Crescent Arts Centre — Attraction in Belfast

I took Spanish classes and I strongly advise against them. The teachers are not professional educators. I don't know what they do professionally, but as a teacher myself, these individuals lack basic teaching skills. The professors spent their time talking, talking, and talking without giving us any opportunity to practice the language. So, during a one-hour class, you're not even certain to speak for 30 seconds, if you're lucky enough to get out more than two sentences!

Learning a foreign language requires practice and the implementation of workshops. I really regret paying to attend these classes. I almost asked for a refund after the first class, and I should have. The classes had no structure and clearly had the bare minimum of preparation. They can't even make photocopies, it's unbelievable. Instead, we played games like Hangman as a whole class, which has no pedagogical value, or Charades, where the person guessing the word had to respond in English. Yes, in English. The vocabulary wasn't even prepared by the teacher in advance; it was last-minute improvisation, even though we only have one hour of class per week.

I also want to point out that some of our questions went unanswered, the teachers don't speak English fluently, and the last teacher even jokingly asked the class for gifts on the last day of class.

I won't attend that final class, and this is my gift to anyone considering taking Spanish classes: don't go until they decide to hire a teacher who knows how to teach...

The cresent provides access to the arts for people who already come from relative privilege whilst doing nothing for the less advantaged. If one is in with the crescent click then the centre is open, if one isn't within this art click, walk on by you're not welcome. More public money being wasted by self absorbed, self serving folk whilst commoners are left behind.

The buck stops with whomever manages the crescent & the culture of exclusion that has existed at the crescent...

I took my granddaughter to an event in the Belfast Book Festival here, run by Libraries NI. The staff were friendly, both the library staff and the Crescent staff. While my husband was waiting for us, he was offered a cup of coffee and at the end my granddaughter was given an activity book and a set of crayons. It was an enjoyable morning. I have been to events and classes in the Crescent in the past and have always...