“What did you do this summer?” This popular question is often asked at the beginning of a new school year. This year, the answer is similar for about 50 students and 20 teachers in Changchun, in NE China. “We went to LifeCamp in Dalian!” Dalian is an important port city. They spent a week with new friends, traveling, and, of course, speaking English.
Each morning we started the day with a lecture by Steven Weathers, a TV personality and show host based in Shanghai. Through real-life examples and excerpts from his TV shows, Steven shared with the students how they can achieve real communication, leadership, and success. Teaching lifeskills of this kind is one of the main thrusts of Lifepegs, a Goducate lifeskills activity club in China.
One of my students who came to LifeCamp told me that she has already had an opportunity to put what she learned from these lectures into practice. “At the beginning of this term, our writing teacher divided us into several groups, and I became the leader of my group.” Other breakout sessions were also conducted by foreign teachers to further enforce topics covered in the group sessions and to provide students more opportunities to practice English.
After lunch, we would head out to see some of the sights in Dalian and to enjoy some team competitions.
Our evenings were filled with small- group English discussions and free time. The many activities and good student-to-teacher ratio provided us opportunities to get to know the camp members. The students also learnt about more specific areas of personal development, with topics including public speaking, academic success, time and money management, leading in relationships. We all came back excited that we had been able to learn and travel together.
Guest writer Carolyn, Volunteer at Student Activity Center