Hello!
My name is Andrea Ignaták,and I am a student from Slovakia,too. I study at Faculty of pedagogy, I chose the combination of English language and literture and Psychology. I think I chose an appropriate combination. I really enjoy it and I am interested in English language and psychology as well.
In my view learning languages is very important,and everybody should speak at least one more language not only their mother language. I like travelling,meeting people from different countries,different cultures and for this I need languages too,and I am very happy when I can have conversation at the other part of the world with people of different nationalities.It feels so good and they are happy,too.
The reason why I decided to take part in the discussions here is the fact that for summer holidays I use to work as an entertainer in hotels where the guest are mostly from UK and I want to learn more expression,maybe slang ones as well.And I believe here I can. And on the other hand as I mentioned it before I like to get to know new people and have nice conversation with them,to learn something new from them etc.



Best regards,


Andrea

Introduction

Hi everyone,

My name is Matúš Zimovčák and I study at Faculty of education, Comenius University in Bratislava.

I have always wanted to become a teacher, so I have decided to study at this faculty. My major study program combination is English and History.

I think that English studies are crucial for better understanding of our world, because the

 continuing process of globalisation is putting before us two important

aspects to consider. The first is, that mainly British and American cultural

elements are exported into the world, so it is important for everyone

to know where those various elements are rooted. The second aspect is,

that even people of other nationalities are using the English language

as a means to communicate their own culture to the others, therefore we

must study the language if we want to have meaningful relationships

with people living in this world with us. My family and my friends support me in my desicion, mainly my sister, who also wants to study English in greater focus.

Today the young people's interest in literature is gradually decreasing. They don't

see books as a meaningful way to spend their free time - for them, it is something

from the past, which doesn't suit the modern times. However, there still exists

a minority that finds some sort of spiritual fulfillment in literature.

The knowledge of English language is one of the foremost requirements in almost every

 kind of job. You often have to be a speaker of two foreign languages to get the

place you are applying for. My personal ambition is to be a good teacher of English

at secondary school, where I can help my pupils to prepare for their professional

life.

Matúš

Introduction

Hello everyone!

My name is Alexandra Šlapalová and this is my first year at Faculty of Education, Comenius University. I decided to study combination of English language and Psychology. English has been part of my life for 12 years and I think it would be a pitty to throw it away. I want to continue with it and use my knowledge in the future. There is no plan in my head, I have no idea what my job is going to be but I definitely know it has to fulfill me inside. English is going to be useful in any occupation I choose, because I would like to work with people where communication is needed. My family and friends fully support me in my decision. To add something about people´s perspective on literature, it is changing in Slovakia in a way it´s changing in most countries. The literary canon is becoming boring for young and by contrast the popular easy written literature is becoming interesting for them.
Alexandra

Introduction

Hi,

my name is Martin Lauko. I study at Faculty of Education, Comenius University. My major program is Psychology along with English language. I've been studying English for about 13 years and I realized that I will study it more deeply. On previous school I was satisfied with the conversation level (American and British lecturer's) but not as much with Grammar level. The main idea in our family was that I become a lecturer because my mother needs lecturer who will be able to learn English and Psychology is the best combination for me. I really don't have any idea what I will do after I graduate but one thing is clear. I want to get better at reading non-verbal communication in order to understand the personality of man/woman. The last thing I want to add is that I don't know whether people in our country are changing the perspective but I can surely see that Fantasy literature is very popular nowadays, mostly between teenagers.

Intro

Hi,

my name is Roman Humaj, I study at Faculty of Education, Comenius University in Bratislava. I have decided to study English language because I have been in touch with this language for a long time and thought that it would be good to study it deeper and more complex. To stick to the “layout” I will just mention that no one from my surroundings had anything against studying English and eventually teaching it. Personally I really don’t know if I will finish at Faculty of Education or I will move to other school and other program as my major, but if I stay I will probably try teaching, my major study program combination is English and History, so teaching either or both would be success, but we as teacher (even future ones) aren’t highly appreciated in Slovakia, not highly enough I think. Only time will show if I will use my English as a teacher or as a employee somewhere else.

Roman

Welcome to Slovak Students

The fall semester started in mid-August at Kennesaw State University (metro Atlanta area), so my students have already posted their introductions, and we hope that you can do the same. I will also be asking everyone to respond to at least 3 students in the other group. You are certainly encouraged do more responses and engage in an online discussion using the blog.

In this first discussion, we would like you to introduce yourself and share your perspective on English studies. You can post by clicking on "new post" on the upper right hand side.  You can use your first name only or your first name and the initial of your last name (there are several Rachels in the Kennesaw State group, so that may help) in the introduction. Please, also say a little bit about your interests or any other interesting facts about you. If you know how, you can also post a picture of yourself. As a contribution to the discussion on English studies, please answer the following questions:
1. What made you decide to pursue the English (English Education) major? (Some of my students are just English majors and some of them are English Education major)
2. How did your friends and family respond to your choice?
3. Do you think people's perspectives on literacy and/or literature are changing in your country? If so, how?
4. What do you plan to do once you graduate? Is expertise in English useful in the workplace in your country and how?


We look forward to hearing from you!

Dr. Katarina Gephardt and her English 2145 (Introduction to English Studies) class

(Please see our introductions below.)