have and to be, and feminine and masculine words. The second part consisted of a short game about Italian places. Pictures of various places were shown and the participants tried to say „I have been in Rome“, depending on what the place displayed was. The class ended with a short Q&A.
That is all for the first article! Follow our blog to stay up to date with all the activities we do. See you next month!
