Christmas is slowly knocking on our door, and each of us is looking forward to those moments of joy, peace, and peace that reign in our families. The end of a year that is inexorably approaching is also an opportunity to look ahead and take steps to improve the living conditions of ourselves, our families or our communities. White Church is one of the fastest growing villages in the region and is naturally undergoing its development. Its inhabitants will certainly benefit from the fact that already from the new year 2022, the English courses of the proven Harmony Academy language school are opening directly in the newly established primary school in the village. How did this idea come about and what can people expect from this initiative? We interviewed directly the director and lecturer Jana Chynoradská, who will teach the selected courses in the first batch in person from January.
How did you think of opening courses at the White Church? What preceded it?
The idea of setting up an operation in the White Church matured in me gradually. At the end of spring of this year, when my husband and I were thinking about ending our operation of the Harmony Academy in Trnava, we decided to donate an interactive whiteboard, white boards and other additions to the classroom equipment to the primary school in our village (White Church).
Since the outbreak of the corona pandemic, we tend to walk around the village in the evening, and on one of these walks at the beginning of November this year, the debate began to move towards how quickly and how much our village is growing. We walked among the new houses and apartment buildings, and when we were in the "In the limelight" section, the thought of opening English language courses right here, in our White Church, came to mind. The speech revolved around what is changing in our country and what is emerging, what opportunities our time offers for us, citizens.
What is the current school year for your language school?
Despite the receding pandemic, we decided to pull Harmony online only from the new school year 2021/22. In September, we opened our 22nd school year and launched language and development courses for companies and the public. During the pandemic, we have deepened and refined our ability to work with new technologies, to work creatively in an online environment, and to encourage our students to embrace the pitfalls of our time and walk with us towards the future. Every day we teach several dozen hours of English, German, Polish, French and Slovak to foreigners through modern screens and travel to their premises to see customers. Since January, therefore, we have been looking forward to the opportunity to welcome our students directly to the White Church and thus open an in-person form of teaching, of course, if the situation allows. We are also ready to start courses in the White Church temporarily online if necessary.
What do you bring to the White Church and what do you expect from it?
From January, we are launching our first language courses for children, young people and adults, and throughout 2022 we will gradually diversify our offer. We will open the courses every month and adapt their content, frequency as well as layouts to those interested.
People can already look forward to the HARMONIAD 2022 English Olympiad for children and youth, which is scheduled for the month of May, the summer school of English for children, youth and adults, the autumn international benefit bazaar and the Christmas party in the English style.
As far as my expectations are concerned, I believe that even with this small drop in the ocean, we will contribute to improving the quality of life of our people in the village and its surroundings, increase the interest of adults in lifelong learning courses, which undoubtedly include language learning, and strengthen the language skills and talents of our children and youth.
Thus, you enter the White Church in the "front line" and you will teach the courses in person. What is your experience and what can you tell potential students about yourself?
I have been working in language education since 1993, when I first entered the class of fifth-graders at the primary school in Jama in Trnava as an unqualified English teacher. English and pedagogy captured my heart, so I graduated from the Faculty of Education of Comenius University and, after a short stint in public schools, I founded my first language school, Harmony School of English, in September 2000. More than 28 years have passed since then, and I feel just as passionate and excited about interacting with students and students in the classroom as I was then.
Today I am much more experienced and knowledgeable, which helps me achieve excellent results with different types of pupils and students. I have passionate professionals around me who can captivate, teach, develop the creative and linguistic potential of our trainees. I create a lot, I travel and I'm still learning. Today, Harmony provides its services to customers all over Slovakia and we operate in the EU region with the offer of training for teachers and school heads.
It can be said that with om happy teacher and Iam happy when I can bring other people a good feeling, inspiration and knowledge that increases their quality of life and opens the door to the world for them!
Thus, everything indicates that a few classes in the primary school in White Church will already come to life in English in January 2022, and the first students will be able to start their English studies under the guidance of a real professional. Perhaps this initiative is being launched just for you, so do not hesitate to enroll yourself or your child now. Enrollment is currently taking place online. For each course, you can directly select a subpage and register directly through it:
English Courses for Children Academy Stars
English Courses for Junior Teen
English Conversation Courses Share
For those of you who are interested in getting as much first-hand information as possible, we also note the Online Open Day, which will take place on Thursday, December 16, 2021 on the ZOOM platform from 17.00.
The first lessons will take place already in January 2022, and more will gradually open, at the suggestion of the people who choose our services. I will be happy to provide you with more information in person, by calling 0918 132 709 or at the e-mail address petra@harmony.sk.
Thank you for your favor and we look forward to seeing you!
