One of the amazing things about studying at Kings London is the social life. As an international student abroad, I have to admit that sometimes the opportunities to make friends are limited, but not at Kings!! Here we all are in the same boat and, knowing this, the staff at Kings takes a lot of time to create those opportunities that I was talking about. But of course they never forget to help us improve our English at the same time, and what’s better than learning? Well, in my opinion it’s learning while having fun!
One way to do that is to join the drama club. OK, it’s quite new but it doesn’t change the fact that you can meet other students, practice your English, and have fun. But I guess that if you are shy it may not be your cup of tea.
In that case, why not take part in one of the lectures given by a teacher? These take place twice a week and deal with a whole range of topics; from the subjunctive tense to British icons and British music from different eras or the story of the English language. I know that the word ‘lectures’ sounds a little bit more academic, but actually they are quite informal, very interesting and it won’t hurt your general knowledge of British culture!
Our view of the stage at the Lyceum Theatre
But Kings also offers lots of other possibilities, one of which I personally took part in last Thursday, when I was one of 30 Kings students who attended the musical ‘The Lion King’ in central London at the Lyceum Theatre. It was an incredible experience that brought back childhood memories filled with Disney cartoons. I was also mesmerized by the dances, the songs, the actors, the costumes, and the stage-sets – fantastic!
It’s great to know that Kings London staff are constantly thinking of opportunities for you to spend time with other students and to help to discover the new environment that will be for a few weeks or even a year, your new comfort zone.
Waiting for the performance to begin
Thanks to Kimberley for the blog and to Viktoria for the photos.
One of the many benefits of studying English in London is surely the free access to some of the world’s finest art collections in the many galleries in the capital. I remember studying art as a teenager in the north of England and wishing I could see the paintings I admired so much. So it was that, last week, one of the classrooms here at Kings London was transformed into an art gallery for an afternoon. The walls of Room 201 were adorned with the likes of Turner, Magritte and Van Gogh; not the originals I hasten to add! Here’s how it came about.
I’ve taught the lesson a few times now, as part of the afternoon Fluency and Discussion classes. These classes focus on verbal communication and interaction rather than grammar, loosely based around a given weekly topic. Last week’s topic was Art and Literature. Initially, I had my doubts about doing this lesson with my elementary level class, as I normally do it with higher level students. I decided to try it anyway because previous students had got so much out of the lesson; after all, why should any students miss out on Munch’s ‘The Scream‘ or Millais’ ‘Ophelia’ just because of their English level?
An important part of the lesson involves the students ‘becoming’ art critics, walking around the ‘gallery’ and commenting on the paintings they see. To help them identify what they are looking at, they are introduced to some of the more well-known art movements, e.g. Classicism, Surrealism, Pop-Art, each with a short description.
In the end, my doubts came to nothing. The lesson worked wonderfully. As I watched my Beginner and Elementary students walking slowly around the classroom gazing up at the Constables, Warhols and Chagalls, making and comparing notes, I allowed myself a smile. Why? Because there is something magical about a young Saudi student who is only just starting to put words together, choosing Magritte’s surreal ‘Hegel’s Holiday’ as his favourite because it’s ‘protection’ and it’s ‘rain’. Or when a quiet Taiwanese student votes for Constable’s ‘Study of the Trunk of an Elm Tree’ over Van Gogh or Warhol because it’s ‘strong’, which is surely what the artist originally wanted to convey.
It was worth it because, sometime in the future, those students will go back to their countries and, one day, in a busy street in Seoul or a plush office in Astana, or a board room in Kuwait, they will come across one of those paintings, and it will take them all the way back to their friends and their teacher, to their class, one wet Spring afternoon in Room 201 at Kings London.
Hello lovely readers, how are you all today? I’m shaking nervously to be honest. I have some bad news; I’ll be leaving in two weeks. Even though I’m going back to Switzerland for holidays, I won’t have time to write any further blogs because, when I get back I’ll be busy working and getting ready to go back to school at the same time. However, I’ve got some stuff to tell you before I leave. (more…)
Recently, in my Elementary class, we played a language game. It probably has an official name but let’s just call it the ‘Story Game’. The aim was to revise vocabulary we’d been learning that week, but it could work equally well at a party or in a pub, preferably after a few pints or whatever tickles your fancy – a strange idiom which just means ‘whatever you prefer’. As you’ve probably realised by now, English is full of strange idioms, perhaps because England is full of strange people! (more…)
I’ve been taking an English course at Kings London since January and have been learning a lot about the language. In my opinion, there are many similarities between English and German – my mother tongue. There are also differences, the main ones I can think of are, for example, the word order: in German, part of the verb often goes at the end of the sentence. Also, in German, every noun has a capital letter at the beginning, but in English that’s only for nouns which are the names of places, like London or Germany or The Alps! (more…)
