Last week it was Marija (not Neil – eventhough she introduced herself as Neil…) who took a LARGE group (around 40 students) to the Cock on Monday afternoon. There were a few requests for Daiquiris and other tropical drinks! Unfortunately, traditional English pubs do not usually serve cocktails and so the students had to settle for the more classical beers, wines and juices…! We also have a large group of Argentinian students at the moment, some of them just past 18 years old, and this did worry the barmaid as she didn't want to allow underage drinking in her pub: this is a serious matter in England! but all was well after Marija checked with the group leader. Other than that, all went well, but do remember, our social programme is a way for you to practise your English outside the school, as well as working on your social skills and discovering London… So don't stand in groups with people of your own nationality!! It just doesn't help you improve! The same evening we had another event: Hamlet, the famous Shakespeare play, at the National Theatre. Owen took 14 students to see this at a discounted rate of £10 per person. Now, I may add a warning for next time: Shakespeare plays are not the easiest to understand, because they are played in what is called "early modern English" – or the English of Shakespeare's time. Native speakers themself sometimes struggle to understand it. This could well be the reason why a large number of students left the theatre at the interval. I got different feedback from the play: Owen said it was a really good production and enjoyed it very much. The students were confused by the language, and the amount of unbroken dialogue… I will leave it at this, please do post your comments if you saw the play as I would love to hear more positive feedback! Finally it was my turn on Wednesday to take a little group to the Science Museum in South Kensington. I had a bout 6 students with me, and we ran out of time!! There are 4 floors in there, each with lots of interesting things on display, from energy/engineering evolution to personality tests and defining who we, humans, are… There's also an "Under the sea" 3 dimensions film screening (which we didn't see but looked interesting and good value). What surprised me most was that most of the items on display, including the enormous machines, are originals, which were used in the past. I was slightly annoyed at seeing video games consoles, which I used to play on as a child, being displayed: Surely I am way too young to have my toys in a museum!! Overall it was a good event though, so good the students stayed until closing time! Finally on Thursday Julia was supposed to take students bowling, but, apart from Dan, another teacher who fancied a game, no-one came!! The event was therefore cancelled, and the teachers went home. That was it for last week's events! This week we have, in this order: Drinks with Gavin, trendy Soho & theatreland with Owen & Jess, Football 6 a side (Argentina vs The Rest of The World) with Charlie and Gavin, and Afternoon Tea with Dan! Also to be noted: If you fancy going clubbing but don't know where to go, then how about a boat party on the Thames with "Lost in London", a company that specialises in organising club nights for foreign students! Tickets (£5) are available at reception! Have a lovely week! Oh and there are more pictures on the SGI website!
10 New Year’s Resolutions for Learning English
It is hard to believe but we have almost reached the end of