Have you ever thought about knowing someone in depth just by knowing what books he or she reads?
Have you ever thought that you can really get to know certain introspective or experiential aspects of a person through an activity?
That's exactly what happens here at JUMP!
Last week we had the pleasure of hosting Barbara, a professor of religion and philosophy at a high school in Germany.
Unfortunately, it was a challenging week because it was the coldest week of the year, so we managed the circumstance in a "warm" way to better organize our activities to make her feel more comfortable.
The training course she attended was a Joyful English course, so we tried to introduce new activities to encourage her to practice English and improve her vocabulary.
So, HOW?
Thanks to our manager Erika Gerardini, we had the opportunity to dedicate a part of our session to the presentation of our EU-READ&ART project: The first European digital library of book trailers and creative expressions for adults.
Before starting the activity, we put one of our favorite books into a bag without showing it to anyone.
Then, walking into the room, we started talking about the first book we read in our life, or at least what we remember about, and why we chose to read it.
The result was a whirlwind of memories, experiences, and emotions we had experienced in our childhood, a quiet storm of sad and joyful feelings.
It was a special and unique moment because finding ourselves answering those questions, albeit we could have lied, we trusted, confided, and shared experiences and emotions from our lives that were very important to us.
Afterward, we exchanged the bags that contained our books.
By touching someone else's book, we had to imagine through our senses how many pages it might have and whether it was more or less new or old.
By reading the title or looking at the cover, we imagined the plot that it may have hidden on those pages and behind that author.
Soon after, it was time to explain the book's plot chosen.
Interesting stories full of intrigue and suspense that fascinate the reader and motivate him to read this masterpiece came out.
Finally, we went through the structure and some guidelines on how to create a digital book trailer.
I hope it was a constructive experience for Barbara, not only from a linguistic point of view but above all an opportunity to strengthen her cultural and linguistic skills and deepen her knowledge with the work and the contribution that we try to give every day to our society.
Author: Roberta Muratore, JUMP Team
