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SOL
 SOL – Sharing One Language
Centar SOL je neprofitna organizacija osnovana 1991. godine kao dobrotvorno društvo (charity) sa ciljem da omogući usavršavanje engleskog jezika što većem broju mladih iz zemalja centralne i jugoistočne Evrope. Oblast Devon, u kojoj se nalazi SOL, potpisala je te godine sporazum o bratimljenju sa mađarskom Baranjom, pa su, uvidevši ogromnu potrebu i želju za učenjem i usavršavanjem jezika, kao i  upoznavanjem sa kulturom i načinom života, počeli da dovode grupe dece i predavača iz Mađarske, a vremenom proširili saradnju i na desetak zemalja iz okruženja.
Cene njihovih kurseva prilagođene su životnom standardu u ovom delu Evrope, pa su neuporedivo jeftinije u odnosu na cene u bilo kojem jezičkom centru u Britaniji (u zavisnosti od broja polaznika i perioda održavanja kursa, cene se kreću između 200 i 400 evra i tu je uračunato sve osim avio karte: prevoz od Londona do škole, smeštaj u porodici, tri obroka dnevno, nastava, izleti). Profesor koji vodi grupu od 8 dece ide gratis (plaća samo avio kartu), a organizuju se i kursevi za stručno usavršavanje profesora  (Teacher Trainings). Takođe, SOL šalje i svoje predavače (native speakers) u državne škole u sve zemlje sa kojima sarađuju gde oni ostaju od jedne do četiri godine.
SOL se nalazi na tri lokacije u Devonu (jugozapad Engleske, oko 300 km od Londona): Barnstaple, Bideford i Tiverton, gradićima na obali Atlanskog okeana. Svakodnevno se odlazi na izlete u obližnja mesta gde se deca upoznaju sa njihovom istorijom, kulturom, ali i idu u šoping, na plaže i zabavljaju se!
Iskusni predavači nastoje da navedu polaznike da aktivno koriste jezik dovodeći ih u realne situacije i gradeći njihovo samopouzdanje. Kako sam se uverila prilikom boravka tamo, koncepcija kursa je sjajna jer su deci posvećeni ne samo nastavnici, već i porodice domaćina, pa i sami meštani: deca dobijaju zadatke (npr. ankete) koje treba da urade na različitim mestima u gradu, kao i da saznaju određene podatke od svojih domaćina. Na taj način, ona se stimulišu da komuniciraju, snalaze se, a zatim izveštavaju o svojim otkrićima i porede sa drugim grupama. Velika je prednost i to što se SOL nalazi u manjim mestima gde ljudi opuštenije i mirnije žive, svi su prijatni, srdačni i otvoreni, rado ugošćuju decu i posvećuju im svoje vreme. Nedelja je dan kada nema nastave i deca ga provode u porodicama koje se trude da im taj dan učine nezaboravnim.
Do sada je kurseve u SOL-u pohađalo 32 000 mladih iz 15 zemalja, a ovog leta prve grupe dece i profesora biće organizovane i iz Srbije!
Sve informacije o uslovima odlaska, boravku u Engleskoj, nastavi, cenama, terminima i ostalim detaljima možete naći na sajtu SOL-a : www.sol.org.uk, a ukoliko želite da se prijavite, možete poslati mejl na: international@elta.org.rs!
Podrinske, 2. april 2009.
Visit North Devon - Experience England
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Some people would say that all the important things in life happen by chance; others claim that perfect timing is essential – to be in the right place at the right time; there are those who think that explanation lies in happiness, destiny or God`s will,...
It all started last October at the IATEFL Hungary Conference when, attracted by the name Serbia at my name tag, a gentleman, Britishman, sat by me. We started chatting, exchanging impressions about the conference, then talked about school system in our country, experience in teaching English, etc. He told me his name was Grenville Yeo and that he was an executive director of a language centre SOL (Sharing One Language) in Barnstaple, North Devon. For the last twenty years, they have been organising students courses and teacher development courses and have had cooperation with more than one dozen countries from Southeast and Central Europe.
Although he often travelled and attended IATEFL conferences, he added, he had never met anyone from Serbia before. He was curious to find out as much as possible about us because, as he admitted, his notion of Serbia was based on media presentation in the 90ies. I realised that my `diplomatic mission` had been successful when he expressed his willingness to come and visit us! And, indeed,after he had met and talked at lenght with Ms Marijana Culic, the ELTA president and Mr Andrew Glass, the director of British Council, delighted by everything he heard and saw in Belgrade, he invited me to visit SOL...
While I am writing this report, I am still overwhelmed by impressions because I have just returned home after a week spent in Devon: first of all, forget about all the stereotypes you might have regarding British people as being reserved and cold – the reality is completely different! Much to my surprise, even the weather was not rainy nor gloomy, but pleasantly warm and sunny, so I could enjoy in the beautiful town of Barnstaple whose thirty thousand inhabitants are proud of because they won several awards including the prestigious Britain in Bloom National Winner Best Town in Britain and the World in Bloom competition!
During my stay, there were also groups of students from Hungary and Belorussia and everybody was devoted to them: great team of friendly SOL teachers, caring host families who would walk the children to and from school, excellent programme which included everyday excursions to nearby picturesque places, the final performance,...
Besides improving the speaking skills and boosting self confidence, the aim of the course is, as they put it, to get to know the British culture and the way of life. According to the students`evaluation and positive feedback and their experience all these years, they have been doing a great job!
As always, the best comes at the end: SOL is not a commercial school, they are registered as a charity which means their prices are much cheaper in comparison with other language courses in Britain. Their policy is to enable teachers and students from this part of Europe to experience Britain! Furthermore, a teacher who takes a group of eight students – goes gratis!
Mr Grenville Yeo and his colleague Simon Parker will be present at our 7th ELTA Conference in Novi Sad (22-24 May), so you will have the opportunity to hear all the details from them and, even more, if you are lucky enough – you can win the first prize at raffle party: the teacher course at SOL!
Until then – visit the web site: www.sol.org.uk
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