Boom Chicka Boom! : English Adventure Camp

My SMK PNZ students at English Adventure Camp!

One of our responsibilities as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant is to host camps for students, in order to encourage English speaking outside of the classroom. English Adventure Camp is perhaps one of my fondest memories from teaching this year.

From September 2-3, 2012, my roommate, Christina, and I hosted an English Adventure Camp for students from both of our schools. Because of the excitement and enthusiasm my students have acquired for the English language throughout this year, I had over 85 students apply. However, unfortunately, I only had 39 spots! 

On the morning of September 2^nd, the students showed up ready for two-days of fun, games and English at Seri Keluang, a resort located down the road from my school on the South China Sea. The students were excited to be spending the night at a camp with their friends! Moreover, our students, as well as Christina and I, were excited to have fellow ETAs Miss Julie, Sir Jordan, Sir Nick and Sir Michael come and help facilitate our camp.

Christina and I decided to make the camp a competition between our schools. Therefore, each school was split into three teams. The teams from each respective school had to work together to earn points for their school. By having teams compete for their schools, it boosted school spirit and increased the competitive atmosphere. It was a blast!

My female campers from Forms 1, 2 and 4! 

The first day consisted of team-building and English stations. Teams went from station to station to compete against the other school for points. During the afternoon break, we started a football (soccer) game. Although I was the only female on the parking lot field, it was probably one of my favorite soccer games of all time. Plus, it was neat to show the boys that girls can play football too! For our evening activities, we taught the students bonfire songs (such as one called, “Boom Chicka Boom”), ate barbeque and then had an open mic night. Several of our students sang songs and played guitar. The students even got Christina and I to sing "What Makes you Beautiful" by One Direction! Finally, on the final day of camp students participated in an English obstacle course. The obstacle course involved physical endeavors, as well as English challenges. Students had to perform a physical challenge, such as frog hops, the crab or wheelbarrow followed by an English challenge, such as a word scramble or tongue twister! Best of all, SMK PNZ (my school) was the obstacle course winner! 

My Class 4A1 boys playing guitar and singing!

My male students holding up their "Human Bingo" sheets. Human Bingo
consisted of boxes with different information, such as "likes chicken" or
"likes Justin Bieber" or "has younger siblings." Students then had to socialize
and meet new students to find a fellow camper that met the criteria in the box. 

A "Human Bingo" sheet.

My school, SMK PNZ, did not end up winning the overall gold for the camp, but they had a great time and I was immensely proud of each of the participants. At the closing ceremony for the camp, I presented several students with individual awards recognizing students with enthusiasm, leadership, improvement and school spirit. The camp was an excellent way for my students to practice English, while having fun and meeting new people.

It is amazing how interested students become when educators make the subject at hand real and allow it to be a fun, hands-on experience. The participants returned to school with even more passion for English, which has made the energy in the classroom contagious.

Since the camp, everywhere I go, I hear my students singing the lyrics to bonfire songs, such as “I said a boom chicka boom!”