Talking Points – Part One
Umeå Folkuniversitetet will host a course spanning 7 lessons looking at everything from Shakespearean sonnets to the poems of Emily Dickinson and the nonsense verse of Spike Milligan; from Gulliver’s Travels to the lyrics of Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan.
Who is it for?
If you can read this without google translate, your English is probably good enough. Preferably you are B2 aspiring to reach C1 (intermediate speaking and reading levels) or a native speaker. The conversation will seek to include everyone. If you are unsure of your current language level, you can read more about the levels and take our free online test here.
Course material
In each seminar we will generally look at three texts based around a theme, such as travel, the seasons, war, grief or romance. Some seminars will feature a single poet, and explore half a dozen of her/his poems, or we might just look at one single book or short story (an example being ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, which is a novella that we will examine chapter by chapter and drill down into the prose).
The full range of material covered by this course will be posted here in early August, two months before the first lesson. It is likely to include writing by William Shakespeare, John Donne, Jonathan Swift, William Wordsworth, Jane Austen, John Keats, Christina Rossetti, Alfred Tennyson, Emily Dickenson, Edward Lear, Beatrix Potter, Lewis Carroll, William Butler Yeats, Virginia Woolf, Dylan Thomas, Cole Porter, Alan Sillitoe, Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, John Lennon & Paul McCartney, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Seamus Heaney and Carol Ann Duffy.
Working Methods
The course is entirely in English and is run by a native English speaker with extensive teaching experience. Material will be read aloud, followed by discussion to explain and explore the text which everyone can participate in, sharing their reactions and perceptions.
You will be assigned material to read every week, the longest of which might be a short story, but will more usually be specific passages from books or poems. If you are unable to read the texts, you will still be able to participate in the seminar.
Class size is between 5-15 students.
Aims of the course:
- to develop your knowledge of English culture in many aspects
- to build your vocabulary
- to improve your ability to participate fluently in conversation and discussions
This is just the first season of the course, and future seminars will be designed and shaped based on feedback from participants. This course belongs to you!
How to reserve a spot for the course
Securing your spot for the course is a breeze – simply click on the vibrant "Boka Nu" button featured on this page. You will receive a summons with more information about the course, as well as the invoice, via email approximately a week before the start date.
Course leader
Sebastian Secker Walker graduated from Oxford University in 1983 followed by two years at UCLA film school and then enjoyed a career in London as a television screenwriter, script editor and subsequently a teacher.
In addition to four years lecturing in screenwriting at the Royal Holloway University of London, he has seven years’ experience of teaching English literature in a secondary school, taught regularly at the London Film Academy and set up the screenwriting programme at the Central London Film School.
Since moving to Umeå four years ago he has been writing a TV drama series set in Britain and Scandinavia and has also organised several Shakespeare workshops for Swedes exploring Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has taught three screenwriting courses at Umeå Konstskolan and ran a course earlier this year at FolkUniversitetet entitled ‘Female English Writers in the 1800s’.
Questions?
Contact the language department:
sprak.umea@folkuniversitetet.se
Kursledare
Sebastian Secker Walker
-Born and raised in London, I have a deep love of English drama, literature, poetry and song combined with extensive teaching experience. If you like English and want to deepen your appreciation of the beauty of the language and culture, come to my classes!
I am a television writer who has also taught creative writing and English Literature. In Umeå I know that many people love English culture in its many aspects and would like to learn more about it, whether that means Shakespeare or Jane Austen or Beatles lyrics.
My course will be a series of themed literary workshops at which participants will have the chance to fully understand the meaning and power of English from different periods of history and different places. A glossary will be provided with each text and the discussion very inclusive, to ensure that anyone who arrives with a reasonable grasp of English will improve and enrich their understanding.
Sebastian Secker Walker graduated from Oxford University, spent two years at UCLA film school and then enjoyed a career in London as a television screenwriter and script editor. As well as four years lecturing in screenwriting at the Royal Holloway University of London, he taught English literature in a secondary school for seven years. He also taught regularly at the London Film Academy and set up the screenwriting programme at the Central London Film School.
Since moving to Umeå four years ago he has been writing a TV drama series set in Britain and Scandinavia and has organised several Shakespeare workshops for Swedes, exploring the plays Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Har du frågor?
Kontakta Folkuniversitetet i Umeå