Interview
The English Culture Club . Catalonia Today and Abacus
'What I love is meeting other people'
Danielle Goldin is the group leader of the ECClub book club in Sabadell
Where are you originally from and where do you live now?
I'm from Melbourne, Australia. I live in Sabadell and have been there for five years.
What work do you do apart from the ECClub?
I work at a child-care centre and I teach English classes – groups of kids at P3, P4 and P5. They are not classic kinds of learning because we use mainly art, music and story-telling workshops.
How would you describe your group (or groups) there?
My intermediate group has had three consistent members for the last three years. It's an enjoyable atmosphere. We sometimes talk about other things apart from the books and we go off on tangents. They have a high level of conversational skills and we have plenty of fun. They're all from professional backgrounds and it's always relaxed, open, friendly and comfortable. The same can be said for my advanced group and though it's also a small group, the members change a bit every year.
What kind of books do your members prefer to read?
It depends on the member. For example, one lady in my intermediate group moved up because she liked the look of the advanced books more. She's into serious literature with the sometimes complicated language and structure that many of the advanced books have.
Which books did you like the most last year? Why?
The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. Maybe I like it because I lived in India for a year. I did community development and social work there with an NGO in a very poor area. I found that book to be dark, and with a black humour that I appealed to me a lot. .
What's the best thing about being an ECClub group leader?
Well, the free books are an incentive! I'm joking here because one of the main things I love about my groups is meeting other people and talking and chatting with them. Sometimes I see them in the streets and we're friendly and supportive with each other, just like the rest of the community. If the books we read are not to everyone's liking then we have a bit of a complain about it but these sessions are a time to relax. They're an outlet for me, an escape. The groups keep changing but I really enjoy doing them.
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