Břetislav SobekThe seventh English by speaking – English conversation club in Olomouc – took place on Tuesday 13th June 2023. During one hour attendees discuss a topic which changes every fourteen days. The event is educative.
The organizer is Břetislav Sobek. He has lived abroad multiple times. He worked as a Network engineer for the British Telecom in the United Kingdom.
Many people attended the event. In total 8 people came over. It was the first time the people were separated into two groups of 4. Bretislav Sobek considers it a success. He was also fortunate because one of the attendees, Mickey from the USA, was capable of leading the second group and led it.
Change of structure
The club had a strict structure at the beginning. Ten questions were chosen to be discussed. Attendees took turns in speaking. Bretislav gave the right to speak to others in the clockwise or anticlockwise direction.
There were some neutral reactions to it so it was a changed to a newer and better meeting structure.
The new structure consists of a plastic cup with 20 to 40 questions. Each attendee picks up a question. The question is discussed together.
Bretislav wanted to use a glass jar first. Unfortunately, he found out that his hand is thicker than the rim of the jar. In the end he decided to use a used plastic cup from yoghurt. The cup was wide enough.
There is one person guiding the discussion in each group. The guide tries to return people back to the topic and tell them when they divert or a new question is picked. The next reason for guiding the discussion is that some people speak a lot and some of them less. It is necessary to regulate it so that there is enough time to speak for each attendee and nobody feels left out.
The new timetable of the event means that English by speaking starts at 18:00. There is an introductory part for 10 minutes. Attendees get to know each other and do some ice-breaking. After that there is one hour of the guided discussion. The event ends officially at 19:15. There is free discussion and befriending other attendees from 19:15 until 20:00 when the cafe closes down.
Topic of the week
The topic of the week was Friends & Hobbies. Approximately half of the attendees were Czechs. The second half came from the USA, Kazakhstan and Japan. One Czech can speak Dutch fluently because she studies it at university. The American is a blacksmith. The Japanese likes photography.
The first group prefers solo hobbies as writing fantasy stories, building their own Hobbiton (Lord of the rings), photography and collecting banknotes.
There was also a question if there is a sport which can be performed without any equipment. It was difficult to come up with something. In the end they came up with jogging, yoga and exercising with your own body.
The second group had a question: “Is there an amount of friends which would be unmanageable?” and the answer was: “It depends. If it is considering only Facebook friends, then unlimited. But in real life 4 or 5 would be a lot.”
There was also a question regarding collecting stuff. We came to a conclusion that children always collect something and that the most usual thing to collect are post stamps.
Difficulties during leading the club
During holding the club, the organizer came across a few problems. One of them is how to lead the discussion in a reasonable way so that people stick to the topic. The second one is how to inform them not to interrupt each other while speaking.
Sometimes there was a person who the organizer labelled as a subversive element. He saw the subversive acts in keep interrupting others even after being warned multiple times or propagating commercial services at the event.
The organizer also found out that the smoothness of the meeting doesn’t revolve only around his capabilities. It also depends on who attend it. Some of them prefer being guided some of them not.
The organizer sees a challenge in how to work with various characters of people so that the goal of the meeting is kept. The goal of the meeting is a quality, rational and valuable discussion where each attendee gets equal time to speak.
I’m sorry but we don’t take reservations
Bretislav wanted to organize the club originally in Bystrice pod Hostynem. He was looking for a place to have it as well as for a sponsor for printing leaflets and other stuff. He did manage to find a sponsor. However, he didn’t find a place where it could be held.
All cafés apart from one (which was under the construction at that time) told him it wouldn’t be possible. At that time he considered Bystrice pod Hostynem as a place filled with intellectual obscurantism (dark age of thinking).
He didn’t know what to think of it for a long time and what was the reason the cafés didn’t want to cooperate. It brings guests drinking cups of coffee and free propagation on a fb invitation throughout the region.
Perhaps the enlightening moment was a personal encounter with a staff of one of the café in Olomouc and a consequent call with its manager. Bretislav Sobek went to a café to ask for a reservation for 6-8 people. It turned out they don’t take reservations. I shared with them why I needed the reservation. I got a promise their manager would call me.
The consequent call went like this: “As the young lady told you at the café, we don’t do reservations. Only 10 people and more. Don’t be angry.” It didn’t clear up things for Bretislav at all. So he decided to call the manager again and ask him why, the reason, they don’t take the reservations. The manager said: “You know, we have to spin the tables. We don’t have time for tables being blocked for 20 minutes when nobody comes over. Then we don’t have free tables for coming guests.”
* spin the tables = meaning to serve as many guests as possible in the shortest time the tables being occupied by the guests.
I understand that people should come on time when they reserve a table. However, the main issue here is that the only thing some owners of café are interested in is the revenue.
They do it at the expense of customer service. One of the services which Bretislav Sobek considers crucial is a possibility to reserve a table for a date or for an event. The only think which he sees behind the reluctance of booking a table is a simplification of work the café owners would have to do if there was a functioning reservation system. Instead they make up excuses why not to do so. Bretislav says: “And who has asked the customers what they want to? Who gave the right to the café managers to decide what’s the best of us?! Well, I have not!”
Expansion to other cities
There was a person who would like to open the same club with the same basic principles at a different city. Specifically in Prostejov. It had happened before as well.
Facebook group for attendees and the next meeting
There is a Facebook group for those interested in the meeting: English conversation club – Olomouc (English by speaking). Bretislav says it is advised to join the group. There is information about English as well as info about the upcoming events.
The next English by speaking 16. takes place on 6. 12. 2023, on Wednesday from 18:00 to 19:15 at KAFEC ve vile Primavesi, Univerzitni 224, Olomouc. The topic is Work culture & Looking for jobs.
The organizer encourages you to come over and will be glad if you do so.
