Last Wednesday the first “Pacific Coffee Break and Study” met in the Pacific Coffee shop on campus. ELC teachers Marie Webb and Kerry Pusey, who are hosting some of the ELC Fall 2013 Semester Events, met with 13 students that attended the first meeting.
Snacks and good stories were shared as students got to know one another and made new friends on campus. Many of the students realized they had more in common than they had previously thought as they exchanged information about experiences both on- and off-campus.
Both the teacher hosts and students enjoyed getting to know one another and sharing their experiences at UM. Students expressed that meeting informally through this group helped them to practice their English skills because they often find themselves speaking only Chinese outside of the classroom. Such opportunities for speaking English in more natural settings in Macau are limited, and students felt that the group was an exciting way to practice English as well as to simply have fun and relax.
The next “Coffee Break and Study” is on Wednesday October 23rd. Students interested in attending can bring homework and ask questions or they can just come and hang out while eating snacks and talking to one another. On October 23rd, Marie Webb and Kerry Pusey will bring a game for students who want to relax and chat in English. This group encourages students to continue meeting outside of the classroom to work on homework with friends!