Summer Work and Travel Presentations

The US Consul, Ms. Lauren May and officers from the Consular Section of the US Embassy are holding presentation at all four American Corners about the Summer Work and Travel Program.

This is the schedule of their presentations:

• American Corner Tetovo: March 11, 2010 at 06:00 PM
• American Corner Skopje: March 15, 2010 at 06:00 PM
• American Corner Stip: March 18, 2010 at 02:00 PM
• American Corner Bitola: March 25, 2010 at 06:00 PM

For American Corner Stip

It is our pleasure to invite you to our presentation on USA Summer Work and Travel programs. Lauren May, a U.S. Consul, will present detailed information about application procedures, criteria for applying and will also explain the experience that applicants can gain by taking part in the program.
The presentation will be held on March 18th at 14:00 in room number 4 (campus 2).

Speaking Contest Workshop

The "Cross Country Discussion" exercise

Once again, the American Corner was just not big enough to accommodate everyone that came to learn how they can improve their public speaking skills, in order to apply to our English Speaking Contest!

English Language Fellow Mary Bromwell

The workshop, led my ELF Mary Bromwell started with two videos of a good and a bad public speaker – the audience was asked to comment their styles an give them a grade from 1-5. Mary then covered the basics of Public Speaking: what to do and what not to do; getting the audiences attention, using gestures and movement, voice variations, choosing an interesting topic, using a “hook”, as well as tips on speech delivery.

PCV Elizabeth Hanely, who is leading the Kids Club at the American Corner, shared her story telling tips. YouTube videos were used to illustrate the examples for what does it mean to be a good storyteller.

Elizabeth giving Storytelling tips

Strahil Todorov, who is a debate coach form a youth organization in Veles, delivered an informative speech for the audience and then shared his tips.

Strahil Todorov delivering an informative speech

Ivan Mickovski and Vesna Velevska, also debate coaches from the Youth Educational Forum gave a presentation that started with the presenters answering their cell phones and chewing gum, as a way of how NOT to start your speech. Their presentation then continued with tips on how to deliver a successful persuasive speech.

Ivan Mickovski and Vesna Velevska giving examples what NOT to do

At the end, there were several speaking games prepared for the attendees: from delivering a persuasive 1 minute speech on “Which profession should be saved if the world came to and end, and why”, to talking about something that you are worst at – as if you are the best, trying to talk to your partner at the end of the other room, while the others are interrupting, speaking for 30 seconds without using filler words Umm, Like, Ah, Er and lost of other fun, but useful activities.



Here are some examples of their speeches:

American Corner Skopje 5th Anniversary Contest!

English Speaking Contest Information


1. PURPOSE

A. To provide an opportunity for speakers to improve their speaking abilities and to recognize the best as encouragement to all.

B. To provide an opportunity to learn by observing the more proficient speakers who have benefited from their English education.

Along with a certificate from the US Embassy, Contest winners in both categories will also win an Ipod Shuffle

2. APPLICABILITY

Contestants must fit within the age/grade requirements of the contest level that they wish to compete in. Junior contest applicants must be between the ages of 12 and 14 . Senior contest applicants must be between the ages of 15 and 18. All applicants must be English as a foreign language speakers, with their mother tongue being a language other than English.


3. RULES AND REGULATIONS

A. Students who wish to participate in the English Speaking Contest must complete an English Speaking Contest Participation Form and return it to the American Corners by the date indicated on the form. People who have not returned a form will be ineligible to compete.

B. Presentations will be 3 to 5 minutes in length. Participants will lose points from their score if they go below or over the allowed time. A green sign will be held up once the participant reaches 3 minutes. A yellow sign will be held up at 4 minutes. A red sign will be held up at 5 minutes.

C. Participants may choose to present in any of the following formats:

1. informational,


2. persuasive,


3. humorous speech,


4. storytelling,


5. poetry recitation, or


6. literary reading.

All content must be original, or as in the case of poetry recitation and storytelling, credit must be given to the original writer.

D. On the day of the contest, the judges will randomly determine the order of the contestant’s presentations in a way that is fair and unbiased.

E. As this is an individual competition, students must present by themselves. Group presentations are not permitted.

F. Students may use 3 by 5 inch note cards to refer to as notes during the presentation. Please note that students will lose points for referring to their notes excessively (example: reading off of the note cards).

G. Props are allowed, but must be necessary for or add to the quality of the presentation. Powerpoint or other electronic presentation types are not allowed. Examples of acceptable props include: pictures, books, demonstration materials, or other. For more information, contact the American Corners nearest you.

H. Following their speech, there will be a short question and answer period where contestants may be asked questions about their presentation by the audience or judges. Their answers will not be used by the judges to determine their score.

I. All participants will be scored using a rubric, which will be available to them prior to the contest. If you need a copy of the rubric, contact the American Corners nearest you.

J. The contest will be scored by a panel of judges who are English language experts. Possible judges may include American Corners staff members, English language fellows, Fulbright scholars, English teachers, and American embassy representatives.

K. Immediately following the final presentation, the judges will tally all of the participant’s scores to determine the winners. Awards and certificates will be presented the evening of March 27th, 2010.


Download the Application form


***Application Deadline is March 18th***

For the International Women's Day...

March 8th is International Women’s Day—a day to reflect on the progress the world has made in advancing women’s rights and to recognize what work remains to be done.

- Secretary Hillary Clinton
(full text)




Happy International Women's Day!
*March 8*

Another corner joins the ACM family!

We are pleased to announce the opening ceremony for the American Corner in Shtip, which will be held in the premises of the University “Goce Delchev”, on March 3rd, 2010, at 11 o’clock AM. This project is the result of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Macedonian American Alumni Association (MAAA), the “Goce Delchev” University and the Embassy of the United States of America.
The American Corner will provide, free of charge, information to the general public about the United States through books, magazines, special publications, DVDs, and the Internet. It will also host a wide variety of events, such as cultural programs and guest lectures. Membership is free and open to all citizens.

A large number of representatives will also attend the event and express their support, such as the ambassador of the United States in the Republic of Macedonia, His Excellency Mr. Phillip T. Reeker, the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Nikola Todorov, the Rector of the “Goce Delchev” university, Mr. Sasha Mitrev, as well as the Mayor of the city of Shtip, Mr. Zoran Aleksov.