ul. Paśnikowskiego 4A, 20-707 Lublin
tel/fax: 527 88 17 / 534 08 99
e-mail: [email protected]
www.linguaton.pl
NEWSLETTER
EASTER 2013
Issue No. 59 – April 2013
EDITORIAL
Time is passing so fast that Easter is already round the corner. While winter is still
holding fast, it will soon be taken over by spring bringing us all a lot of joy and cheer.
In this newsletter we continue to share with you the memories of our teachers who take us
back to the beginnings of Linguaton and the pioneering days when the Internet was talked
about rather than used, when music came from tapes and records and when the batteries
for mobile phones weighed over 20 kilos. Hard to imagine, isn’t it?
What has not changed much is the spirit that Easter brings: deep sadness and
great joy. A spirit of victory and unlimited hope. This year’s material is specifically
addressed to those who wish to learn more about words and customs connected with
Easter all around the world. There are also ways to win nice Linguaton gifts. So check out
this newsletter carefully.
Finally, two of our students have contributed to this newsletter in words and in
photos. In a word, there is a wide variety of things to choose from. Enjoy your reading.
IN THIS ISSUE:
 News in Brief
 Memories of our
Teachers
 Easter Monday Egg
Roll
 Easter Crossword
Puzzle
 Is my money my own
property – by K.
Wiącek
 J. Jaworski’s photo
blog
On behalf of all staff members,
Stan Breckenridge’s new album Out of Love for Jazz, is now available. It
documents the concert held in December 2012 to mark the 20th anniversary of
Linguaton. The CD contains 15 tracks including his original compositions
(Waterfall and Latin Blues) as well as famous evergreens such as Summertime by
Gershwin and Take Five performed by the late Dave Brubeck.
Contact the reception if you are interested in getting the CD for yourself at PLN
30.00 only . The other CDs by Stan Breckenridge are also available @ PLN 25.00
each.
Out of Love for Jazz was recorded live and mixed by Piotr Bańka, Sky Media, Inc.
NEWS IN BFIEF
- Wayne Flint, currently staying in Valencia, Spain, is coming over to our school in mid- March. Acting as
visiting professor, Wayne will be taking classes of some of our teachers and bring in the very best of a native
speaker of English. Fluent in Spanish, Wayne knows from his own experience how to master foreign languages.
“You are the master of your fate,” says Wayne, “and mastery of English is a way to achieve it.”
-
Bartek and Iwka are planning visitations of our classes, so do not be surprised to see them in the corner of
your classroom making notes. Such visitations are part and parcel of our internal quality assurance system. There
will also be a series of workshops for our teachers held at Linguaton. In a good school of English, everybody is
involved in the learning process, and your teachers are no exception to it. On the contrary, they continue to develop
their skills, to expand vocabulary, and to improve class management techniques on a regular basis. This is the key
to their success and yours!!!!!
-
Mid term tests will be held right after Easter. Our suggestion is as follows: do not eat or drink too much at
Easter. Your minds must be ready for revisions and your bodies must show stamina and virility. Remember what
they said in Ancient Rome? Mens sana in corpore sano (a sound mind is in a healthy body).
LINGUATON – YOUR AUTHORISED TEST CENTRE
FOR TOEIC® and TOEIC BRIDGE ®
20 YEARS OF LINGUATON
You all know the story because you are part of it. However, you may not know how it began, and, naturally, no one
knows how it will end. Perhaps it will not . With your participation in our courses, the school will go on and on !!!!
Let’s take a look at the early days of Linguaton again as seen through the memories of our teachers.
Linguaton in the memories of our teachers
Mirella Dykiel (nee Czerwiec)
When Adaś asked me to write about my experience at Linguaton, I thought it should
not be too difficult - there was so much happening everyday that I would have more
than enough to write about. Initially I thought I would concentrate on one special event
from the time I taught there.
One that stuck in my mind. After musing on it for a while I came to realise that I was
unable to come up with one particular episode. Each of my weekly encounters with
my students and colleagues was an exceptional experience in itself and each constituted a memory worth recollecting. I decided, then, that it would be much simpler if I
concentrated not on the memories but rather on the associations that spring to my
mind whenever I think of this school. To be honest, the first thing that indeed hits me
is the atmosphere of the place. It has always been inextricably connected with the
people who are a part of this school. And I do not only mean the staff but also the students. They constituted a remarkable community of individuals which I vividly remember. Especially one upper intermediate group that consisted mostly of medical university graduates. One of them was Justyna - an enthusiastic doctor right after her
graduation. We became friends then and we have been friends ever since the time we met in the Linguaton
classroom. It has been 9 years. Now our kids are also friends. This definitely is the most important aspect of the
school - the people you meet when you enter this place. You can count on an extraordinary experience
(Lecturer in the Department of English, Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin)
The Biggest Small Rooms in the World – Edyta Frelik
Even if you consider yourself knowledgeable about history, the chances that you
know the very beginnings of Linguaton are slim. The story dates back to the ancient
times when it was possible to count the school’s students in the blink of an eye. I
was a fresh English Department graduate, optimistic and hopeful that my teaching
could make the world a better place. I was also seriously inspired by Adas, who
used to be my American Literature instructor at the university. A true original, unlike
anybody else on the faculty - asking students to address him informally ( per . . .
Adas, of course!) - he would talk to us about poetry and prose the way he tells you
about anything: entirely unconventionally but brilliantly effectively; looking you
straight in the eye (even if there are fifteen pairs of eyes to look into at the same
time); rolling on the floor to help us get the meaning of Moby Dick or organizing a class outdoors, on the campus
lawn, to bring us closer to Leaves of Grass. I knew that if I wanted to be a teacher with a difference, Adas was the
only possible model to follow.
Then I met Anetka who interviewed me for the job. Behind her probing professional questions, theoretical
classroom problems to solve, and detailed attentive observation, I sensed her flair and artist’s vision of a school that
would be more than a building housing an institution: a unique place where miracles happened in a cosy, informal
atmosphere. Anetka liked me and gave me a chance. And so I began working with my first group of students who
quickly turned into my friends – like many others in the 18 years that followed. There simply is no other way at
Linguaton!
The venue back then was the attic in Anetka’s and Adas’s house. Adas worked with his students in his office filled
with books. I taught in an adjacent room which off-duty served as a playroom for Monka, Iwka, and Przemek,
Adas’s and Anetka’s three cute kids. I can’t even begin to tell you all the things that were going on upstairs in those
two rooms – Linguaton’s first true classrooms. You felt that studying English is more than merely becoming fluent in
a foreign language: it opened your eyes, gave you confidence, made you believe in yourself and your abilities.
Suddenly the world was your oyster. Miracles did happen in those two biggest small rooms in the world.
(Lecturer in the Department of English, Maria Curie Skłodowska University in Lublin)
LINGUATON – YOUR AUTHORISED TEST CENTRE
FOR TOEIC® and TOEIC BRIDGE ®
EASTER MONDAY EGG ROLL
The original site of the Easter Monday Egg Roll was the grounds of the US Capitol. The first egg rolls – held
during the administration of President Andrew Johnson – were largely family affairs. Youngsters of the President's
family dyed eggs on Sunday and rolled them on Monday morning, while the First Lady would watch from the White
House. The workers and tourists watched in fascination as the children rolled both their hard boiled eggs and
themselves down the lush green hills.
By the mid 1870s, the children had turned the Capitol grounds into their Easter Monday playground. The egg
roll activity of 1876 took its toll on the grounds. This fact did not go unnoticed by members of Congress who passed
a law forbidding the Capitol grounds to be used as a playground. The law was to be enforced in 1877.
President Rutherford B. Hayes, taking his daily walk, was approached by a number of young egg rollers who
inquired about the possibilities of egg rolling on the South Lawn of the White House. Unfamiliar with the activity,
President Hayes returned to the White House to inquire about it. Having learnt some facts about egg rolling, the
smiling President issued an official order that should any children arrive to egg roll on Easter Monday, they were to
be allowed to do so. That Monday, as children were being turned away from the Capitol grounds, word quickly
spread to go to the White House!
President Hayes and his wife, Lucy, officially opened the White House grounds to children for egg rolling that
Easter Monday. Successive Presidents continued the tradition, and the event has been held on the South Lawn
ever since.
Nowadays, the children attending the event take part in many newer activities, but rolling a hard-boiled egg
across the lawn is still a highlight of the day. Presidents and First Ladies have personally greeted the egg rollers as
have members of the Cabinet, athletes, musicians, celebrities from film, television, and theatre and the official
White House Easter Bunny. At the end of the day as egg rollers say goodbye, each receives a special presidential
wooden egg with the signatures of the President and the First Lady and departs with fond memories of this happy
tradition at the White House.
EASTER CROSSWORD PUZZLE
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H
A
P
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1. a game in which children look for eggs which are hidden from them
2. an animal which represents Jesus
3. the suffering and death of Jesus
4. 12 men who followed Christ wherever he went
5. Sunday before Easter
6. symbol of abundant new life in ancient times
7. the day on which Jesus died
8. Saturday on which we have food blessed in churches
9. the meal eaten by Jesus and his disciples on the evening before his
crucifixion
10. a garden where Jesus went with his followers and where he was
betrayed by Judas
11. to rise from the dead (a verb)
12. the 40 days before Easter when some Christians eat less food or stop doing something that they enjoy
13. symbol of victory over death
14. White blossom which symbolises the purity of Jesus
15. a race, where children push an egg through the grass with a long-handled spoon
16. One of Jesus’ disciples, one who betrayed him
The first five students to send us correct answers to this crossword will receive attractive Linguaton gifts
THE CLUMSY EASTER BUNNY (http://en.islcollective.com)
There was once a small, clumsy Easter Bunny. When painting
the eggs he dropped the brush, or sometimes he got paint on
his nose and on his ears. He finally had a red nose, a yellow
or green ear, one blue and one white leg and a purple tail. All
the other bunnies were laughing when they saw him,
"Hahahaha, you've got a red nose," or "You've got a
yellow ear!" they laughed.
At the end of it the paint pot fell on the ground and there was a
large colourful puddle. “Oh dear”, cried the little bunny. And then he
crashed into the table and all the eggs that he had already painted, fell
down into a colourful puddle. Fortunately the eggs were not broken,
because the forest ground was soft with moss and grasses. Again, the
other rabbits laughed at the poor little clumsy bunny, and he was crying for
a long time. But when he started to put the eggs back into the basket, he
saw that the eggs had become very beautiful in the colourful puddle.
The eggs looked like a colourful rainbow. Small grasses and flowers were
on some eggs and under the grasses and flowers they remained white.
The others bunnies stopped laughing and were very quiet when they saw
how beautiful the eggs were. They really admired these awesome eggs.
On Easter Sunday the children looked for the Easter eggs and enjoyed the
beautiful rainbow colours and the grasses and flowers on them.
TRUE OR FALSE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
The little clumsy Easter
smiled.
Bunny was sitting behind a bush and
The bunny got paint on his
mouth and in his eyes.
 true
 false
The other bunnies were
laughing about him.
 true
 false
The paint pot fell down from the
chair.
 true
 false
All the eggs fell into the
puddle and broke.
 true
 false
The bunny was very sad.
 true
 false
Grasses and flowers were on
the eggs now.
 true
 false
The eggs looked like a rainbow.
 true
 false
Send your answer and win a small gift
Easter eggs – where do they come from?
Of all the symbols associated with Easter the egg, the symbol of fertility and new life, is the
most identifiable. The customs and traditions of using eggs have been associated with
Easter for centuries.
Originally Easter eggs were painted with bright colours to represent the sunlight of spring
and were used in Easter-egg rolling contests or given as gifts. After they were coloured and
etched with various designs the eggs were exchanged by lovers and romantic admirers,
much the same as valentines. In medieval time eggs were traditionally given at Easter to
the servants. In Germany eggs were given to children along with other Easter gifts.
Different cultures have developed their own ways of decorating Easter eggs. Crimson
eggs, to honour the blood of Christ, are exchanged in Greece. In parts of Germany and
Austria green eggs are used on Maundy Thursday (Holy Thursday). Slavic peoples
decorate their eggs in special patterns of gold and silver.
Pisanki eggs are a masterpiece of skill and workmanship. Melted beeswax is applied to
the fresh white egg. It is then dipped in successive baths of dye. After each dip wax is painted over the area where
the preceding colour is to remain. Eventually a complex pattern of lines and colours emerges into a work of art.
In Germany and other countries eggs used for cooking where not broken, but the contents were removed by
piercing the end of each egg with a needle and blowing the contents into a bowl. The hollow eggs were died and
hung from shrubs and trees during the Easter Week. The Armenians would decorate hollow eggs with pictures of
Christ, the Virgin Mary, and other religious designs.
For thousands of years, people thought of eggs as the symbols of new life. People also thought that the Earth
itself hatched from a huge egg. So that is why the egg was chosen as the symbol of the
resurrection.
Long before Jesus, people used to give each other eggs as presents. These eggs were
dyed or painted in fancy colours and designs. Some of the most elaborate and
beautifully designed eggs came from countries such as the Ukraine. The tool used by
the Ukrainians was called a Kistka. It's a brass cone mounted on a stick. The artist filled
this with wax and heats it so that the wax melts, the artist then draws patterns on the
melted wax. All the designs used have a religious meaning.
Every country has its own customs. In the Northern counties of England the children go around begging for eggs
and other presents and acting out the Pace egg Play, this was known as "Pace egging".
"Pace eggs" comes from the Hebrew word Pesach (Passover). In Scotland the word also appears as Peace or
Paiss. In Poland girls used to send eggs to their favourite boyfriends. Finnish children would beat the grown-ups
with birch twigs until they were given eggs for ransom
And what are your traditions connected with Easter eggs?
EASTER RHYMES
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A place to pray that rhymes with lurch.
A search that rhymes with bunt.
A jelly candy that rhymes with seen.
Coloured water that rhymes with by.
A season that rhymes with bring.
A flower that rhymes with silly.
What birds lay that rhymes with legs.
Another word for rabbit that rhymes with honey.
Something to hold things and rhymes with gasket.
The opposite of find that rhymes with side.
OUR STUDENTS’ CONTRIBUTIONS
Is my money my own property? by Krzysztof Wiącek
“The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money”
Margaret Thatcher
One of the most important components of civil liberties is the right to own property. It means
that as an owner I have the right to do with my property whatever I want. I have the right to
consume, sell, rent, or even destroy it.
A special kind of my own property is money I earned legally for my labour. According to civil
liberties I have the right to spend my money on what I want, invest it or even give it away. It is my
money. It is my own property. So what’s the problem? It turns out that I can’t spend my money in the way I like it.
First of all, I am forced to buy some compulsory insurance that I don’t need anymore. In addition, I have to pay
some extremely high excise taxes hidden in everyday used products such as fuel and alcohol. This is wasted
money. Money thrown down the drain. This is “normal” in socialism where the government knows better what is
good for me.
But that’s not all. I mustn’t spend my money on some kind of legal entertainment.
For example, I can play online contract bridge tournaments but I mustn’t play poker tournaments both online
and live! Both bridge and poker are similar nature card games of skill and chance, but according to the Polish antigambling act, playing poker is prohibited. Can you imagine that I can legally buy into the bridge tournament for
100zł, but mustn’t play for fun online tournament with buy-in amount 10 cents? Isn’t it ridiculous?
The cause of this situation is the stigma of “Wielki Szu” which made the image of poker as a very addictive
gambling game. The bad image of poker is a good excuse for politicians who want to “fight” against gambling
addiction (and gain voters). On the one hand the government wants to protect me from gambling prohibiting the
game of poker. On the other hand, it advertises a lotto game which is a purely addictive gambling game. All this
shows how big is the hypocrisy of socialist politicians.
As a consequence of this situation, all important Polish poker tournaments such as various championships and
cups are regularly organized in… Czech Republic (!). And players spend their money on accommodation and
other expenses outside Poland.
The solution is quite simple, but I am sure that is not acceptable for the government.
Just let the politicians leave our money in our pockets. Volenti non fit iniuria. I know better than others what is
good for me
Jacek Jaworski’s photo blog
Jacek believes that with his photos spring is bound to come quickly and stay with us here for at least two
months. We wonder whether you can guess where these photos were taken. The last one should give away the
name of the place easily.
Apparently, Jacek is also on a mission to encourage us all to GO GREEN and use bicycles – at least until we learn
to park our cars. It is a great pity that we never think of other drivers but park where it is convenient to us usually
leaving little room for others. So perhaps biking is the answer to our problems! :)
With spring coming soon, it is time to plan some outings.
Recommend a cycling route to us and win a Linguaton prize! Describe the route and the final destination in
150 words and send your description on [email protected] by 7 April. The most attractive places and the
best written essays will be shortlisted for a prize.
GIVE IT A TRY! AT LINGUATON, WE DO NOT TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE :)