Book clubs are great ways to actively engage readers and writers in a shared atmosphere with different texts.
The once-weekly meetings organized by the Writing Center promote this culture and through the interactive and enlightening moments, students take turns to read out sections of a selected text, explain major (or minor) characters, and discuss both the writer's craft and their responses to the development of the story.
On Friday, October 11, 2019, the chosen text was Chinua Achebe's classic sequel to the celebrated Things Fall Apart – No Longer at Ease. The students were familiar with the late author's repute, and a few of them had read some of his works as recommended texts in secondary school. Interestingly, one student had a copy of No Longer at Ease in his collection and he brought it to share with another colleague, as the hard copies in the Writing Center's library were insufficient for the impressive turnout.
As the session progressed, in addition to having students build their understanding of different sentence structures through the author's mastery of words, the students also read out loud to enhance their enunciation and listening skills. Unfamiliar words were defined for a clearer understanding of their choices in the narratives, and interesting conversations emanated from the scenarios unfolding in the paragraphs.
The facilitator, Mr. Nicholas Achoda, encouraged the students to regularly attend the Club to learn about different writers, understand multicultural perspectives on issues, improve their social skills, share their thoughts as they connect to narratives, and strengthen their language and critical thinking skills. He also emphasized the need for them to attend other free Writing Center programs like the Essential College Skills and Grammar Experience, which respectively focus on additional recommended competencies for college success.
All these activities are held on Fridays.
By Nicholas Achoda, The Writing Center