A few days ago I got swallowed by the black hole of club data, a huge folder with hundreds of documents – drafts for blog posts, stolen images, poster designs, and photos taken during club meetings. As I took a closer look at those photos, I realized how valuable they are. I found eternalized moments even from the very first month of TAKE FIVE. A wondrous idea struck my mind: why not make a short video that could present the club as it really is? No words, only pictures to show the unsuspecting visitors how these Thursday evenings have been going on for years. Here it is.
Category: Through My Eyes
Diagnosed with SLA
I remember my English class in first grade, elementary school. We played a game. If the teacher said ‘yes’, we had to jump towards the windows. If she said ‘no’, then jump towards the door. I also recall sheets of paper with color blots on them. They were lined up on the chalkboard ledge. That’s how it all began. Six years later three of us took part in a local English competition. My teacher had a dream. She imagined us winning the first three places, and even had an order in her mind. To our astonishment, it all came true. It was hard to believe first. However it happened, it was the first real impact on my English studies. The next one came when I went to high school, and my placement test returned with the best result in the class. On top of that, I had the most fantastic teachers from the very first moment up to the final exam. I could write tens of pages of stories, and I’m just a drop in the bucket.
Two weeks ago we went around the room and everybody had a chance to tell their stories regarding their language studies. It was incredible to see how many different ways there are to acquire a foreign language. First of all, Fanni familiarized us with a bunch of linguistic expressions, such as the one in the title: SLA, which stands for Second Language Acquisiton. So, it’s not the name of a serious disease. We discussed what an important role our enthusiasm and persistence plays in the process of learning. Moreover, we posed the question: is there an aptitude (inborn ability) for language-learning?
We concluded the conversation by sharing one of our best and worst experiences with foreign languages. For instance, spending half a year in a native speaking environment, or getting a terrible teacher who makes you hate the language.
During the second half of the session, we played a funny game. I don’t think it’s my invention, but I swear I hadn’t looked it up before the meeting. So… I bought a few thick A/4 sheets of different colors, and then we cut them into small cards. First, we made three teams. Everyone got four cards and had to put down a single word, an expression or a saying on each of them. Then we collected the cards, shuffled them, and dealt them out randomly among the teams.
“You go on a blind date. You arrive at the café/restaurant and accidentally go up to the wrong girl.” This was the beginning of the story. The three teams had to continue the story using all the words and expressions on the cards, then present it in first person. One of the teams wrote a poem…
It’s that much fun to attend the TAKE FIVE club!
The Trumpet Lady
Why I don’t believe in coincidences? I was walking around in the city with Nóra before the club meeting. No sooner had we reached Vörösmarty square than we heard somebody playing the trumpet. It was a middled-aged woman. We were standing meters away from her, and I said to Nóra: ‘I wish she played Take Five.’ When she finished, I walked up to her and dropped some coins into her box. We exchanged a smile, but not a single word was spoken. I turned around and went back to Nóra. That was the moment when the woman began to play Take Five. How is that possible? She had surely been playing for a while, and when we got there, she started playing the music I wanted to hear. On top of that, it was Thursday afternoon.
Day one: Back on track
Ladies and Gentlemen, we proudly announce that we have successfully re-launched the world-famous and highly acclaimed TAKE FIVE – English Language Club! After endless months of dire anticipation, the club has eventually regained its strength and emerged from the swamp of oblivion.
May 17th, 2012. This was the day of the last meeting that was followed by a break, more than half a year long.
What was the reason behind the shutdown? After months of grueling work, I realized that I no longer had the capacity to run the club all by myself. I found that the only way to continue was to recruit at least one co-organizer who could even take over the club in case of my absence. Fanni was the first to take this position, although we didn’t manage to restart the club during the previous semester. Then came Zsuzsi who also offered to play an active role in organizing.
Three people proved to be enough to pull the chairs together, plug the stereo in, and start Take Five.
It was a euphoric feeling to walk along the way up to the room. I stopped in the center and slowly looked around. Everything seemed as if we’d never left. The chairs rested along the walls. The two lamps, the stereo and the good old cardboard box were also awaiting us. What’s more, we found the legendary red metal box with a considerable sum of money in it. I did a little shopping while Fanni got ready to receive the early birds.
To my surprise, quite a number of people had already gathered when I arrived with the bags. The clock soon struck six and nothing but English could be heard thereafter. Despite my predictions, the session went seamlessly with a total of 12 visitors. We will keep advertising the club both online and on street posters. The latter is “on the drawing board”.
The show must go on. See you next Thursday!
TAKE FIVE — English Language Club 