“It’s All About Me!” was the theme of Goducate’s Sing Your English (SYE) one-day camp held on May 25th in Pekanbaru, Sumatra. This SYE’s first one-day camp attracted almost 300 Indonesian campers, who were grouped into 6 teams—namely, Blue Eagles, Red Lions, Green Dragons, Yellow Sharks, Purple Pandas, and Orange Foxes. The electricity cut in the morning did not stop proceedings.
The aim of SYE camps is to create an environment wherein the campers enjoy reading, using, singing, and speaking English and where they have a memorable time bonding with friends. SYE is program for teaching English in fun ways and through many interesting and character-molding activities; for eliminating the fear of speaking English; and for creating a desire in campers to learn English, dream big, and believe that they can accomplish whatever they aspire to achieve.
These aims were accomplished through different camp activities. Some of the activities that were big hits among the campers were the Cheers & Yells Competition, during which each team performed with painted faces and props that included pompoms flags; the Traditional Song & Dance Competition; the SYE Awesome Race, which was a combination of a Treasure Hunt and an “Amazing Race”; and the Big- Ball Volleyball, which campers enjoyed since it was their first time playing with this game. At the end of the camp, each camper was able to use the accumulated points they got from the different competitions and activities to “buy” items from the camp store.
The campers are looking forward to more SYE camps. One of the parents commented, “This is so far the best strategy for learning English. Learning English through songs is so much fun & motivating!”
Guest writer Jenet, Volunteer from Philippines