Dr. Mario hosts discussions at North Star Library

For the past few months, Dr. Giuseppe Mario Saccone, (Dr. Mario) a lecturer at Asian University, has been hosting a lecture and discussion group at the North Star library on Sukhumvit Road, Pattaya.

The lecture topics have included; What is Philosophy? Politics and Political Science, Philosophy and the problem of the relation between Mind and Body, and in November was The Role of Politics for Augustine and Aquinas.

Dr Mario, an Italian, has a degree in Philosophy and History from Genova University, and took his PhD in Politics at Exeter University. He also has a Master of Philosophy from the Faculty of Arts and a Master of Buddhist Studies from the Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong. Dr. Mario lectures and teaches in the Humanities Department of the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Asian University, to students from all the faculties. He is offering these public talks as part of the University’s Community Service programme. Asian University is located on Highway 331, about 20km from Pattaya and Jomtien.

November’s meeting was the last for 2008, but they will start again on the last Thursday in January (29 January 2009, 15.00 – 16.30) with a talk and discussion on “What is Philosophy of Science”. The talks are free to any interested parties, and each month a small, but lively group get together for a very open discussion. Members of the group include retired lecturers and teachers as well as people who are interested in philosophy, politics and history.

The photos show Dr. Mario with some of the regular attendees at the North Star Library.

Ladies from the NSO attend special weekend English Immersion Programme

Ladies from the NSO learn English at Asian University

Twenty seven ladies from the National Statistical Office, mostly from Bangkok, have just completed a special weekend English language programme at Asian University, to improve their English communication skills.

They have been at the university for eight weekends, arriving Friday morning and leaving Sunday midday with fourteen hours of class each week. The ladies were all very keen students, and their attendance record was exemplary. They stayed on the campus, alongside the regular university students, and, outside class times, they were able to walk on campus and use the sports facilities to keep themselves fit.

Some of the ladies had been on several other courses and commented that the Asian University course compared favourably.

They particularly liked having native speaker teachers, and appreciated the teachers’ patience. Several mentioned the variety of ways in which they learnt English, using songs and games; some of these methods were new to them and they found that having fun enhanced the learning process. The ladies learnt in two groups (different levels), so there was plenty of opportunity to practice their speaking and listening with each other.

The course was run especially for the NSO staff, as a part of the English Immersion programme.