“St. Barbara“ sends its protégés to England for them to attend an English language course there

OSTRAVA/BRIGHTON – For someone, it may be just bothering, but for someone else, it is a welcomed opportunity for improving his or her education. One way or another, the language traineeships have become a permanent part of the St. Barbara Civil Association’s work. The organization, which helps children from miners’ families who have lost their father due to a work injury, sends a few of its protégés to such courses every year. In July, thanks to the St. Barbara Civil Association, the sisters Adriana and Renata Furendová from Karviná and Nikola Kakáčová from Havířov spent a month in the beautiful seaside towns of Brighton and Hove. And in spite of studying hard, they also brought a lot of experiences from England.

“The host families welcomed us warmly and took care of us perfectly during our whole stay there. The only weak point we found there was the English cuisine, based mainly on semi-finished products, which is unusual for us,” they said after they returned home.

They also liked the school. On the first day, they wrote a placement test, and afterwards, they were assigned to groups. “The study was very interesting to us. It included various teaching methods and topics: grammar, listening, dialogues, games. The Language Teaching School, which we attended, ranks among the schools attended by students from all over the world. Therefore, we found friends among the Spanish, Brazilian, Italian, Turkish and Swiss students, as well as students of other nationalities,”  the miners’ young ladies described the study method.

“We wish to thank the St. Barbara Civil Association and namely, those who make contributions to our organization, and thanks to whom we could spend an unbelievable month full of great experiences in England. Thanks,” wrote  the grateful protégés of the St. Barbara Civil Association, whose main partners are OKD and its corporate foundation.

According to Josef Hoďák, Vice-Chairman, St. Barbara Civil Association, the holiday language courses rank among the key activities of the Association. “They are associated with the main objective of the St. Barbara Civil Association to enable mining families’ children, having no father, to achieve the best possible education,” explained Hoďák. “Since at present the good English knowledge is increasingly one of the main preconditions for getting a job, the miners’ orphans have, thanks to the St. Barbara Civil Association, a greater chance of a successful life start,” said the Vice-Chairman.

(Bohuslav Krzyžanek)