Dancers from Playhouse on Vimeo.

We’ve talked a lot here about how to learn English and study in Dublin. But we know that you have other talents too – the photograph competition a few months ago was very exciting!

When you live and study in Dublin, it can sometimes be difficult to find ways to express your creativity. It’s a new city and you have lots of classes and part-time work but there are lots of fun things you can do without taking too much time from your studies.

Here’s some suggestions for ways in which you can join in with Dublin people and make your creative mark on the city.

•    Have you seen how colourful Liberty Hall is recently? You can join in if you have a laptop and some funky ideas.
Go to the website and follow the instructions and your ideas could be up there for everyone to see:)

•    The National Art Gallery programme runs free drawing  programmes, check their website for details. It changes every month so you’re sure to find a style which suits you!

•    Do you like singing? The best karaoke experience in Dublin takes place at the Village, on Wexford Street every Sunday. This is rocknroll karaoke with the Kings of Leon, the Killers and even U2 on the list.

•    Or you could try the Open Mic at O Donoghue’s Pub.  They welcome everyone – singers, comedians and musicians.

WEEKEND TIP

Do you have a car? Book your tickets this week for the Drive-In Movie Night at Farmleigh House next weekend! It’s free but there is only one ticket per car and they sell out fast.

The Music Show is on at the RDS this weekend. Concerts, seminars and workshops on all kinds of music are taking place over the two days. You can buy one day €12 or weekend €16 tickets and the ticket covers everything so once you’re in you don’t have to pay again.

Irish Postcards

Did you make it out to some of the Guinness celebrations last night? There were some great bands so we hope you had fun!

We know you love talking! And sometimes it’s good to practice your English outside school too. One way is to join a conversation group in Dublin so that you can make new friends and find a way to practice English without worrying about exams.

Some good places to do this in Dublin are:

•    Havana Tapas Bar on South Great Georges street. It’s just around the corner from Abbey College; there is an English session every Wednesday from 17.30 to 19.30.
•    Join a Meetup Group. These are informal groups of people who meet up for activities and fun. This group is for practicing English but there are lots of others which are mostly free to join. Choose from English, photography, dancing, sports and many many more!
•    Every library in Dublin runs Language Exchange nights for free. The closest library to Abbey College is in the Ilac Centre on Jervis street.

WEEKEND TIP

Tonight is Culture Night. Museums, galleries and theatres are staying open until midnight so you’ve no excuse for missing out. Click here to find a list of events and opening times for 120 venues around the city.

Culture Night is also taking place in Galway,  Cork and Limerick so this could be a good weekend to go exploring the countryside.

Chatting in Dublin

Time to take a look at another one of your classes! We have already talked with teachers and students from the Beauty and Makeup course and the Business English course here at Abbey College.

Over to the English department and the FCE (First Certificate in English) class:)

The FCE exam is for those of you using English at an Upper Intermediate level who need to improve for using English at work or in your other studies. The exam was updated last year so not it’s more practical and focused on the kind of English you really use every day. This means that students can enter the class without taking the exam and still learn a lot.

We talked to your teacher Jane, and this is what she had to say:

‘ Right now, there are 18 students in the class. It’s great because we have people from South America, Asia and Europe so discussion can be really interesting especially when we talk about controverisal topics.’

She says that the class covers all aspects of English from speaking and listening through to reading and writing all kinds of work. Students learn idioms and colloquial English as well as more doing more formal written work – this is great for students working here in Ireland who need to have ‘the craic’ with local people as well as writing exams.  Jane says:

‘ We work together on the course using PowerPoints and prepared material.  Then we do one hour of Students’  Choice where I answer their questions. We work on grammar points or discuss activities to do in Ireland. Lots of students say they enjoy learning how to apply the colloquial English.’

Having a class which is a good mix of General English and exam work means that everyone gets something out of the day. Even Jane:  she says that discussing topics with the students inspires her to travel more and she learns so much about your cultures every day

WEEKEND TIP

The Dublin Fringe Festival continues this week. Watch out for the Gorilla Choir or Whiplash at the Civic Offices Amphitheatre

And on Saturday, you could try the Bull and Castle near Christchurch for some free music and funky dancing?

What do you think about your English class?