Today, we reached the end of my third Conversation Course at IFIE. We decided to leave the classroom behind and have a different, more relaxed conversation at a public place. My students proposed Urban, a local coffee house I had not been to.
We had a great time at Urban. I loved the decoration and the service (although two of us had to wait a bit too long to their orders). How did we get here?
Eight Weeks of English Interaction
After waiting for some months since my last English conversation course, we finally put together a group of four young learners, half of them are already proffesionals using the language in their respective fields.
I allowed them to decide the topics of conversation based on their interests and academic or professional needs.
I provided some topics and audio visual materials for the first week, but after that, they were pretty much in charge. It was great to work with fine students and professionals who are self-motivated and driven. They were also the nicest people a teacher can wish for. Time flew in every meeting.
They talked about a variety of topics, from Marine Biology to Engineering; from video games to serial killers. We also talked about crypto currencies and online jobs; the personal and cultural changes resulting from the pandemic, pop culture and of course the intricacies and varieties of the English language.
For me, it was a very productive course. They already had a very good level of English and my job was limited to occasional clarifications of some pragmatic aspect of some words or expressions, additional expressions to say the same thing, or questions to make them elaborate on their comments.
I actually feel I learned a lot from each one of them. They have amazing experiences and their use of technology and social media tools was very useful to me.
Final Docu-Video Activity
We will start editing a series of videos we recorded on Wednesday. They were responses to five questions that somehow summarized what we had talked about in the last eight weeks. I hope to share with you an abridged version of that docu-film.
We had a blast recording these videos. There were plenty of bloopers that I hope they, with their tech skills, can edit and share. It will be very funny to see all that in one short video. It is not easy to be in front of a camera and speak in a different language. They loved the experience and I hope they will have the motivation to continue trying. That will surelty prepare them for face-to-face interactions or remote interactions using today's tools for distant jobs and communication.
A Relaxing Coffee Morning
This is Urban, a relatively new coffee place. I had passed it several times, but had not noticed it was a café.
I loved the decoration. It looks roomy, but once three or four tables are full, it ca get very loud.
It has been extremely hot lately, so I ordered a cold coffee. This is an iced latte. It was not the best (a bit watery), but we were having a good time, so I did not care much about the taste.
The prices were good for our economy and budgets and considering the environment, it was fine.
When two of the girls got theirs, I was about to change my mind about mine. These looked more appetizing.
It was a great morning and the balance of the last eight weeks was very possitive. It is great to be able to share with young people with so much passion and good vibes. It was really envigorating.
I wish them the best in their future projects. They represent the best we have in our culture in terms of human and professional quality.