Summer Language School – “English for Fun”

Summer Language School – “English for Fun” is for children ages 7-13 at locations in Sozonivka, Kirovograd region with program for three weeks. Language Camp is perfect for young people who want to have an exciting adventure, take part in lots of fun activities and pick up a little foreign language along the way. It is great for young people who are enthusiastic about English and culture or for learners who need a boost to help them to succeed in qualifications in a foreign language.

Summer Language School focuses on making learning English in a natural way, just as children learn their first language. Classes are taught using an innovative and dynamic methodology. Lesson plans include singing, playing games, painting, crafts, storytelling, magic and performing arts classes, drama and parties. Activities vary by age group and according to the camp’s weekly theme.

I am extremely happy to teach my pupils at the summer school camp “English for fun”. The reason behind my utter happiness is that nowadays I have an enormous number of various teaching resources at our disposal. They make my lessons more engaging, exciting, entertaining, vivid, creative and dynamic. One benefit is that they help me appeal to all my students’ tastes and senses, though a drawback might be that I am spoilt for choice. What I am driving at is that we sometimes find it quite complicated to arrive at the right decision and make an informed choice. If we find ourselves at crossroads, playing games with our students will be an obvious choice. This is the best solution to the summer camps, isn’t it? If we play games, our students will never be reluctant and bored to death. They will be all eyes and all ears. Games will help us hone their reading, listening and speaking skills, the latter being our top priority. To put it in a nutshell, it will add colour and bring variety to our summer camp and make a real difference to the whole learning process.

Playing games effectively is quite challenging. My most important task as a teacher is perhaps to create the conditions in which learning can take place. The skills of creating and managing a successful class may be key to the success of the summer camp. We need certain organizational skills and techniques, which are often grouped together under the heading of ‘classroom management’. Common classroom management includes creating groups and pairs.

In fact, there is no limit to the way I can group my students or pair them up.

Strategies for division into groups and pairs

1.     Student’s choice.

2.     Teacher’s choice.

3.     Random choice:

a)     grouping cards

b)    puzzles

c)     finding ‘families’

d)    different shapes, colours, numbers, seasons, letters, coloured paper clips, decorative stickers on handouts.

My students are streamed according to their abilities. I try to stream weaker and stronger students. In such groups the more able students help their less fluent or knowledgeable classmates. I also create pairs or groups in which all students are of the same level. Streaming seems to fit into the philosophy of differentiation.

The best activity in the world will be a waste of time if the students don’t understand what it is they are supposed to do. The success of various stages of my game will depend upon my ability to give clear instructions. There are two general rules for giving instructions: they must be kept as simple as possible, and they must be logical.

In order to avoid native language interference, I try to make it clear from the start that I expect my students to speak only English, monitor carefully and speak English myself. I try to say something as soon as I hear students using their own language. I might want to introduce a points system or competition. 

Students will thrive on playing games during the summer camp and there is no denying it! A game is a great way to fuel students with positive energy, trigger strong emotions and hone their speaking skills. Jump at every opportunity to play games and explore every possibility to exceed students’ expectations!

Also pupils are fond of doing different projects. Projects can motivate young learners because they encourage participation, promote learner independence and can involve different skills. We use engaging and creative techniques for such kind of work in the young learners’ classroom.

  The camp participants also enjoy the village’s natural beauty and cultural diversity. It is a beautiful area with scenery that takes your breath away. It is the perfect location for an outdoor adventure and active learning. They explore lively local traditions through traveling, dancing, music and get to know all about their native land. Such excursions allow pupils to experience Sozonivka and act as tour guides. The fun never stops and there is certainly no time for our campers to get bored.

All afternoon activities are in four mixed language groups, encouraging the young people to ‘mingle’ while teacher is always on hand for vocabulary and grammar assistance. Participants encourage themselves to speak the foreign language whenever possible.

The activity programs are designed to help children thoroughly enjoy their summer learning experience and are directed towards personal and group growth; while they are fun and interesting, they challenge the campers to exercise their intelligence and to promote the development of their abilities and character.

All interaction between the activity teacher and students is in English and complement and enhance classroom and outdoor learning. We try to offer a unique environment and we incorporate our pupils, parents and teachers into one big extended family.

I am sure that campers love to try something new and the adventure activities give them great stories to share with their friends about their fun-filled summer. Whether they are singing or acting, they will never forget the foreign language vocabulary they learn along the way.

The main goals of the camp “English for fun”:

1. To expose pupils to as much language practice as possible.

2. To use mainly out-of-class activities to organize children’s free time and encourage them to speak English most of the time.

3. To increase vocabulary through sharing foreign language.

4. To create a positive motivation of the language camp participants.

5. To create a positive psychological atmosphere and learning environment in the team of children.

The motto of the camp:

I said from east to west, Camp 'English for fun’ is the best.

I said from coast to coast, Camp 'English for fun’ is the most.

I said from tree to tree, Camp 'English for fun’ is for me.

I said from state to state, Camp 'English for fun’ is real great.

I said from lake to hill, Camp 'English for fun’ is a thrill.

I said from biffy to biffy, Camp 'English for fun’  is real spiffy.

I said from day to night, Camp 'English for fun’ is all right.

I said from staff to staff, Camp 'English for fun’ is a laugh.

Camp’s song:

We’re on our summer holidays,

We’re having lots of fun!

We’re on our summer holidays,

We’re playing in the sun!

We love summer,

We love the sun!

We love summer,

It’s lots and lots of fun!

Camp’s daily program:

Date	Open Curriculum	Agenda
01.06.2017	The Day of the Camp Camp Party “English for fun”	Official opening of the Summer English Camp. Getting acquainted with the rules of the camp. Choosing a camp’s logos in four groups. Concert.
02.06.2017	The Day of the Nature Eco-collection of hand- made clothes	Making projects in groups. Painting and talking time. Games in the open air.
06.06.2017	The Day of the Book Storytelling “ A wonderful world of books”	Reading books and storytelling.  Crossword puzzles. Creative games.
07.06.2017	The Day of the  Environmental Protection Discussion “Why Should I Care?” The Eco-Quiz Game: Distinguishing Natural Resources Project Work “Environmental Awareness”	Making projects. Practical problem-solving (cleaning the territory), quiz and games.
8.06.2017	The Day of the Theatre Party “Shakespeare Festival”	Dramatizing. Theatre design.
9.06.2017	The Day of the Health English time “Health and Wellness”	Talking time. Making projects “Healthy living”, “Nutrition”. Making Healthy and Unhealthy Food Posters and Books in groups.
12.06.2017	The Day of the Sport Playday Party “Camp Olympics”	Opening Olympiad. Learning the rules of different sport games. Team games. Singing Olympiad songs.
13.06.2017	The Day of the Fishing Game “Sea Battle”	Singing songs. Playing games. Preparing for Sea Party. Outdoor madness.
14.06.2017	The Day of the Journalism Journalism activities	Role-play. Art classes. Writing stories.
15.06.2017	The Day of the Dreaming Project work “Summer holidays”	Making project. Talking time.
16.06.2017	The Day of the Music Music room “The Sounds of Music”	Concert. Free songs. Music Quiz. Game “Guess the singer”.
19.06.2017	The Day of the Human Rights “I Am More Than You See”	Making presentations. Discussion. Flipchart of the “I AM” poem
20.06.2017	The Day of UK Brain-ring «Journey to the United Kingdom»	Making project. Brain-ring
21.06.2017	The Day of the Tourism “How much do we know about Ukraine”	Cultural excursion. Creating photo stories.
22.06.2016	The Last Day of the Camp Camp Party “We love English”	Official closing of the Summer English Camp.