Category: China

What do you like about camp? I have asked many students this question. In the past years the most popular answer to that question was “the pep rally!” This time when I asked the question I got many different answers. However, a lot of those different answers all pointed to one: the teachers!

What is it about the teachers that make English in the Wild Summer Camp so great? The first word that I hear the students use to describe the teachers is caring. Nicole told me that the teachers care about her personally. The teachers listen to her and correct her English. They help her in English areas where she is weak. Raymond told me how much he appreciated all the hard work the teachers put into preparing the lessons. He commented that the classes are interesting and fun. He also mentioned that the teachers are interesting to talk to. He especially likes to talk to one teacher about history. It seems the students like to talk to the teachers after and between classes. One girl mentioned that her favorite time of the day is meal time. Not that the food is all that great but that she gets to spend time with the teachers and talk to them about many things, things that she is interested in. She feels that the teachers are friends as much as they are teachers. Another word that is commonly used to describe the teachers is “Crazy”.

Now most of the time teachers would not like students to say they are crazy but these teachers are not only crazy but like they also like it that way. The teachers dress up in very strange ways for the team Spirit Day. The reason is to set an example for the students. It seems the teachers know that if the students are relaxed and having fun they will learn. In the classroom setting the teachers are friendly and thoughtful but put them on the playground or in a pep rally they yell, jump, and try to win points for their classes.

So what makes the English in the Wild Summer Camp so great? The caring, hardworking, friendly, crazy teachers!

It’s the 2nd day of English in the Wild Summer Camp and the students are learning and happy! After the pep rally in the morning, Ella told me that this was her favorite part of camp because it is so much fun and exciting. At lunch all the group of girls I was with also found the pep rallies great. One reason is that the teams cheer their own teams. This helps to develop a sense of pride for the team, a sense of belonging to a group. It also gives the shy students an opportunity to be active and cheer when otherwise they would feel intimidated and sit quietly by and watch. Another reason is that the rally helps to build confidence, confidence that one is capable of winning, confidence that one is part of a great team.

At lunch time Anne told me that she really liked making team flags. Every year each team is given three blank flags and some paint. Each team then needs to plan, design, and paint its own flags. The flags will be carried to pep rallies, game time, and other team activities. The flags will represent them as a group, as a unit, working together to accomplish whatever the goal may be. As each member of the team uses his/her talent to complete the flags, it creates a bond that will last a long time. It is always amazing what these kids come up with and how creative they are in making flags. Every year the flags are awe inspiring.

Pep rallies and team flags help to make this camp awesome. Without them it would just be another classroom situation with a teacher teaching and students listening. Not that regular classrooms are bad but, hey this is English in the Wild Summer Camp and camp is supposed to be a fun learning experience. Yea for Camp!

There are students standing in lines in the heat outside the classrooms building at a university in Changchun, NE China. They have all taken tests for class placement. While they wait to find out what class they will be in for the next two weeks, some are anxious, but all are eager to know what will happen next and curious about those loud noises coming from the rally room. As the teachers in the rally room practise cheers and chants for their teams, the excitement builds among the students.

Soon the students are told their class (team) names: Bears, Lions, Kangaroos, Elephants, Rhinos, Zebras and are given a name tag. These team names reflect the theme of this year’s English Essentials Summer Camp organized by Lifepegs, ie, English in the Wild.

The students next go to the rally room, where they find the teachers lined up cheering for them and showing them which way to go. As more students enter, the noise level rises, and the students join in the fun of cheering for each other. English in the Wild Summer camp has begun!