(англомовна версія інтерв’ю)
Британець Гаррі у ліцеї лише три тижні, але у деяких учнів уже справжній прорив – вони подолали мовний бар’єр і рухаються далі у вивченні англійської мови, адже наш англомовний гість уміє зацікавити.
Зі слів ліцеїстів, це надзвичайно позитивна та життєрадісна людина, яка ніколи не відмовить у допомозі. Тьютори стверджують, що він – справжній англійський джентльмен. Викладачка англійської мови – що це професіонал своєї справи, який знаходить підхід до кожної дитини і може визначити рівень її знань за лічені хвилини.
У Гаррі 28 років педагогічного стажу. Він переїхав до Умані кілька тижнів тому і ще не знає української мови. Ми поспілкувались з британцем та дізнались, які фішки він використовує у навчанні, як потрапив до ліцею та що радить своїм учням.
p.s. Переклад інтерв’ю українською мовою можна знайти тут.
— Harry, please tell us, how did you get in Uman?
I met my wife online. I fell in love and decided to come over here to meet her and she came over to England and stayed with me for many weeks. After that I asked her to marry me and she said “Yes”. I sold everything in England and moved over here. So it’s a love story.
— Tell us a little about yourself. What are you interested in?
I love animals, all the animals: cats, dogs, pigs, goats, sheep… But especially dogs. In England I had four rescue dogs (dogs that needed homes – ed.) and I loved to spend time taking them for a walk and taking care of them. But I also like sport: I like football and I like cricket. Unfortunately, in Uman, there is nowhere to play cricket, but in spring, I’m hoping to be able to introduce the game of cricket to some students. And then, perhaps, we would be the first Ukrainian cricket team.
— What do you think distinguishes the Ukrainian Agricultural Lyceum from an ordinary school?
I think the students are here because they want to be here, because they enjoy learning. In the ordinary school, most of them are well behaved, but they don’t have the same energy, the same desire to study.
— What are the features you are using in study?
While teaching, I like to feel that my students are engaged, that they are interested in what I’m talking about or what we discussing or writing. In England, we have two phrases that we try to make sure we test our students on in every lesson. That is a stretch for students’ mind and challenge them to speak, to answer the questions. So two things I do for when I’m teaching is a smile on their faces and something at the end of a lesson I can say “What have you learnt?”, and they can say “I’ve learnt this and this”. And the other thing I do I bring a suggestion box. So the students can write on little pieces of paper, they don’t sign it, what’s going well in this lesson and what needs to be better. Then I read it and try to make my lessons better.
— What are your impressions of the lyceum?
I think the lyceum is wonderful. In England, I taught for 28 years in good college very much like this. Much larger, but very much like this. I think that the lyceum has a wonderful atmosphere, I think that you could almost touch the energy here. There is something vibrant here. But the students! Students are the center of the lyceum, and the students are the most friendly, well-mannered, engaging students I’ve met for many-many years. I really like it here. I think it’s a wonderful place. I think learning here is fun and I think it is conducive for education, advancement and enjoyment.
— What can you advise to those who want to learn English by themselves?
The key factor is speaking and getting confident that you pronounce words in the proper way. So the advice I give to students: if they study on their own they should make note of anything they are unsure of and come and ask. Of course, they can study on their own, but they need to have a native speaker or someone who speaks the language so they can get feedback.
It is important to speak English today, because the world tends to be dominated by this language: America, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Britain… And it seems to be the language of business. But also people have to know their own language, because if there are gaps in their own knowledge of their language with reading, writing or speaking, then it makes it difficult to learn another languages.
