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Pygmalion Academy
Course for adults
Ages 12–13

Book Discussion Club: The Path to Yourself

An online reading and conversation club for teenagers from Russian-speaking families living abroad.

  • We read a fragment of a book, watch a scene from a film and discuss a question with no single right answer
  • We learn to talk about our feelings, explain our opinion and listen closely to others
  • The conversation goes round the circle - in a group of 5–9 everyone gets the chance to speak
  • 5–9 students
  • 60 minutes
  • once a week
  • Zoom, online
  • Certificate on completion
  • 23 yearsof teaching experience
  • 4.9Google rating
  • 268Google reviews

Behind the Pygmalion Academy programme is Pygmalion Language Centre, a language centre founded in Latvia in 2003. About the centre

This club is a good fit if your teenager…

  • Is 12–13 years old and growing up in a Russian-speaking family

  • Speaks Russian at home but is shy talking to others - here they can comfortably start talking with children their own age

  • Reads and writes at a basic level - that is enough to take part in the conversation

Does your teenager not speak Russian yet?Choose a suitable A1–C1 level course.

About the programme

In our meetings we go from “who am I” to “I choose to be myself” - through conversations about yourself, emotions, relationships and growing up. A meeting lasts 60 minutes, and about half of it is discussion. We work with short fragments, so there is no need to read the whole book beforehand.

In the meeting on friendship and trust, for instance, we read fragments of Samarsky and Palacio, watch a scene from “Wonder” and discuss what makes a friendship real.

  1. I am myself

    Who I am: my strengths and weak spots, my values, boundaries, fears and dreams.

  2. Emotions are my language

    What stands behind each feeling, how to put it into words and how to steady yourself.

  3. People are worlds

    Friendship, trust and conflicts: we learn to talk about hard things, ask forgiveness and accept an apology.

  4. Closeness without losing yourself

    Boundaries, honesty and responsibility in relationships - we learn to say “yes” and “no”.

  5. A map of the path

    The world as a space of choice: we work out what I want, what stops me and what helps me move forward.

  6. I choose to be myself

    Inner ground and responsibility for yourself. At the end - a manifesto of your own, the final piece of work and a certificate.

What we read in class

  • Cultural grounding

    Russian prose about kindness, honesty and friendship - short texts and fragments, never whole books.

    • Paustovsky’s “The Warm Loaf”
    • Kuprin’s “The Wonderful Doctor”
    • Samarsky’s “A Rainbow for a Friend”
    • Zheleznikov
    • Dashevskaya

  • Wider horizons

    World fiction about growing up - books about accepting yourself, friendship and choice.

    • Saint-Exupéry’s “The Little Prince”
    • Palacio’s “Wonder”
    • Paterson’s “Bridge to Terabithia”
    • Dahl’s “Matilda”
    • And others

What we watch and discuss

Every meeting has a short scene from a film: a scene is an easier way into the conversation, and every scene comes with its own question for discussion. We watch “Inside Out”, “Wonder”, “Soul”, “Up”, “Brave”, “Dead Poets Society” and other films.

What a lesson consists of

  1. We read a short fragment silently and out loud

  2. We discuss: what the character feels and why they act as they do

  3. We watch a scene from a film and discuss it - everyone speaks

  4. We do a small task: writing, reflecting or playing

How lesson time is divided

  • Discussion50%
  • Reading20%
  • Writing20%
  • Film fragment10%

Skills your teenager will develop in the club

  • Understands their own emotions and learns to talk about them
  • States an opinion and explains it
  • Tells apart the feelings and motives of characters
  • Understands the themes of books: friendship, trust, choice, fears and responsibility
  • Holds a conversation and takes part in a group discussion
  • Writes short essays and personal reflections
  • Learns, through literature, to understand themselves and other people better
  • Feels more confident in conversation and in discussing texts

Teachers

Diana

Teaches the teen courses and club, ages 12–17

Education
BA in Philology (University of Latvia), teacher training (Liepāja University)
Experience
20 years of teaching
Languages
Russian (native), English, Spanish
  • Her students have won prizes at national Russian language olympiads
The more languages a person knows, the brighter and fuller their life becomes.

Raisa A.

Teaches the teen courses and the discussion club - ages 12–17

Education
MA in Philology
Languages
Russian (native), English (B2)
  • Methodology consultant and textbook reviewer
  • Takes part in national and international projects
  • Also teaches drama and public speaking
I teach because dialogue makes a person free.

Timetable and price

Group5–9 students
TimetableOnce a week, 60 minutes
Formatonce a week
56 €/month

Why it’s worth keeping Russian

  • Bilingualism is an advantage

    Children growing up with two languages learn to see the world from a broader perspective and easily switch between different ways of thinking.

  • Russian develops thinking skills

    By learning the language more deeply, children learn to express their thoughts more precisely, understand complex ideas, and formulate their own ideas - building intellectual maturity.

  • A link to culture and family

    A language is stories, traditions and the people closest to you. It helps a child feel part of the family and keep their roots.

Frequently asked questions

We meet on Zoom in a small group: we read a short fragment, watch a scene from a film and discuss it round the circle - in a group of 5–9 everyone gets to speak. At the end we write a few lines. A computer or tablet with a camera is required for the lessons.

Enroll your child in the course

An online reading and conversation club for teenagers from Russian-speaking families living abroad.

Next group: Ages 14–15