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[bobs12]

Anyone have experience setting up language clubs? Any ideas where to find speakers that aren't Mormons or missionaries?

If there is anyone in St. Petersburg here, please get in touch. I have premises at my disposal for use as a meeting place, and I want to set up an evening/weekend language club.

My ideas so far include-

Guest speakers- professional visitors to the city. My participants are all software engineers/IT specialists but are all super-clever and interested in everything, but presentations from anyone with a technical/scientific background would be great. Benefit for speakers? Er, introduction to interesting pople?

Tourist visitors to the city from any country- anyone who wants to tell about their own country and find out about Russia will be HUGELY welcome to come along and ask as many questions as they possibly can!

I've never tried this before, so I don't know whether it would be a success or not. Any ideas welcome.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

I ran a language club in Ukraine for a little over a year. We spoke mostly about current events, and almost half of every meeting consisted of them asking me about the US and differences between my home and Ukraine.
I would also bring in guest speakers (usually a Peace Corps volunteer or Fulbright), which the students really enjoyed.
Occasionally I would have one of the regulars run the club, and they would choose whatever topic they thought would be fun to discuss that week.
We also played Balderdash once in a while, along with other language games.
I would occasionally bring in photocopied American or British magazine articles and we'd discuss those.
And, once in a while (being Ukraine), we just went out and simply chatted over a pivo or horilka (and 2 packs of cigarettes each for them).

I think the attendees were so happy to hear a native speaker and practice their English for free, that the actual activities were of negligible importance to them (though I obviously tried to make them as enjoyable as possible).
Most of the people who attended my club were university students, so if you "advertise" at any of the universities I'm sure you'll get responses; I didn't have to as it was through my school. (Of course, people in St. Petersburg probably have more exposure to English than Ukrainians; but I'm sure it'll be a success anyway.)
Adding that you're not affiliated with any religious organization might prove helpful, too.
If you don't mind me asking, would you be charging for this club?

Best of luck with it bobs12.

[bobs12]

There will be no charge for the club, it's for the benefit of company students, and so won't likely be open to the public, for a start at least. If it works well, I have a cafe owner interested in hosting a similar type of event in another part of the city. That should also be free (people are sure to buy drinks, etc.) and I'll be using it to promote another upcoming event... Everybody wins. Seakers meet people, attendees practice English and meet people, cafe owner sells a few cups of coffee and gets publicity for doing something new, and I get to run ideas past people. Oooh, time to sleep

Thanks for good ideas. I knew a Fulbright guy over here, that gave me a nice idea about where else to find volunteers. Cheers!

[zaneth]

I'd like to nominate bobs12 for president of the Russian Association for Cooperation between Native Speaking English Teachers. Sounds like you're coming up with some cool ideas.

Wonder if we could collectively do some collaboration on materials writing, voice recording, etc.

First off, we'll need a naming contest for a snappy acronym-friendly name.(dangit, keep wanting to type 'anagram')

[bobs12]

Zaneth beat me to it!

Ideas from my last lunch break-

Foreign Association of Russian-based Teachers

International Foreign Association of Russian-based Teachers Living Overseas Under Duress

Russian Association of Native Teachers

I just keep getting this inexplicable feeling that people might make fun of our acronyms...



Thanks for the nomination Zaneth But do I reckon teachers really ought to pull together a bit here anyway. An organisation of some description is actually not a bad idea at all, we're professionals, we ought to have a union - St. Petersburg has SPELTA, I have yet to infiltrate their territory to find out what they do.

I'm planning a resources base for my site- should be ready in a week or two, soon as I get rid of various viruses on my laptop (going to write an article about computer security with a class soon, should be useful reading. site not affected!) that came from pirate CD's. It would be good to have a bank of Russia-specific lesson resources. I'll work it on a basis of 'send me your materials and I'll format them and upload them' basis. Authors will naturally have a prominent acknowledgment. Anybody interested? Ideas for organising materials on a postcard to the usual address please.

Voice recordings is a great idea- I'd love a collection of recordings of people with various accents (national/regional) all saying one or two identical phrases. Nail into these chaps once and for all that English is an international language.

There's a song/story like that in Scotland- goes round the most well-known accents and dialects.

[jpvanderwerf2001]

How 'bout CIS. Collaboration of International Schoolteachers?

[leaflet]

bobs12>> Love your new quote! Cracking up right now.