Dear friends of the English language and lovers of all things innovative.
We would like to inform you about the innovative and relaxing Walk & Talk course that we implemented, which was a success despite the fact that we literally moved the date by five minutes to twelve one day due to inclement weather.
But for those who know the crazy April, even the change of the date did not cross the plans, on the contrary, on April 30th - on Sunday shortly before noon, we all, i.e. organizers and participants parked their cars at Zoch's chalet, in the well-known recreation centre in the Small Carpathians.
Our course started by meeting at the Zochova chata parking lot above Modra. The participants were delighted, laughing and in the mood for hiking towards the green mountain meadow Čermák. Unsuspecting, full of expectations, but ready for a stay in nature.
The expedition with a number of ten people - consisted of 8 adults and 2 children, Alicka and Milanko, who fit into the group of adults like a puzzle, because they were very well involved in the activities prepared by the two present lecturers, who left nothing to chance 😊.
Do you know the characters YOU2 and NOTYOU? If not, no matter, it's still not too late to get to know them. In addition to the expedition that took the hiking trail, these two characters were the main focus of the stories that the participants worked with.
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It is already worth mentioning that the whole tourist crossing and the conversations between the participants were in English. The main characters were embedded in stories "from life" with a perspective on life of their own, with an attitude towards themselves, simply put, YOU2 as an optimistic person and NOTYOU as his counterpart. Speaking of stories, one can literally identify with the characters in certain situations. The author of the 9 principles of a modern man Learn & Lead stories is Janka Chynoradská, the director of Harmony Academy and the leader of the whole crew, who was complemented by Sonia Petrášová and Vicki Plant in the creation. All the suggestions and themes for the stories were really drawn "from life". It was Janka and Sonia who were present at our pilot event and assisted the other participants in the analysis of the two stories. If you asked the youngest participants after the event about the most interesting moments from the event, they would characterize both YOU2 and NOTYOU with the utmost precision and they would easily assign to each of them the 9 principles of a modern man with the idea of "Learn&Lead" / "Learn&Lead". However, it is not only about the 9 principles, but also about the so called "anti-principles", which sometimes in life can cross our path perfectly, but with a dose of reason and heart one is able to get on the train to a more content and happier life.
Few of those present were expecting the so-called programme, which was controlled but still spontaneous, constantly conducted in English, and the fact that the group flashed impeccable teamwork is very much justified. What emerged was a unique combination of the best of hiking and English conversation, resulting in thinking, reflecting and pondering in the English language. The contribution of childlike reflection in the form of Alice and Milanek to the analysis of the persons in the story of two adults with their characters and approach to life, was a tremendous enlivenment to all. The way they were able to express their views on the stories in English is all the more motivation for what we hope will be further successful Walk&Talk courses.
The participants were certainly delighted by three nice stops, the so-called refreshment sessions, during which the atmosphere was really calm, relaxed, cheerful and everyone enjoyed it. Afterwards, the group again embarked on the next kilometres, sharing each other's feelings from the current day and following the lecturers, who moved the plot of the activities and the whole hiking naturally forward. Suddenly a completely different situation from the one at school, without a blackboard, or from the one at work, from behind their screens, with headphones in their ears.
Five hours of English conversation combined with a 10-kilometre hike, with three sessions for a small snack, a climb to the top of Skalnatá Hill, teamwork, spontaneous reactions and discussions in English, all this was experienced by the participants of the pilot Walk & Talk, innovative and relaxed, different from the traditional courses.
And what was the reaction of the participants to this course? Simply put, that it exceeded their expectations, that in addition to the gentle but unpretentious hiking, they enjoyed the stories they analysed, thought about and expressed themselves about in English.
Our dear supporters, don't despair that you didn't take part in the Walk & Talk pilot, we have some very lucrative walking trails coming up for you in Slovakia, and we'd even love to take you to picturesque Scotland or Ireland, where Walk & Talk can really have that perfect atmosphere, combined with the English language, with activities that will quite naturally foster in you the desire to communicate in English, to interact with other participants, to get to know each other and to feel comfortable.
This course is also suitable for companies that want to realize a unique teambuilding with their employees, to "pull" their employees out of their offices or production halls and give them a space where they can literally clear their heads, have fun, create a perfect team together and discover a greater desire to communicate in English.
We will inform you about other similar events and news well in advance so that you can plan your time with us, your time with the Harmony Academy team.
A summary of our participants' reactions to the Walk & Talk pilot event can be found HERE.
