For everyone interested in Cultural Diversities. To talk about Polish Culture and compare different cultures.

The actual story of Father Christmas Once upon a time, there lived a man called Saint Nicholas, who was famous for gift-giving. He lived in the days of the Roman empire, in a place called Myra, in what is today Turkey. In fact, he was born in around the year 270 which means that he’s oh, let me see, about 1737 years old. He was famous for being a very kind man, who was always helping other people. In one famous story, he dropped a bag of money down a chimney to help a young girl whose father was penniless. And this helps explain why children all over the world hang stockings on Christmas Eve by the fireplace, in case Father Christmas drops by and puts some toys and sweeties inside them. Nicholas became a Bishop - which is a high up official in the church. He lived to a ripe old age and wore a red cloak as his uniform. In the Netherlands and Germany, Saint Nicholas was known as Sinterklaas and became a symbol of Christmas which happens around the same time as his birthday in December. Every country has slightly different beliefs about the man we know as Santa Klaus. In Holland, Sinterklaas brings presents to every child that has been good in the past year. He wears a red bishop’s cloak - just like the original St. Nicholas - and he rides a white horse called Amerigo over the rooftops. He his helped not by reindeer, but lots of mischievous little followers dressed in dirty rags. In Germany, children don’t usually hang up stockings to collect presents but put boots on the doorstep. In Portugal St. Nicholas is the saint of High School Children, and his celebrations start at the end of November., And in some parts of Europe, Santa has a helper called Rupert who has a bunch of sticks and beats naughty children. But in most countries, people, don’t believe that Santa would ever do anything nasty to children, naughty or otherwise. It’s also widely believed that he lives in the North Pole. This might be because in Siberia in Russia - which is freezing all the year round - people used to believe in a mysterious holy man or Shaman who would come into people’s homes through the chimneys and bring red and white mushrooms as presents. All these stories started to get mixed into one big story. In 1822 The American Clement Clarke Moore wrote the poem called “A Visit from St. Nicholas” which describes Father Christmas as “chubby and plump, a right jolly elf.” Pretty much like we know him now.

• Are you unsatisfied with your level of Spoken English? • Do you want to become a forward-thinking speaker and reach to a great extent fluency? • Is joining English meetings very challenging? Is it difficult to participate and communicate efficiently? If so, my course is for you! Throughout my online course, participants will be able to ask questions before (in the courseware), during the Virtual Class (in the chat box), and after (in the courseware) For the duration of the six live lessons, I will show you exactly what you need to do to make fast progress and achieve your dream of being able to speak English spontaneously as well as naturally. I will go through the approach based on your learning style and show you the best methods and techniques so that you will make unbelievable progress. After completing this course, you will be able to: 1. Improve speaking competence and English fluency 2. Increase your communication efficiency 3. Clarify and ask Questions politely 4. Use strategies for making Small Talk effectively 5. Use expressions for Problem Solving 6. Get ready for a variety English speaking environments 7. Prepare for different Spoken English Exams and Interviews 8. Master your Public Speaking fluency Don’t miss this chance to learn exactly what you need to improve your English. Anyone can achieve an advanced level and further, and this course will show you how as well as help you to expand your language skills. For the duration of the six live lessons, I will show you exactly what you need to do to make fast progress and achieve your dream of being fluent English speaker. About the course: I offer: • Six Virtual Interactive Classes. All classes will be recorded for those who cannot attend. • New Technologies such as Videos, Blogs, Social Media and exciting assignments are counted in. • The long-lasting right of entry to the course materials. • The best for pre-intermediate or intermediate learners who want to get to a higher level. The classes will be given one time a week every Saturday at 17.00 pm UTC/GMT for six weeks. This course is for Pre-Intermediate to Advanced English Language Learners. Participants should be able to speak with the fundamental English skills. Target audience: • Are you nervous about communicating in English with foreign colleagues? • Do you have a good command of English, but feel like your flexibility may be lacking? • Would you like to learn how to sound more natural when making small talk and discussing problems? • Do you feel the need to improve your conversational skills? Enroll now. Halina Ostankowicz- Bazan

In the classroom, technology can encompass all sorts of tools from low-tech pencil, newspaper publisher, and chalkboard, to the utilization of presentation software, or high-tech tablets, online collaboration, and conferencing tools, and more. The new technologies allow us to try things in physical and virtual classrooms that were not possible before. What you use depends fundamentally on what you are attempting to reach. The best teaching approaches for my learners are speaking as well as listening strategies. Apparently we run-through presentations, discussions, conversations, dialogues, teamwork and case studies. I would like to point out that I just use actual, real texts, from the books, newspapers, the song’s lyrics, movies. We often take advantage of different kinds of listening comprehension such as listening to the news, interview presentations, et cetera. In my view, the most imperative teaching method is encouraging students and motivating them to be active learners.

Online education is a type of distance learning---taking courses without attending a brick-and-mortar school or university. Instead, online students and teachers interact over the Internet. Types of Online Learning Online programs follow standards, but the academic expectations differ greatly Online education can be as effective as in-class instruction Advantages: Students can study anywhere as long as there is access to an internet connection Can work at own pace Can accommodate different learning styles through different activities Flexibility in class time Disadvantages: Lack of personal community and connection (bad for blended learning) Focuses on memorization over learning core competencies Underutilized talents and facilities Too much downtime Mobile can be an “issue” in itself No way to ground social networking and web 2.0 tools Overall, there are both positives and negatives to online education. The student chooses Good Experience Not for everyone

Opportunities and challenges for online education. We have a chance to move forward from a teacher-centered to a learned-centered model of instruction. Online learning is an excellent opportunity for educators to implement learner-centered pedagogies that promote active, constructivist, and inquiry or problem-based pedagogies. The students take an active role being constantly involved in the learning process through their experiences. Some learning activities are hard to perform in a real environment because of high expenses, lack of infrastructure availability or terrible performance.

We are observing “a revolution in education.” We know that improving technology play a distinctive role in the evolution, and traditional foundations will face challenges in the future. In my presentation, I discuss some initial findings on the future of the 21st-century education. As a passionate teacher, I am interested how do I best educate my students? It is not about what I teach, but about how I teach them.

The presentation is about how to communicate efficiently and the ways of improving communication skills. My online activity inspired me to get reverting to my earlier research about effective communication. From my view, connecting with the use of the Internet seems to be creating new questions about the way people communicate.

Easter observances in Poland actually begin on Ash Wednesday, when pussywillows called in polish "bazie" or "kotki" are cut and placed in the water. These pussywillow twigs are used later on Palm Sunday as "palms" to be blessed in the church, because palms are not available in Poland. Holy Week (Wielki Tydzień) begins on Palm Sunday, which is a commemoration of Christ's entry into Jerusalem. High Mass features a reading of Christ's Passion. During the Great Fast it is customary to participate in special religious observances such as Stations of the Cross, Bitter Lamentations, and an annual three-day retreat which closes with the reception of the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. The Easter season ends on Easter Monday when the traditional "Smigus-Dyngus" custom is observed.

Many people recognize that each person prefers different learning styles and techniques. Learning styles group common ways that people learn. Everyone has a mix of learning styles. Some people may find that they have a dominant style of learning, with far less use of the other styles. Others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances.

The Central European country of Poland, celebrates its New Year on the date of January 1st. The time in and around New Year is excitedly awaited by everyone in the Poland. New Year's Day, out of its traditional relevance, is also called as St. Sylvester's Eve. According to legends, it is associated with Pope Sylvester I, who supposedly caught a dragon named Leviathan.

Songs Are The Art Of Speaking I have been using songs to teach English and Polish for a long time. Personally I firmly believe in the power of good music as well as in the power of well-written lyrics. Songs may help with learning pronunciation and can be the inspiration for extraordinarily interesting, challenging discussions. Different topics often inspire students to talk about various issues and problems, often sharing extremely different perspectives. That is why songs are also materials for practicing conversational skills.

Education, English, Teaching, Learning, Music, Songs, Methods, Movies, Conversational English, Music in English Teaching,