May 19: A glimpse into A Midsummer Night's Dream or storytelling from The BFG - students are spending their vacation with Shakespeare and Roald Dahl this summer.
British Council is hosting summer classes on the two literary greats at Mahadevi Birla World Academy from May 15 to 26 and May 29 to June 9.
From reading sonnets to critically appreciating plays, Team Shakespeare will get to enjoy the Bard's works. Team Dahl will capture the wit of the master storyteller. Both sessions will end with a performance scripted and staged by the students on May 26. The skills to be taught include vocabulary development, pronunciation, script-writing, storytelling, confidence-building, teamwork and leadership.
"Shakespeare was such a hit theme last year that we decided to include it, along with Dahl, this time too. The study plan, videos and teaching aids are being prepared by a team of writers pan-India," said Kalpita Sarkar, the academic manager of British Council's Calcutta English learning centre.
The Calcutta centre is looking at catering to around 900 students aged seven to 17.
For Shreya Basu, a faculty at British Council Calcutta, it is a challenge engaging the younger lot. "They are usually very enthusiastic. The classes need to be charged with energy. The kids want to get involved in every aspect of the final production from scripting to making props," Basu said.
The students will be given a report card at the end of the sessions. "We are celebrating UK-India Year of Culture this year. Both Shakespeare and Dahl connect readers of all ages across the UK and India. We hope to see a fantastic play of ideas," said Debanjan Chakrabarti, the director of British Council East India.