Halloween story

Once upon a time there lived a young man. He was just an ordinary young man, Jack by name, who had newly arrived in small village at the edge of the earth. There was much work for him in this village, so he didn’t feel the lack of earnings. The dwellers were friendly and hospitable. And he was living in clover, but once at night he met a lovely girl near the well. Jack hadn’t seen her before in the village otherwise he would never forget such magic blue eyes. He hardly imaged that humans could have such eyes.

Jack could not but fell in love with this strange girl and scarcely rushed to her but she vanished in the darkness.

- Hey, guy, what are you doing there?

Jack gave a start and turned round. In the shadow of the nearby house an old man was smoking a tobacco pipe and watching him.

- Emm, didn’t you see a girl there? – asked Jack.

- A girl?

- Yeah, with long fair hair and bright blue eyes…

- No, I didn’t…but listen to me, youth. Come closer, - the old man beckoned Jack to come and started whispering. – Nobody in our village likes to recollect about it but it’s better to warn you beforehand.

- I simply want to…

- Hush..don’t interrupt me, greenhorn! Just listen. Hundreds years ago here lived a girl rather like your description. She loved a local guy and her love was mutual. Her envious sister who had fallen in love with this youth cursed the girl turned her to the ghost.

- Oh. It’s just rubbish!

- Maybe. But you’ve seen her. And as I remember, two years ago a guy disappeared on the eve of Halloween. So, I’ve warned you.

Jack was astonished and didn’t know what to say.

Halloween was coming. And the stranger appeared more frequently. Her pale silhouette was chasing Jack in his dreams and calling him somewhere. Sometimes he saw tears on her face.

It was a cold night on the eve of Halloween. The dwellers of the village preferred to stay at their home in safety, and the only one who dared go outside was Jack. The girl’s fancy was looming in front of him and the guy couldn’t but follow her. He felt that it was his mistake, he had to break the magic net but he seemed to have too little power. The only things which he had taken were a silver cross and a tiny phial with holy water. He hardly believed that they would be helpful.

When he recovered his consciousness he found himself in the heart of the forest in the middle of a gigantic net.

- At last you wake up. I have been waiting too long. And I have got hungry, - a disgusting whisper seemed to sound everywhere. Jack was seeking the source of the voice until he noticed a shadow under the enormous grey tree.

- Don’t look in her eyes! – The voice had roared in his head.

- What? Who are you? – Jack tried to turn his head but it had stunk to the net tightly.

- I’m the ghost who had decoyed you here. But I don’t want your death. I’ll help you.

- Why?

- You remind me my love.

With all these speaking Jack forgot about the witch who was now too close to him. Half a woman, half a huge spider with a poisonous smile on her lips.  Her quiet laughing scared the guy so much that he had lost the possibility to shout. Suddenly the sphere of soft light burst between the victim and the witch. She stepped back, hissing but the light helped Jack to free his hand and not wasting time he threw the phial with the holy water into the witch. The deafening scream carried far away in the forest and reached the village where frightened the dwellers. The last thing which Jack remembered before fainting was the bright light flooding the whole forest, the witch and him.

The villagers found Jack next morning on the forest edge. He was too weak and didn’t speak any more. He had lost his voice in the cursed forest. When the guy recovered he left the village and never returned in this land. And the peasants still  made guesses what really had occurred with Jack in that memorable night of Halloween.

Halloween Poems

 After the ball was over
Mary took out her glass eye.
Put her false teeth in water,
Hung up her hair to dry. 

Threw her peg leg in the corner,
Hung her wax ear on the wall.
That's why you'd never know Mary,
After the ball.

Вернувшись утром после бала,
Мэри сняла стеклянный глаз,
На полку челюсть положила,
Сушить развесила копну волос.

Искусственный протез оставила в углу,
На гвоздь из воска уши прицепила.
И нашу Мэри вряд ли я смогу
Узнать на утро после бала.

Some Words about School Practice №2

I’ve recently finished my practice at school. During this period I’ve got the experience of teaching the 11-grade students. Hence, one of the main difficulties was to make students do something, because they took me as their peer and didn’t see the necessity to listen to me as a teacher.

I don’t think that the foreign-language teaching at school № 19 is ineffective. Teachers of this school try to make their lessons as more effective as possible. Especially, I approve the usage of the Interprises and CD-discs. However, I suppose that students need more interactive methods of studying and more freedom, which support their individualities (it concerns the high classes). Besides, I would like to change the topics of lessons in the first semester. Such themes repeat from year to year and annoy the students. As for me it’s rather boring to speak about on the same thing each year (I mean the topic “School” and everything concerns it). Moreover, it would be great to use the Internet, presentations and so on at the lessons, but we are faced with the lack of technical equipment. And one more thing, which I dislike at school. It’s the lack of time and therefore the race for the curriculum.

What Makes a Competitive Teacher at Present?

Nowadays the globalization and the politic of the countries directed to the closest relationship in all spheres of life and the hard situation on the labour market has changed the usual question “how to be a good English teacher” to “how to become a competitive one”. Hence, a competitive English teacher should be a good one in any way. Now, let’s see what makes a competitive English teacher?

Firstly, any teacher should be a perfect psychologist. He or she has to feel the atmosphere of a class and know that each student is an individual. That’s why they need the special individual approach for more effective teaching. Besides, a teacher should encourage students in any situation and hence, be aware of the character peculiarities of each student and probably their relationship with families and other students.

Secondly, they require a competitive teacher to have different skills besides of the knowledge of the language. A teacher should have the public speaking skills because in some way a teacher is an orator whose audience is students and the aim of a teacher is to encourage and make the students interested in some points of the topic. Moreover, the dramatic skills can’t but use in the teaching. Every lesson is a kind of a performance and it also influences the attention of the students and increases their attention. And even the most essential skill is the organizational one.  A teacher is first of all an organizer who is running the whole teaching process.

 Thirdly, a really competitive teacher is such one who is increasing his/her skills during the whole life. I mean the participation in conferences of the profiled subject and the learning from different sources (for example, from the Internet or even from the students). 

So, a competitive teacher includes a good teacher because of the attitude of the government, the whole process of globalization and the high level of the concretion on the labour market. But nevertheless, the request to a competitive teacher is almost the same as to a good teacher. He or she should be a good psychologist, increasing all his/her skills during the whole life.