2025/26 Winter Term
September: A Great Many Laughs – Why Humour Matters
October: The Great Outdoors – The Beauty of Ireland
November: Great Minds Think Differently – Eccentrics, Outsiders, Visionaries
December: Great and Small – The Season of Giving and Generosity
January: Great Dames and Kings of Crime – 50 years after Agatha Christie
2025 Summer Term
27.02.2025: Countries – Can we compare Britain and Germany today?
27.03.2025 Clubs – Can we find better ways to share our passions and ideas?
08.05.2025: Cultures – Can Native Americans and other indigenous communities get a voice?
22.05.2025: Choreographies – Can we ever understand the fascination of film, theatre and dance?
03.07.2025 Cruises – Can we uncover the magic of the sea and sea voyages?
2024/25 Winter Term
September: Breakaway to Exotic Destinations: Dreaming of Faraway Places
October: Nostalgia Break: Revisiting Childhood Films and Memories
November: Election Breakdown: Analysing the Outcomes of the US Election
December: Breaking with Tradition: Unconventional Christmas Practices
January: Groundbreaking Insights: Uncovering the Secrets of Body and Brain
2023/24 Winter Term
Sep: Climate, Energy, Tourism, Peace… – What is Sustainable Living?
Oct: Travel, Career, Hobbies, Adventures… – What’s on your Bucket List?
Nov: ChatGPT, Postcards, Letters, Voice Messages… – What’s Communication like Today?
Dec: Wishes, Music, Recipes, Business… – What does Christmas Mean to You?
Jan: Traditional, Sacred, Personal, Crazy… – What Role do Rituals Play?
2023 Summer Term
Feb: Today is a Gift; That’s Why It’s Called the Present – How to Make the Most of Our Time
Mar: Today’s News is Tomorrow’s History – Stories, Secrets, Scandals
Apr: Today’s Social Dynamics – Woke Culture, Cancel Culture, Polarisation, Political Correctness
May: Today’s Travel Adventures – Destinations, Discoveries and Travel Tips
Jun: Today’s Sporting Events – The Olympic Games, The Paralympics, The UEFA Euro Championship
2022/23 Winter Term
22.09.2022 Who’s to say? – The Future of Europe
27.10.2022 Say cheese – The Magic of Photography
24.11.2022 Needless to say – Consumer Trends 2022
15.12.2022 Never say never – Unlikely Events, Rare Occasions
26.01.2023 You don’t say! – Surprise, Surprise
2022 Summer Term
The New English Club (B1/B2)
17.3.22: Lively and Energetic or Hysterical and Bossy – How Gender Shapes our World
7.4.22: Living Life to the Full – People We Admire
12.5.21: Alive and Kicking – What Keeps us Happy and Healthy
9.6.22: Live Performances – Why We Love Artists, Musicians, Stand-up Comedians…
2021/22
The New English Club (B1/B2)
11.11.2021: Skywards and Starwards – The Importance of Imagination
09.12.2021: Streetwards – Famous Roads, Avenues and Alleys
13.01.2022: Backwards and Forwards – The 1920s and the 2020s
27.01.2021: Homeward and Heartward – The Idea of ‘Home’
2019/20
International Literature (B2/C1)
VHS Essen I Wed, 9.30-11.00
In this conversation course students choose topics to discuss based on personal interest or curiosity. We prepare short stories, novels, theatre plays, songs, poems, essays or film scripts at home and exchange ideas about what we have read in class. To lighten things up, we use a variety of different media (e.g. film scenes, cartoons, paintings, podcasts, quizzes) which help us to compare and contrast texts from different cultures and times.
2019/20
The New English Club (B1/B2)
Oct: None the Wiser? Try Proverbs and Idioms.
Nov: For Wise Guys: Loan Words
Dec: Whiskey & Wisdom: The Scottish Highlands
Jan: Spend it Wisely – Time
2019
The New English Club (B1/B2)
04.04.2019: Stormy Debates – Important Ethical Concerns
02.05.2019: The Calm Before the Storm – Climate Change
06.06.2019: Storming to the Top – Digital Technology Companies
04.07.2019: Stormy Applause – Success Stories of British Writers
2018/19
182.4G652E 26.09.2018 – 26.06.2019 I VHS Essen I Wed, 9.30-11.00
2018/19
The New English Club (B1/B2)
182.4G600 Winter Term 2018/19 I VHS Essen I Thu, 18:40-20.10
20.09.2018 Just Me, Me, Me – The Importance of Personal Skills
11.10.2018 The World, You and Me – Environmental Issues
08.11.2018 He, She, Me – Men and Women in the 21st Century
06.12.2018 Not Me!?! – Eccentric People
10.01.2019 Imagine Them and Me – Fantasy Stories, Films and Series
2018
The New English Club (B1/B2)
181.4G600E Summer Term 2018 I VHS Essen I Thu, 18:40-20.10
22.2.2018 Magnificent – The European Cultural Heritage Year 2018
22.3.2018 Magical – The World of Harry Potter Revisited
26.4.2018 Marvellous – Our Favourite Comedians
17.5. 2018 Masterful – Books Made into Films, Films made into Books
28.6.2018 Monumental – Cornwall and Scotland
2017/18
International Literature (B2/C1) – The (Hi)Story of the USA
172.4G552E 27.09.2017 – 27.06.2018 I VHS Essen I Wed, 9.00-11.20
This conversation course takes us to the shores of New England, the wide prairies of Montana, the skyscrapers of New York City, the tundra of Alaska and the walls and fences on the Mexican border. We will travel through 400 years of US history and use fictional and non-fictional texts, paintings, songs and films to explore the concept of ‘The American Dream’.
2017/18
The New English Club (B1/B2)
172.4G500E Winter Term 2017 I VHS Essen I Thu, 18:40 – 20:10
21.09.2017: Trump and Twitter – Politics and the New Media
19.10.2017: The Beatles and the Bathtub Singers – Famous Musicians and their Fans
16.11.2017: Proof and Prejudice – Knowledge and Ignorance
21.12.2017: Chocolate and Chilli – Traditional and Unusual Food
18.01.2017: Rockets and Robots – Science Fiction and Future Technology
2016/17
International Literature – The Legacy of the British Empire
162.4G560E VHS Essen, Start: 14. February 2017 I Wed, 09.00 – 11.20
What does it take to discuss non-European cultures from an unbiased, non-Western perspective? This course offers a brief introduction to the concepts of colonialism, decolonization and postcolonialism and a broad selection of modern cross-cultural literature. Core text: Caught between Cultures. Colonial and Postcolonial Short Stories. Klett, ISBN 978-3-12-577512-1
International Literature – South Africa Today
162.4G560E VHS Essen, Start: 14. September 2016 I Wed, 09.00 – 11.20
The old apartheid days are over, but Dr. Frank Eloff is disillusioned and has long given up hope that things might change for the better in the remote South African hospital where he works. When young Dr. Laurence Waters arrives, decided to make a difference in the former homeland, things soon get out of hand… Core text: Damon Galgut, The Good Doctor. Cornelsen, ISBN 978-3-06-034162-7
2016/17 Winter Term
The New English Club (B1/B2)
162.4G510E VHS Essen, Start: 15. September 2016 I Thu, 18.30 – 20.00
15.9.2016 Long-Running – The Best TV Series Ever
17.11.2016 Long-Awaited – The New US President
15.12.2016 Long-Living – Traditions We Cherish
19.1.2017 Long Gone – Dinosaurs, Video Recorders, Typewriters
16.2.2017 A Long Way from Home – Famous Travellers and Explorers
2016 Summer Term
12.03.2015: The Art of Great Painters
16.04.2015: The Art of Surviving in the Internet and Social Media Jungle
21.05.2015: The Art of Writing Great Books
11.06.2015: The Art of Speaking a Foreign Language
2015/16
International Literature – WELCOME TO THE 21ST CENTURY, WILL!
152.4G608E VHS Essen, Start: February 2016 I Wed, 09.00 – 11.20
400 years after William Shakespeare’s death in 1616 his works still have the ability to thrill modern readers and theatregoers and inspire modern writers and film makers. We are going to discuss modern adaptations (novels, crime stories, parodies, songs, films, cartoons) based on Will’s greatest hits.
International Literature (B2/C1) – HARPER LEE’S AMERICA
152.4G608E VHS Essen, Start: 09. September 2015 I Wed, 09.00 – 11.20
Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1960) takes us to the American South, where a small-town lawyer fights against racism, hatred and injustice. We are going to discuss the book and its historical context and compare it to excerpts from the newly discovered sequel “Go Set a Watchman” (2015). Core text: Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Diesterweg, ISBN-13: 978-3425049687
The New English Club (B1/B2)
161.4G510E VHS Essen, Start: 18. February 2016 I Thu, 18.30 – 20.00
18.02.2016: Together and Apart – Canada and the USA
17.03.2016: Together in the United Kingdom – Ireland and Scotland
21.04.2016: Celebrating Together – Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus
19.05.2016: Laughing Together – Jokes around the World
16.06.2016: Words that Go Together – English Idioms