AgataL & Students

Queen Adele!

2012-02-14T02:15:00.004+01:00

It's been some time since I wrote anything here, but Adele's recent sweep at the Grammys has made me want to share my joy with everybody :) As it happens on such occasions, I came across last year's video with Adele (thanks to Elwira, by the way), which is simply great! Apart from her fantastic voice and her honesty about herself, she is simply incredibly funny! Take a look:

Translation in ELT

2011-11-01T22:25:00.001+01:00

Recently I was lucky to participate in a webinar given by Guy Cook, a celebrated author, on translation in ELT. The presenter published a book on the topic last year and is a strong supporter of the technique. He finds a lot of convincing arguments in its defense, reminding us that translation is one of the most common real-life situations involving communication, especially in today's multicultural world. To get a small sample of what Guy Cook has to say about translation, listen to him here:

Go to OUP Teachers' Club website to see what webinars have been planned for the nearest few months. The one on translation has been recorded and is to be available for playback soon.

Steve Jobs: How to live before you die | Video on TED.com

2011-10-10T16:39:00.000+02:00

Listen to Steve Jobs's 2005 commencement address at Stanford University. I'm sure you will find it very inspiring and moving.

Ten years

2011-09-11T23:57:00.002+02:00

Unforgettable.

Good old days

2011-05-03T22:13:00.001+02:00

Time for a new task! As you may know, it has long been part of the blog project to share your childhood photographs with everyone. Now that most of you are at home, it seems an ideal time to get round to it. Apart from posting the pictures, please browse your memory and write about your favorite pastime as a child. Did you spend most of your time outdoors, running about with your friends, or were you perhaps more of a domestic type, playing house/board games/computer games or something else entirely? Do you remember any toys that everybody had at the time? There is always something kids are all crazy about. Try to go back those 10-15 years back and see how much you can remember.

If you want to see me as a little girl, look here - a few more years back, admittedly. ;)

Janusz Korczak

2011-04-10T02:51:00.004+02:00

Today I came across a short article by Eva Hoffman, an acclaimed American writer of Polish-Jewish origin, about the person who is one of the strongest influences in my life: Janusz Korczak. It occurred to me that it would be good if TTC students - future teachers - had some idea of who he was and how he saw his role as an educator. Janusz Korczak is usually known for his heroic death in Treblinka, a Nazi death camp, after he refused to be rescued from the Warsaw ghetto and instead chose to accompany 200 Jewish children from his orphanage to the gas chamber.

The tragic end of his life overshadows the incredible work of his lifetime. Apart from his beautiful and thought-provoking children's books that we all know from school, he wrote a lot o pedagogical texts, where he explained his humanistic notions of childhood (e.g. How to Love a Child, 1919). He saw children as people, with their own dignity, need of love and respect. ("Dziecko to człowiek, tylko że mały.") This may seem rather obvious now, but at the time it was an almost revolutionary idea. Then, children were to be seen, but not heard! He taught them responsibility by introducing democratic procedures: they took decisions by voting, they elected their own jury to decide cases of misconduct among them, they issued their own newsletter, etc. This upbringing aimed to produce responsible, mature citizens, who knew their rights and their obligations. At the same time, however, the Old Doctor showed them how to love others. Although he never married and did not have any biological children, all the children at the orphanage were 'his own', and he let them feel that. They trusted him unconditionally, which one needs to earn very hard with children.

Now Korczak is patron of many educational initiatives and institutions, and his ideas are still valid. Admittedly, they do not seem to go very well with the permissive attitudes of modern approaches to "stress-free upbringing", because in his view all children need to have their responsibilities and take them very seriously, as an obligation to one another and to adults. On the other hand, children's rights and the concepts of democracy and justice are very modern ideas, and it is here that Korczak's influence is the strongest.

My own 'Korczak experience' started in high school, when I joined a scouting troop for a summer camp called Korczakowo. Korczak's ideas were realized there on everyday basis, including a daily newspaper published by the participants, frequent discussion sessions on current issues, and a lot of artistic events which were organized almost every day by everybody at the camp. Young people were allowed to believe that they can achieve a lot if only they try hard enough. It is also important to add that all this happened in the beautiful natural surroundings, in the woods, on a lake. In other words - a magical, irresistible place. I returned there a few summers in a row, and then, years later, I sent my kids there too. It is still a very inspiring place, with the spirit of creativity which helps children find new potential in themselves. Korczak's ideas live on.

A monument in memory of Janusz Korczak built in the woods, in Korczakowo.

Your music

2011-03-31T21:33:00.001+02:00

To celebrate the first signs of spring, I would like to offer a light topic this time. Music is an important element of our lives regardless of age, but it seems that young people are especially attracted to it. Blogs are an obvious opportunity to share it with others, and hence our new task:
Please write about a music performer - a singer, an instrumentalist, a band, or maybe a choir - whatever or whoever you like listening to. Say what it is that makes their music special to you and share some of it with us. The most convenient way is to place a YouTube video in your post, but you can also add a link to their website or some other online features. I know that some of you have already done something of the kind, but I'm sure you can find more to share with us.
I would like to use this opportunity to present to you one of my old-time favorites: Annie Lennox's Walking on Broken Glass. You may be surprised to recognize some familiar faces there. ;) (This is what you might call 'a star-studded cast'.) The music itself is amazingly dynamic, with the string section so well suited to the 18th century style of the video, whose story is based on Dangerous Liaisons, an excellent film of the late 1980s.

The same music has been used in a YouTube video that smoothly combines various dance scenes from period drama movies. Since embedding has been blocked for that video, click here if you want to see it. I think I like it even better than the original one.

Good news?

2011-03-20T12:19:00.000+01:00

Here is my next task for you:

With all the misery in the media these days - the tsunami and nuclear pollution in Japan or the unresolved situation in Libya - I was wondering if there is any good news around. Please browse some online news services, preferably in English, to find some news which makes you feel optimistic or inspired. It may be international, national or local news. Report the details of the story to us and say why you've chosen this particular one. Please add a link to the news story you've decided to share with us.

Colin Firth!

2011-03-01T19:33:00.002+01:00

:))

Books you grew up with

2011-02-21T22:10:00.000+01:00

Recently, when cleaning up her room, my daughter came across an old book of mine, which I urged her to read when she was a little girl. Being such a grown up now, she no longer wants to have it in her room, and so it came back to me. When I held the book in my hands, I felt a flow of memories which made me feel absolutely wonderful. It's not a very popular book I think, not now at least. Its Polish title is Malutka czarownica (German: Die Kleine Hexe), its author is Otfried Preussler, and I remember I just loved it! As the title says, it's about a little girl who is being brought up by witches to become one of them, and the thing is that she wants to make a really good witch. The question she keeps asking herself is what it means to be one. :) Does it mean being GOOD, or being really mean? Trying to answer this very question upsets the wicked world she is supposed to become part of and gets the Little Witch into all sorts of trouble. I guess this tricky concept of being naughty by trying to be good made the book so interesting and appealing to me.

What about your childhood books? Did you have any? Do you remember anything about them? Try to dig deep in your memory - I'm sure you'll find some treasures there. Why not share them with us? This your next blogging task. Enjoy!

Getting started

2011-01-19T18:03:00.001+01:00

Welcome to this year's blog project. I hope at least some of you will find it interesting and enjoyable. Your blogs may become another space where you share your reactions to things you have seen, heard or witnessed; they may also let you get to know other students better - those from the other groups, for example. It's important that you not only write your posts, but also read what others have written, and leave your comments. I will read everything and comment sometimes, too, but that's different, isn't it? ;)
Do your best in terms of English - your blogs are available online for anyone to read. I'm not going to give you any feedback on your errors in my comments, so you need to take full responsibility for your writing. No need to be perfect, but please don't be sloppy.

Here is your first assignment, then:
Please write a post about the place where you're staying now. It may be your family home, a rented room, a dormitory room or any other arrangement you have at the moment. Tell us how it works for you, how you feel there, what you would like to be different. You can add some background information about your part of town.
When you're done, go to other students' blogs and place a few comments. Have fun blogging!

Remembering John Lennon

2010-12-07T22:33:00.000+01:00

December 8 this year is the 30th anniversary of John Lennon's tragic death. I can't remember how I got the news, but I do remember how terribly sad and angry it made me feel. Lennon was at the time an epitome of free spirit, tolerance and the peace movement. What mattered to me most - at that sensitive age of early high-school - was that this brilliant man, who was all about peace and love, was murdered violently for no reason at all, by a delusional blockhead. That was really difficult to believe, and to accept as a fact. His death still seems absolutely pointless and absurd: he was beginning to find his new place in life, had just released a new album, and had many plans and ideas for his future, which never came to be.

That night I cut out Lennon's B&W photo from my large Beatles collection, framed it in black, fixed a safety pin on its back and thus made myself a remembrance badge to wear to school. Believe it or not, but at those 'ancient' times it felt equally important to share your feelings with others as it does now, except that now you do it on Facebook :)

When some years later I was standing on the very spot where John Lennon was killed, part of me still couldn't believe all this had really happened. Now that I can watch on YouTube how these events were reported at the time, those feelings come back with all their strength. Here is the BBC's coverage:

A bit longer news item from the American TV channel ABC (with some background info about Lennon, and a passing mention of historic events in Poland):

Back to work!

2010-10-06T17:07:00.004+02:00

After a long and busy summer, we are all beginning whatever we planned for ourselves a few months back. I can see some of our recent graduates have already enrolled in MA courses - congratulations! I'm sure you can do it. :) Weddings took place, babies were born - again: congratulations everyone!

For me it was a pretty intensive time as well: suddenly my kids stopped being kids and became students. Feels weird, I must say, but I can't deny being really proud of them both. If only their day could stretch a bit to give them enough time for everything they do - and for sleeping too! I'm sure you all know the feeling. The summer was busy in many other ways, so I don't feel extremely well rested or bursting with energy. Still, here I am, ready to face the music. As always, I want to do my best and make myself useful around here. There are many ways to reach me, and this blog is one of them. Feel free to use the comments feature for any suggestions you would like to make and ideas you want to share (as long as they are not offensive to anyone). Have a good year!

This memory should keep me inspired and elated for a few months to come.

Bye bye :)

2010-06-12T03:17:00.000+02:00

I've been so busy recently that I couldn't find the time to write a proper good-bye here. I know you understand me because you've been running around with much the same symptoms: rushing back and forth, forgetting stuff, with eyes wide and wild, desperate at times... But at least the classes are over, so now we can start dealing with things that have been waiting patiently for weeks.
Anyway, in this hasty mode I would like to thank you all for this year together, and for keeping high spirits in class most of the time. I enjoyed working with you.
Good luck in your work, studies, family life or anything else you have made plans for. I'm sure you can do a lot of interesting, useful things. Take care! :)

Global Grammar Competition

2010-04-19T23:06:00.001+02:00

Click on the picture to find out more. Take a chance! :)

Fancy teaching? :)

2010-04-06T14:11:00.001+02:00

This feels so real... ;) I hope your first teaching experience was not that harsh. What was it like? Were your students impassive or perhaps too loud? Or were they difficult in some other ways? Was there anything about the experience that really surprised you? Did you enjoy it? Here is your next task - "My impressions from teaching practice" - due by April 16.

Women in politics

2010-02-23T01:55:00.001+01:00

Now that the new semester has begun and we are all back on the track, I would like you to return to your blogs and write something interesting again. This time, however, it's going to be on a less personal note.
There's been a lot of talk about women in politics recently. I assume you have done a 'FOR-AND-AGAINST' essay on quotas for women in your writing course. Instead, why don't you think of ONE female politician who you think has made a difference to the world - globally, nationally or locally. Try to avoid the standard 'song-of-praise' style. Present some basic facts about her, and add your personal comment on why you have chosen her out of many others. Try to make your post really interesting, so that we can learn something new and inspiring. Mind you that the women you choose may be either contemporary or historical - it's up to you. If you think hard enough, you may even find some intriguing female figures in Polish politics, too.

Childhood friends

2010-01-06T17:43:00.007+01:00

After a few days of getting back into your school mode, you should be ready to deal with a new blogging task:
From what I hear most of you have already found childhood pictures for your blogs. I would like you to use this opportunity and let your memory take you back into your childhood for a bit longer. Together with the picture, I would like you to post a description of your school-time friend, someone you spent a lot of time with and remember well. Apart from describing your friend, tell us what sort of person he/she was back then, how you spent time together, and what brought you together in the first place. Do you still keep in touch? If not, have you tried to re-connect with them through "Nasza Klasa", Facebook or other social networking sites?
Don't worry if you don't have a picture of your friend to post on the blog. It doesn't matter. What's important is that YOU should be in it.
To make it fair, I also posted my picture from long ago
in a post from 2006. :)

Christmas time

2009-12-23T21:54:00.003+01:00

To all my current and former students, a very warm MERRY CHRISTMAS! May those moments around the Christmas table with your loved ones give you hope, strength and confidence in what you choose or have already chosen to do in the year to come.
All the best!

Blogging again!

2009-12-14T02:25:00.002+01:00

Hi! It's been ages since I wrote something here, but now it's going to change. There will be tasks again and some more life. Most importantly, watch out for the new blogs that are to arrive any minute. I would like everyone to make the best of the project and use it not only to work on your English in a bit different way than you normally do, but also to get to know other students before you all graduate and disperse to different towns and schools. Your blog may be a place where you can share your interests, big and small discoveries, your sense of humor and perhaps some plans for the future.
To begin with, please write your opening post, where you introduce yourself and welcome your readers. Make clear what kind of blog you will be writing and invite people to follow your posts. It should sound encouraging. :)

Blogs and Websites Poll Results!

2009-06-21T00:29:00.008+02:00

TOP TEN BLOGS 2009
TOP TEN BLOGS 2009
	Blog	Rating Average (1-5)	Response Count	TOTAL POINTS
	Blog	Rating Average (1-5)	Response Count	TOTAL POINTS
1	Elwajra's blog	4,22	23	97
2	Pixel's Bottomless Pit of Stupid Ideas	4,29	14	60
3	beti's blog	3,87	15	58
4	perfect transparency	3,5	10	35
5	Cherryland	1,94	16	31
6	Darth Goder	3	10	30
7	The Blog of The Beast	2,63	8	21
8	niech wam muzy będą spoko	3	7	21
9	Welcome home (Sanitarium)	2,5	8	20
10	Dżastina's blog :)	3,6	5	18

TOP TEN WEBSITES 2009
TOP TEN WEBSITES 2009
	Website	Rating Average (1-5)	Response Count	TOTAL POINTS
	Website	Rating Average (1-5)	Response Count	TOTAL POINTS
1	cherrychoco	3,28	18	59
2	everybodylies	4,33	12	52
3	greysi	4,25	12	51
4	allaboutkofi	2,93	14	41
5	stephenking1	3,09	11	34
6	gilmoregirls8	2,9	10	29
7	mydoggoldensite	3	9	27
8	ifeellikedancing	2,78	9	25
9	pixeluzny	3,33	6	20
10	dominicana	3,8	5	19

Congratulations to the winners!
Also, thanks to everyone for all the interesting posts, for sharing your opinions and interests with us, and for all the "fun" things, too. I hope your blogs will stay alive, so I'll keep watching them, just in case. :)

Happy birthday Hugh Laurie!

2009-06-18T01:58:00.004+02:00

Something for quite a few House-addicts among our third-year crowd.

Goodbye!

2009-06-12T11:42:00.011+02:00

I've been planning to write my farewell post at your graduation time, but since quite a few of you have written your goodbyes on your blogs now, I will follow suit.
I would like to let you see how this feels from the point of view of a teacher. Perhaps it is not very real for you yet, but most of you will be going through this sooner or later (just another aspect of being a teacher still there for you to discover). In short: it's tough. Year by year you form a certain bond with a bunch of interesting and unique individuals, who you see develop, and then a time comes when you need to let them go. You want them to go, because that means you've done your job. Still, it's not easy. One would have thought that after so many years a teacher would be used to this. Well, you will see :)

Best of luck for whatever you're up to guys. It's been great working with you.

Recommendation

2009-04-16T18:57:00.003+02:00

Here is a new blogging assignment for you:
I would like everybody to recommend to us a writer, artist, musician, film director or any other person whose creativity you find worth other people's attention. I would like you to give good grounds for making your choice, say what fascinates you in that person's work, and place links to websites where that work is either presented or discussed (other than Wikipedia, which everyone can find).
There is one reservation: please do not write about groups/bands/teams. The focus is on individuals and their achievements.
I hope this time there will be no complaints about the task being too difficult. :)

Note:
If you do not get many comments on your blog, the best thing to do is start writing comments on other people's blogs. That's how it works - try.

Marc Prensky speaks at Cardiff

2009-04-04T01:37:00.013+02:00

An interesting interview on using technology in ELT and on teaching in general. Food for thought for all of us, I guess. :)

Invitation to IATEFL Cardiff Online 2009

2009-03-22T02:42:00.001+01:00

Online coverage of the 43rd Annual International IATEFL Conference 31st March to 4th April 2009

Cardiff Online is now live at http://iatefl.britishcouncil.org/2009
Join us for interactive web coverage of this year's IATEFL Conference in Cardiff.
Watch keynote sessions and presentations live or on-demand and share ideas with teachers all over the world.
Follow all the action as it happens on the Cardiff Online website.

Future

2009-03-11T23:37:00.003+01:00

It seems spring is having a hard time finding its way to us this year, but we may make an effort and start thinking in a bit more positive way. Here is your new task:
So far you have looked into your past: childhood memories, past Christmases, the place where you grew up, etc. Now I want you to see the future: please give a relatively detailed account of a day in your life five years from now, from dawn to dusk. Let it be a weekday rather than a weekend, so that we would get a glimpse of what you do for a living, for example. You may address your hopes, ambitions, plans or fears here - it's up to you. To be honest, I'm hoping for a lot of optimistic stories. Remember, though, that five years is not such a long time, so don't overdo it. You should be creative of course, but do make it sound realistic. Enjoy!

Goodbye, John

2009-03-02T01:19:00.020+01:00

The first post in the semester should be enthusiastic and optimistic, but it can't be. As some of you may have already heard, we lost a very special person, dear to everyone who was privileged to know him. John Solan, who used to work at KJO as one of its most prominent lecturers, died on January 24 in Ireland. All I know is that his illness took him very quickly, in only two weeks. He was a very good person, a dedicated teacher, and an unforgettable figure. I will always remember how passionate he could be in his long disputes with other teachers about particular students or about some current events in the world.
If you have any memories of John and would like to share them, please do. This is not an assignment, merely an invitation.
Here is my little story - nothing to do with KJO, but a lot to do with what John was like:

Once John and his wife Monika adopted a dog from a shelter. It took them weeks to teach her to trust them and not to be scared of absolutely everything and everyone. They succeeded. After some time, though, the dog got very ill, and it was amazing how they struggled to save her. There was an operation, multiple visits to the vet, sleepless nights and lots of money. As far as I remember they got her out of it. But how distressed John was when all that was happening! A wonderful, caring person I am proud to have known.
RIP, John Solan.

Change

2009-01-21T02:35:00.008+01:00

What a day! I think that the high spirits from Washington, D.C., have reached almost everyone around the world today. I've been a bit reluctant to raise the issue here, as politics is not a very popular topic with today's youth, but, on the other hand, what else should move you if not this "wind of change"? (Thanks, Mateusz, the phrase does suit the situation perfectly :) Obama represents a new generation of politicians, bringing new hopes and evoking a lot of interest in young people in the US and elsewhere. I'm curious if KJO students of English, who are part of the English speaking community, have any feelings about or comments on today's events. Can you find any emotions in yourselves concerning the new American president, or is the whole issue merely media hype for you? Is the US really making a huge step forward?
I promise the next topic will be a bit lighter :)

Teaching practice

2009-01-08T22:11:00.007+01:00

Thanks for all the wonderful childhood photographs we have seen - it seems everyone's had lots of fun with this task. Now I would like you to go in
a bit different direction, and look into the future, rather than past. Your task now is to reflect on your teaching practice as an experience: how you survived the first lesson, what it was like to be "on the other side", what you think of yourself
as a potential teacher and of teaching
as a possible career.
Some of you have come to the college with a clear plan: to become a teacher of English. Many others, however, have come here out of general interest in or passion for English, but without any intention of actually becoming a teacher. Has anything changed, now that you've taught your first lessons? Or perhaps you have become only more convinced that this is not a job for you? Share your thoughts with your colleagues and other readers, please. :)

Childhood

2008-12-17T21:28:00.003+01:00

The musical task has been a success, don't you think? :) I can see how important music is for almost everyone, and how hard it is for you to limit yourselves to choosing that one special song. I know, it is next to impossible. I'm sure many of us have become intrigued by a newly discovered singer or band, thus expanding our list of favorites.
Now, with Christmas approaching, I want you to get a bit sentimental and think of your childhood. As I said in my e-mail, I would like you to embed a photograph of yourselves in your early years. The picture does not need to be connected with Christmas, but in your post please write about your memories connected with the season. I'm sure you remember many things: how you waited for Santa to come, how you caught your parents hiding presents for you, how you couldn't wait for the supper to come to an end...
If you want to see a childhood photo of yours truly, you need to go to my post from a few years ago, when a similar task was given to your older colleagues.
PS. We have a scanner in the IT room, so bring the pictures with you, if it's a problem.

Our music

2008-11-30T20:56:00.015+01:00

It seems we got off to a good start with our blogging project and your posts about your hometowns are all very interesting. Time has come for a new task:
Following suggestions from some of you, I am asking everyone now to write something about the music you like most. To make it more specific I want you to find one song of your favorite band or singer on YouTube, and share it with others. Say why you've chosen that particular song, how it makes you feel, and add whatever you want to say about it. Please paste the video into your post. Here is how you can do it (in case you don't know, of course):

Write your post. Then, in another browser window/tab, open the video clip on YouTube. To the right of the video window you can see the Embed window (in the Polish version of YouTube it says "Umieść"). Copy the WHOLE code and paste it into your post window. Should work. :)
There is another way, very useful if you plan to use the feature more often: you need to configure your YouTube account so that it would be linked with your blog. Then you can place any YouTube video on your blog with one click. I leave this to those of you who are interested enough to figure it out.

Now, I would like to share with you one of my own favorites - Peter Gabriel's song In Your Eyes. It's not that I don't listen to new music - I do. But if I am to choose something really special, somehow it's easier for me to find it in a bit more mature artists. The song has an incredible pulse, is full of life and spirit. You can feel that everyone in the band, starting from Peter Gabriel himself, believes in what they do, and enjoy it enormously. Also, listen to the great voice of the backing vocal singer - Paula Cole. Here you go - and take your time, it's worth it!

Well, I can't help it - here is another one :) I went to Peter Gabriel's concert when he came to Poznań in 2003 as part of his GROWING UP tour. It was an absolutely unforgettable experience. Here is a clip from that show (not in Poznań though, but in Milan). You can see that his live performance is far more than just music, fantastic as it is. It is also visual theater and art. Take a look:

New blogs - first task

2008-11-19T23:54:00.003+01:00

We are beginning another blogging season at KJO :) As usual not everyone is happy about it, but I hope most of you will find some enjoyment in the project. There are several reasons why we are doing this:

to give you some space where you can use written English for real communication rather than pure practice for its own sake
to make you reflect on some events in the world around us
to get you to know one another better (also across groups) before you finish your studies
to give some of you an opportunity to share your passions or thoughts with us
to let you find out how to work with your future students on blogs as part of a class project

For a start, please write your first post about the place you come from and how you feel about it. If it is Poznań or some other big city, think locally, in terms of your neighborhood. Don't give us the type of information we could find in a guidebook, but let us see the place through your own eyes. It would be great if you could place a picture of it in your post.

KJO news

2008-10-29T21:20:00.003+01:00

Update on KJO events, for those who still visit this class-blog from time to time, even though they are no longer students here:
We've had our walls painted! Classrooms and corridors, and yes, even the staircase! It's not beautiful in here - it can't be in this building - but at least it's nice and clean. And it does feel much better. At least we, the teachers, don't need to be ashamed of our workplace any longer. That's a change, isn't it? Especially with so many Erasmus students around, we feel relieved that the college looks like a more civilized place. :)
Some more changes still: new classrooms on the 4th floor (imagine those crowds in the elevator!), and the library is to be moved there too, but no one knows when.
Today I heard more good news: another ex-KJO-student has become a philology graduate, and I'm sure he's not the only one this year. It's good to know you guys are doing so well - congratulations! And on an even more personal note - there are a few babies coming among the college faculty. Fingers crossed for each of them, and the mothers too, of course. :)
As for IT, new blogs won't appear before December. I want to get them started earlier this year, so that they would grow into really big projects before the end of May. Last year was not very well planned in this respect.
This is all for now, I guess. Take care :)

A NEW BLOGGER BORN :)

2008-08-02T21:02:00.003+02:00

I have great news for our current or former students! Another KJO teacher has decided to run a blog (a real one!), sharing with us her reflections on her current reading and anything literature really. I'm sure you have already guessed who that might be :) If you don't know yet, take a look and you will figure it out for sure. I am very excited about the idea and have read the two initial posts with real pleasure. I'm sure you will find the blog as inspiring and thought provoking as I have. Not that we all need to agree with every word, of course ;)
Generally: thumbs up!

The Assassin of PeeNJot the Great

2008-06-13T16:00:00.006+02:00

Here is the other video, which I couldn't resist editing, after all. Your PeeNJot translations can wait a bit, can't they... ;)
Again, for better quality go directly to the YouTube player and choose the option "watch in high quality".
Have fun!

The fascinating story of the famous teddy bear curtains

2008-06-12T10:49:00.001+02:00

We had great fun making the film with group 3, and I hope everybody will enjoy watching it, too. Thanks, guys!

PS. There is another one coming, from group 1, but it needs some editing to be done. Unfortunately, it's really busy time now, so it must wait a bit. I'm sure you will enjoy it. :)

Childhood

2008-05-21T10:27:00.003+02:00

I want to take you back to your childhood now, near the end of your college education: it has become a tradition of our blogging project for everyone to post their early pictures (kindergarten time is probably most interesting). Apart from the pictures, please give us a few sentences of commentary, either about the situation they were taken in or generally about how you remember that period in your life. I hope you're going to have some fun with this task. :)
As far as the technical side is concerned, you will probably need to scan your photos. Unfortunately our college scanner is useless now, as it is too old to run with those new machines. And the new one hasn't arrived yet. But if there is no other way, you can bring them to me in a signed envelope, and I will scan your pictures for you at home. Or you can use your friends or family members who have access to a scanner. Whichever way, I want to see childhood pictures of you all!
If you want to see me as a little girl, check out one of the earlier posts on this blog. :)

Recommendations

2008-04-28T00:07:00.003+02:00

In our latest IT class we looked at various subscription services, such as Bloglines or iTunes. In connection with that, I have a new task for you:
Please think of ONE www site which you like and visit very often. There are THREE things I would expect of it:

that it is in English
that it is dynamic, which means it changes and offers new things on a more or less regular basis (it could be a blog, a podcast, a newspaper or TV channel site, an online video series with episodes published regularly - anything of that sort)
that it does not promote violence towards anybody

I'm sure most of you can easily name at least one such website. If not, then try to find one. Your task is to place a link to it, describe it, and say why you like it or what makes it commendable to others.

As far as I'm concerned, I sometimes visit, and strongly recommend to those who (rightly) feel English is an endless learning curve, a site called "The Free Dictionary". It offers really challenging vocabulary tasks (hangman, matching, spelling bee or Scrabble) as well as different types of information, including "Quotation of the Day", "This Day in History" and so on. I visit the site quite often as it never fails to surprise me with something, at the same time allowing me to relax a bit between more "serious" tasks. It's just fun to do these puzzles and find out about new words and new facts. Give it a try! :)

Technological Revolution! :D

2008-04-20T19:49:00.008+02:00

WHEW! HURRAY! WOW!
Finally, after years of frustration, we have brand-new, spick-and-span, sleek COMPUTERS in our lab!!! We deserve them, don't we? The frustration of applications freezing at the most inconvenient time, the pain of waiting for ages till the PC boots and starts doing what WE want it to... Well, it's all over now :)
There may be a few weeks of getting used to the new working environment, but it's usually quite easy to learn and accept things that bring changes for the better. I'm glad that the current group of students will have the opportunity to feel the difference. Next year students will not be able to appreciate it - after all, it's going to be just what everyone simply expects: a lab with normal, modern computers.
All this has inspired my first blogging task for you:
Please try to remember your first computer experiences. Was it your elder sister's computer? Or your friend's? Or was it at school? What did you do with it? Play simulation or strategy games? Chat? Copy music CDs? Use Paint to make pictures? Do homework? Who taught you to use it? How did you like it? Lots of questions pop up, so choose just a few.
Write a few sentences to share those memories with everybody. And then comment on what some of your friends have written. I'm really looking forward to reading these stories. :)

Madame Tutli Putli (Animating Madame Tutli-Putli)

2008-01-27T21:14:00.001+01:00

There has been a lot of hype in our local news about this animation recently, as one of the authors was born in Poznań. Take a look, it's really incredible to see people so passionate about what they do. Then you can watch the whole film HERE :)

Natalie Merchant - Ophelia

2008-01-04T14:45:00.001+01:00

I feel like sharing with you my newest discovery. A great voice.

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-23T19:56:00.000+01:00

May Christmas bring you all lots of love, hope and good news. :)

2007-10-22T01:39:00.001+02:00

DO YOURSELF A FAVOR - VOTE!

2007-10-20T20:05:00.000+02:00

BIG EVENT!

2007-10-17T14:45:00.000+02:00

Here is the news: Our college celebrates its 15th anniversary on Wednesday, 24th October :) I thought some of our graduates would like to use the occasion to come and see us and their friends. The official event starts at 10.00 in Collegium Minus (ul. Wieniawskiego 1) - in Mała Aula, where a few VIPs are to appear and important speeches are to be given. Later, at 5 pm. we have planned to meet at the college (room 317 and around ;), where the unofficial part of the celebration is to take place, including a new feature: the Freshman Welcome Event. If you have time and feel like renewing those GOOD memories - please come, bring with you as many colleagues as you can, and spend this time with us, in those friendly, though not yet painted, walls. You are all warmly welcome! :)

Another beginning

2007-09-30T23:47:00.000+02:00

Here we are, starting another academic year, getting to know new people, making many new beginnings. I hope this year will be as good as the two previous ones (that's how long I've been teaching my IT course), though I admit I am a bit apprehensive. We'll see... I still think of those who have gone through our college and now live their professional and personal lives "out there," making the most of what they've learned here with us. Best wishes to you guys! You could take a look here from time to time to see how we're doing. I'm planning to write more than last year, which was really tough for me in terms of workload.
Now a few words to my new students: let's try to spend the time together doing some useful things, using whatever resources we have at hand. This is not state-of-the-art equipment, that's for sure, but we'll try to squeeze out of it as much as we can. I'm looking forward to your suggestions and ideas.

POLITICS

2007-07-07T02:29:00.000+02:00

Never before have I talked politics here, but now I can't help it. You can imagine why: I'm ashamed. How could we let this happen? So much hope ruined. So many bright people left behind, while Poland is being ruled by ignorants and paranoids. They have been democratically elected, so this time there's no external power to blame. We have what some of us wanted, and others didn't care to prevent (by choosing not to vote). If you want to see how our country is now seen abroad, there is a great source: a post on a BBC blog containing a detailed analysis of Poland's situation in the EU, which initiated a heated international debate, with nearly 300 comments so far. Take a look, it's worth it.

Another interesting grammar point :)

2007-05-20T23:07:00.000+02:00

It's a bit late in terms of our test, but take a look here to see an interesting example of how confusing you can be to your reader if you misuse pronouns.

Useful grammar advice to listen to

2007-05-11T15:47:00.000+02:00

In my "Feeds" list in the blogroll (bottom right) you can find a link to the podcast site Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing. This week she's talking about an issue many of my students struggle with. Give her a chance to help you remember the rule by clicking the title of this post. You may search her archive for other grammar issues you have doubts about.
Enjoy! :)

Graduation

2007-05-06T18:19:00.000+02:00

My best wishes to everyone celebrating their graduation today. I hope that you are satisfied with how you spent your time with us, and that you will take lots of good KJO moments with you. It's been fun to be your teacher, that's for sure. :)
GOOD LUCK!

My special request

2007-05-05T20:47:00.000+02:00

Please, do place comments on other people's blogs. Look at those written by students from other groups - I'm sure you will find at least some of them really interesting. Perhaps you will want to get to know their authors better? Only with comments do blogs make sense, don't you think? And if you comment more extensively, others will visit your blog and comment on it, too. I know you are busy and all, but it's not that you need hours to do that, is it?

Memories

2007-05-02T20:20:00.000+02:00

Hi! I hope you are having a good time and are enjoying the longest weekend in history (not for all, though :/). Since most of you are probably at home with your families, I would like to give you a small home-based task:

Please dig into your family photo archives, and find a picture of yourself as a child. Choose one in which we can have any chance of recognizing you, so not as a baby, but a little bit later. If you can, scan it and post it on your blog, together with some words of commentary about that time in your life. If you have no way of making a scan, bring the photo(s) to our nearest IT class and we'll scan it here. I hope this is going to be fun. If you want to see me as a little girl, click here. :)

Tough work

2007-04-15T17:54:00.000+02:00

Could you write a few words about your diploma projects? What are they going to be about? How are you doing? Are you enjoying the work? Or perhaps you haven't even started yet, and the very idea of getting down to writing something scares you? Share with others, maybe this will help! :)

Happy Easter everyone!

2007-04-07T13:25:00.000+02:00

Getting started

2007-03-25T20:37:00.000+02:00

Welcome everyone to our blog project. First I would like to explain to you why we are doing this: I want to show you how to work with your future students through blogs, and there is no better way than to get you to run one yourself. You will be able to see how much practice in English you can get by writing your blog and reading others. I hope this won't be just another duty - try to see it as an opportunity to express yourselves in English in a less formal way, by addressing real people whom you know very well and who may be really interested in what you have to say. Try to use this project, too, as a way of learning about other people, about yourselves, about English... The outcome of all this depends largely on you: if you want it to work, it will. :)
I have given you some time to get started, to present yourselves to the others in the most natural way. If you're having problems finding things to say, I would like you to write the following:
Tell us what brought you to our college and how you found out about it. Try to recall your state of mind at the time - what expectations you had and how you felt. OK?
Don't delay any more - do it now! :)

New blogs coming soon!

2007-03-18T14:40:00.000+01:00

To anyone who depends on this blog in terms of links to others:
This year's IT course has come to the point at which the blog project is starting. I have decided to run it on this site again instead of building a new one (I guess I need a sense of continuity here), so I will have to remove last year's links. I want to keep those which are still fully alive, though, plus a few which were the most interesting to look at. Sorry if I'm subjective here, but there's no other way. BTW: If there's anyone who would rather not have their link here, just let me know.
Please copy URLs of any 2006 blogs you would like to return to in the future, then. And take a look at the new blogs that are going to appear here soon.

IN (THE) FUTURE

2007-02-22T23:25:00.000+01:00

I have always thought that articles are not a problem for native speakers of English. It seems I was wrong. Click on the title to read what doubts an American linguist could have in these matters. Quite consoling for EFL learners (and teachers ;) .

Language Log: Error message iced on cake

2007-01-22T01:19:00.000+01:00

Click on the title to get the full story :D

At Last the 1948 Show - Let's Speak English

2007-01-13T03:47:00.001+01:00

Definitely not KJO graduates ;)

2006-09-11T22:24:00.000+02:00

e-mail addresses, please!!!

2006-08-28T22:11:00.000+02:00

Welcome back after the holidays.

I hope everyone has had a great time and has taken a good rest after the difficult time you had in June. Now most of you are entering a new phase in your lives and may not be interested in what is going on at the TTC, but still, for the few who are, I have an important message:

During the holidays my computer, or actually its hard disc, suffered a critical failure and all the system data are gone, including my e-mail address book. If there is anyone willing to keep in touch with me, please send a message, because I have no other way to contact you. Also, please pass on this request to other students you keep in touch with.

Good luck in the re-sits to those who need to take them, and all the best to everyone, whatever you are up to :)

The End

2006-06-13T14:07:00.000+02:00

Here we are, at the end of the course and of your studies in KJO. As the last VOLUNTARY assignment please write your reflections on the years spent in college. Say what you learned, what you will remember, and also what you think you are going to do in your life. I would like to know what becomes of you. :)
This blog will be here for some time - as long as there are people who want to continue writing. You may use it to keep in touch.
Thank you, class 2006, for the whole year of weekly IT classes, where we all discovered new things. I hope that you will use them in your future careers, no matter what they are.

GOOD LUCK!

FILMS

2006-05-28T19:43:00.000+02:00

Following suggestions from some of the bloggers (thanks!), I would like to introduce another task:

The best film ever! Or top 10, as Karmen has done. Just think about all the many films you have seen and make a selection. Try to justify at least one of the choices, so that we know what is important for you in a movie. What makes it unique, worth coming back to, meaningful? You can place links to sites about those films, to make things easier for those who are not familiar with them. Perhaps you will make people so interested that they would like to see some of them?

I myself am not able to make any sort of ranking list. But after some thinking I can share a few titles with you. I do realize, though, that they are far away from your choices:

Kieslowski's Red, Blue and The Double Life of Veronique - in this sequence
There is something in these films that I cannot resist - I guess it is what we call the metaphysical. I like coming back to them. White does not work like this for me.
Wajda's Korczak - Janusz Korczak is my guru
Woody Allen's Zelig - playing with the very idea of moviemaking
S. Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut - a bit weird, but irresistible - cast!
R. Polanski's Rosemary's Baby - I have seen it once, will never see it again, but will never forget it, too. Filmed at Dakota Apartments in NY. A doomed place.
N. Jewison's Fiddler on the Roof - every scene is a jewel
M. Scorsese's The Age of Innocence - purely beautiful though very sad
J. Campion's The Portrait of a Lady - I loved the book and the film did not disappoint me, which is rare (music by W. Kilar)
R. Attenborough's Shadowlands - about C.S. Lewis
J. Ivory's Howards End (both starring Anthony Hopkins, the acting genious)
No, I haven't seen The Silence of the Lambs, and never will. I'm scared when I know it's on television, even if my TV set is off ;)

I don't include romantic comedies because they come and go, seldom making any stronger impression (though films like Notting Hill or Four Weddings and a Funeral are perhaps worth mentioning). A separate category for me is Jane Austen adaptations, which I can watch without end, the new Pride and Prejudice being at the top of the list ;)

Values

2006-05-21T23:33:00.000+02:00

I don't believe in preaching - telling people what is right and what is wrong. It seldom works. You should teach values by living them. But sometimes things need to be made explicit.

So here you go - this is the way I try to live, although at times I fail:

For me the most important principle in life is: love your fellows -
I mean the sort of love which is included in the Christian tradition. And love does not always mean being nice. Often it requires being harsh and critical - ask your parents :) If you love someone, you want them to be good. What is more, it is easy to love those who love you, but to love those who hurt you or do not share your beliefs and ideals is a real challenge. I try to follow another Christian principle here: "hate the sin but love the sinner." From this core idea all others derive: tolerance - but not for those who do harm to others, respect for the individual (big or small), and, yes, forgiveness. I cannot live in conflict. Conflict kills me. It takes away all my power, all my ideas and motivation. So I do my best to forgive. But to forgive is not to forget. Not so easy.

Would you like to say in your blogs what you believe in?

Freedom of speech

2006-05-17T21:29:00.000+02:00

A few days (or weeks?) ago I wrote a comment on somebody's blog about the growing amount of hatered in our public life. And that the situation will change for the better as soon as your generation takes over. Now I think this was too rosy a view.
As for freedom of speech - the principle in defence of which people spent years in prison - please do not confuse it with flaming. This is something I won't allow in my own blog. So I've decided to remove comments to my previous post. I was hoping people would do it themselves during the day, but nobody did. You may accuse me of censorship, but you have your own blogs to express your opinions.
What is more, I don't think I'm interested in comments for this post, so there will be none.

For those innocent readers who do not have a faintest idea what I'm talking about - my apologies. Believe me - you don't want to know.

Teaching practice

2006-05-14T12:16:00.000+02:00

I know you are VERY busy these days, finishing your diploma projects and getting ready for final tests and exams. That is why I've been hesitating about a new blog task, but for those of you who can still find a little time here it is:

Most of you have already finished your teaching practice or are just at the end of it. It would be very interesting to read your impressions: what you had expected and feared, what you found out about teaching, about Polish schools, and... about yourselves. Has the experience changed your attitude to YOUR becoming a teacher? Which school level suits you best? Where would you feel least comfortable?
To encourage you, I'll write a few words about my own teaching practice from many years ago. The very fact that I remember anything of it speaks for itself.

I took my TP in LO II - where else?? The teacher who supervised me was the one who taught me there as well. I came there just to do my duty - I had never thought of myself as a teacher. My mentor, though, took things very seriously: at the observation stage he explained why he did sth, how he approached problems that appeared etc. (We did not have anyone to visit our lessons from IFA.)
Then the day came when I was to stand in front of the class of matura candidates and teach them. Gosh, how nervous I was! They were pretty advanced, (an intensive program) and I thought they could ask me awkward questions or play tricks. But they were really friendly and everything went more or less OK - not that my supervisor did not tell me what to change or improve. I still remember a lot of his advice and follow it on day-to-day basis.
After a few weeks my teaching practice was over and my teacher said I HAD TO come to teach in our school after I graduated! Things turned out a bit different, but I was very proud! It was then that I started thinking of teaching as my future job. Actually, I realized that I liked it. And so... here I am.

The day after

2006-05-08T10:55:00.000+02:00

That was quite an experience - I only wish EVERYBODY had been there. Agnieszka's speech was absolutely fantastic - we could all feel she meant every single word of it. Yes, I think 2006 graduates will be remembered in a special way. Creative, open-minded, friendly people and loyal friends. Your mutual relations is what I envy you most. Most of my fellow students were so uninteresting... The only friend I had at the time left Poland for the US right after graduation, so we see each other rarely. My real good time was high school - II LO in Poznań. I still love it, and keep in touch with most of my classmates.

Anyway, great event! In case you don't know, there is
a photo coverage of it on Marta F.'s blog (BIG THANKS to Marta and her "other half") - don't miss it!

AgatkaP

2006-05-03T02:01:00.000+02:00

You can see my picture here. I must have been five or six at the time. The picture was taken by my Dad, who was, and still is, my real pal. I guess you can see that from the way I'm looking at him here.

Childhood

2006-05-03T01:13:00.000+02:00

While you're still at home you can start working on the next blog assignment: in your family archives please find a photograph of yourself when you were a child. Not a baby, but a young person developing some sort of personality. The task was inspired by Marta F., who posted a fantastic picure of herself on her blog. :)

She also offered help to those who have problems scanning. (Thanks!) Remember, too, that some copy shops and internet cafes offer that sort of service. I can also make a few scans, if you have no other way.

Apart from posting the picture, please make a short comment on it or your childhood in general.

Graduation

2006-04-30T01:09:00.000+02:00

In a week's time we're going to have a farewell celebration for you - 3rd year students. Some people feel it is just another official thing, not worth the bother (and the money). For many, it is an important event the memories of which will be coming back after years. It is also very important for us, your teachers, who got to know you well over the three years and want to wish you all the best for the years to come.

Farewells are always difficult for me, yet this year will be even worse. I feel that through the blog and all the things we've been doing together we have developed a special kind of relation. That is why the graduation ceremony will be so important for me and so tough at the same time. When you say goodbye to your fist group of learners you will understand.

Those of you who have chosen not to be there will also be included in our good wishes. Some students don't want to celebrate graduation before the exams are over. I can understand that. But your family and friends, and we - your teachers, would be happy to see you all standing there, in the university hall, looking hopefully into the future.

Presentation

2006-04-24T23:21:00.000+02:00

A new week, and new ideas.

You seemed very tired with working on corpora, so now something more fun-oriented. Whether it's gonna be fun or not depends on your ideas and what you bring with you. Our next field of development is PRESENTATION SOFTWARE. What Microsoft Office calls PowerPoint and OpenOffice has as Impress. If you want to enjoy the class and give a really personal touch to your presentation, bring with you files you would like to include. The topic is open - it may be your favorite artist, writer, actress, book, film, musician or band. It may be YOU yourself, if you like. Or your class from high school. Or your family. Anything that is not offensive to anyone. So bring pictures, stories, interesting facts, anything that relates to your topic. I hope you can really IMPRESS everybody with your presentation. ;)

After Easter

2006-04-18T14:02:00.000+02:00

Coming back to normal - it's a bit difficult, isn't it?

I would like to help people see the good side of life, enjoy every day rather than curse our daily routine. This is the intention behind the next task:

Please find something that has made you see things in the positive: an item of news from Poland - local or national - which brings you hope, or something you witnessed or perhaps did. Then give an account of it on your blog and say why you have chosen it.

Task

2006-04-11T01:30:00.000+02:00

I hear some people would find it easier to write if they were given a task. I did plan tasks for your blogs (that's what ELT blogs are all about), so here you are:

I would like to see a post on each and every blog of yours about the first book you read in English. What it was, why you read it, how you felt about reading in English and what it gave you as a language learner. I mean "real" book, not readers or magzines: a novel, let's say.

Mine was Steinbeck's East of Eden, and that was right after my matura, like 100 years ago. I wanted to have had that experience before entering my English philology studies. I went to Zakopane with my best friend (still!), and we walked the mountains during the day and spent quiet evenings relaxing after the turmoils of all the matura and entrance exams. And so I read it - from cover to cover. I was so absolutely proud of myself! I felt it was the tallest mountain I climbed that summer. The book was not probably the best choice for the start, but I just picked it off my Grandfather's shelf and followed His advice. Not that it was bad literature - I loved it. But it was not very easy to read and at some points a bit depressing.

Anyway, that's my story, and now I want to read yours :)

Some thoughts

2006-04-06T23:31:00.000+02:00

Ok, so the test was tough. Error correction? Well, a teacher who cannot see errors will be of little use to his/her students. This is the reason we have the task in the exam and in our grammar tests. You need to learn the skill, and that's it. As you could see, I omit mistakes too (e.g. "the Untied States" instead of "the United States" :) ) , and some of you spotted them immediately. But the ones which were intended for correction were often omitted.
Now, about your blogs: some of them are gaining momentum, others are still at the initial stage and nothing seems to be happening there. If you have forgotten your password, which I know happens, you can start again and I will put the new one on the list instead of the old one. Also, if you want to change the title of your blog, and the way it shows on our list, it is very easy to do: after you log in to Blogger, go to Settings (Basic) and change your title (and save changes!). The change will be automatically made in our links, too. Remember that your blogs have been published on the Internet for anyone to read. Some of them (just a few) are nothing to be proud of.

To end on the positive note, listen to a song from one of my favorite singers (in RealPlayer).

I love the way her English sounds.

Working on the grammar test

2006-04-04T00:47:00.000+02:00

Just a moment to take a break from writing the test for GRAMMAR. It's hard to match the test material with what we've been doing in class, especially if one wants to depend on real, authentic texts. But only such tests are worthwhile, really. They show how much of the things we worked on have found their way into your English "production." So thank God for the Internet and Google. And... brace yourselves - it's growing!

Many people do not see any difference between test tasks and practice tasks. For practice, you want to focus on a particular grammar problem and do not have to worry too much about things like reliability and validity. Testing IS a challenge. BTW, do you have any experience of writing (i.e. creating) tests? Did you find it difficult? If you have something to say about this, or any other comments on your experience as a "test taker," write a post in your blog.

First year without HIM

2006-04-02T10:29:00.000+02:00

2006-03-31T10:01:00.000+02:00

The blog project is ripening, and I must say that it is very interesting for me, as your teacher. Only now can I get to know you a little better, and most of you turn out to be very interesting people. Your ideas, interests, things you like and want to share, all this is a great lesson to me. And I hope you can find out about each other many interesting things, too.

A new task: please post at least one comment on somebody else's blog. Comments can sometimes turn into mini discussion forums, and that's what I like about them most.

ART

2006-03-28T22:36:00.000+02:00

One of my favorite paintings -

Marc Chagall's Blue Violinist.

Pure poetry

Waiting for your blogs

2006-03-25T10:25:00.000+01:00

This has been a hard week. I spent many hours in front of the screen to build various sites on the net for you. I hope that you will contribute the few minutes needed to build your blogs. If you need inspiration, click on the links on the right for blogs already running. For now I don't want to direct you in terms of content - write what you think may be interesting for the others (our recent grammar problem!), or what you feel like saying to us all. Share your experiences and reflections on your teaching practice (as Marta has), share links to sites which may be useful or just fun... Anything.

My first post

2006-03-23T22:38:00.000+01:00

Here we are, beginning our class blog. The class is actually quite big: three student groups at the Teacher Training College, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, Poland. We need to learn how to work with a blog in ELT. And it's going to be LEARNING BY DOING. I hope we are all going to enjoy the experience.