Intercultural Festival

The festival of intercultural communications (English and German languages) among students of general secondary educational institutions was held in the Lepel district for the sixth time. An intercultural festival is a dialogue that students conduct in a foreign language. On stage, schoolchildren prove themselves as speakers, tour guides, journalists, actors... A good command of a foreign language, pronunciation quality, and artistry are necessary conditions for a good performance. After all, without communication, even the most "vibrant" language can disappear from the linguistic map.

We discuss the competition results with Kristina Iodo, an English teacher at Secondary School No. 3, whose students from grades 7-10 won in the "Mini-Theatre" nomination.

There are five nominations in total: "I am a Guide" (to talk about the sights of countries where the language is spoken), "I am a Speaker" (a person I am grateful to), "Press Centre" (school of the future), "Star Factory" (song or dance performance), and "Mini-Theatre".

One of the main selection criteria is the authenticity of the work (depending on the chosen language), plays or stories from English or German literature. After long deliberation, we decided to stage the gothic-humorous novella "The Canterville Ghost" by the 19th-century Anglo-Irish playwright Oscar Wilde. We prepared for a long time, staying after classes with the children, rehearsing roles and stage movements. The script itself had to be reworked several times, and music had to be selected.

Irina Kunchevskaya, a teacher of vocational training, helped create the costumes. Last year there were four theatre groups, this year there are two. Besides us, there was a group of students from Secondary School No. 1. "Mini-Theatre" is one of the most exciting, yet at the same time, challenging formats.

After all, children are all different; some are a bit shy on stage and get nervous, some may forget their lines at the most inopportune moment. But we have retained the "core" from last year, when we won the district festival with the play "Mowgli" and performed at the regional level. The competition was very tough – educational institutions from Vitebsk, Polotsk, Orsha… I would also like to mention our other prize-winners – the participants in the "Press Centre" nomination and Yana Strelchenko in "Star Factory" won third place, and in the "I am an Orator" nomination, Andrey Kraskovich also became a two-time prize-winner.

The children also performed well in other nominations. English teacher Valentina Logantsova prepared the winners in the "I am a Guide" nomination: Alexandra Kamenskaya, Anastasia Shershnyova, Ekaterina Kapshul, Alexandra Kunchevskaya. The young "English speakers" presented the national cuisine of English-speaking countries. Nikita Karaban took second place in the "I am an Orator" nomination, and second-degree diplomas also went to David Dymman and Ksenia Galuzo.

…In addition to the first prize-winners from Secondary School No. 3, Ksenia Samokhval ("I am an Orator", Secondary School No. 1), Artem Pshenko and Kirill Strizhnyov ("Press Centre", Secondary School No. 1), Maria Zakharinskaya, Anastasia Sezdina, Alexander Novsky ("Star Factory", I. M. Erashov Gymnasium), Diana Yeritsyan ("Star Factory", Borovaya Secondary School) will also perform at the regional level.

Interview by
Evgeny NIKOLAEV.
In the photos: moments from the participants' festival performances.