Thursday 25 September 2014

All work and no play... Experiencing British culture during your study visit.

So you're in the UK, studying hard for your language exam.  You're constantly thinking about vocabulary, grammar tips and listening practice, and free time is a distant memory.

Students hard at work

Then one day your teacher asks you a practice speaking question:

"Can you tell me about an arts performance that you attended?"

And.... your mind goes blank.  Performing arts?  When was the last time?  Back in school?  Before that?  Never?

So what do you do?
Do you describe a distant memory of a really boring school trip that you can hardly remember anyway, or is it worth trying to make something up?  Either way you risk running out of things to say really, really quickly.  And if it's in the exam that this happens, you could be stuck.

So, why not get out there while you have the chance and experience some culture!  Get out of your comfort zone (1), shake off the cobwebs (2), and find some opportunities to expand your horizons.

If you're based in or around Leeds, come into the city centre on Friday 3 October 2014 for the annual extravaganza (3) that is Light Night Leeds, when

"For one night only 
the city centre will come alive 
with spectacular large scale 
light projections, exhibitions, 
installations, film, dance, music, 
theatre and street performances." 

This year there will be a robot army in the streets, storytelling in the library, performance art about hair and hairdressing, the chance to make your own music, conduct a group of musicians, or draw with light.  - And much much more!  Whether you lean towards (4) the quirky (5), the moving, the thought-provoking (6) or the ridiculous, Light Night Leeds, now in its 10th amazing year, is bound to have something to meet your tastes.  Maybe we'll see you there!


Glossary:
(1)  Get out of your comfort zone - idiom.  Do something new and unfamiliar.
(2)  Shake off the cobwebs - idiom.  Become active again.
(3)  Extravaganza - noun.  A spectacular event.
(4)  Lean towards - multi-word verb.  Feel a preference for something.
(5) Quirky - adjective.  Eccentric, unusual.
(6)  Thought-provoking - adjective.  Causing you to pause and think.


Images taken from http://flickr.com/eltpics by @yearinthelifeof, @pysproblem81, @sandymillin used under a CC Attribution Non-Commercial license, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

Images are representative of previous Light Night events, but were not taken at Light Night Leeds.

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