Students waiting at the main entrance to my classroom building, Moskovská 3, look like college students anywhere. They pay no fees or tuition for their education, but their living expenses can be considerable if they do not live at home in Bratislava, and many hold part-time jobs.
My first class was my Aesthetics class. I had no idea what to expect and was surprised that 15 attended. Some spoke no English at all and will not be enrolling. Others seemed nervous about their English, so we talked about ways we will work together to communicate. Reading a second language is easier for some and they grasped my written syllabus without difficulty, or so it seemed. They like the idea of PowerPoint, so I will be using that for my lectures for the rest of the semester. We will probably try testing that includes oral examination as an option so students more comfortable with spoken than written English are not at a disadvantage.
This is my classroom, one of the larger ones in the building. The wooden desks and fold-down benches bolted to the floor seem downright punitive, but I love the huge windows and sunlight streaming in at the end of the day. No built-in technology, but plenty of plugs for my portable projector, and the department has a portable overhead projector I can use.
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