English Language camp for school

An interactive English Language Camp titled, “Let Your Hair Down with English” was jointly organised by the Department of Language and Linguistics of UTAR Faculty of Arts and Social Science and the Division of Programme Promotion (DPP) for 200 secondary school students of SMK Methodist (ACS) Sitiawan. The camp was held at the school hall on 28 March 2015.

Assisted by six lecturers and 14 student facilitators from the UTAR Bachelor of Arts (Honours) English Education programme, the camp commenced with an ice-breaking session followed by activities to emphasise on the skills required for good communication. The students were exposed to different genres with tasks designed to make reading and listening fun and interactive. Among the activities were Reading Bingo, Code Breaker, Newspaper Puzzle and Visualising Riddles.

The chairman of the Parents and Teachers Association (PIBG) Ir Ling Leong Chong launched the language camp, and commented that, “English is a conduit of knowledge in this era of information technology and globalisation. Thus mastering the English language is a must and the most effective way is to practise and speak the language daily.”

“Students always find games to be fascinating and by associating games with books, it would be easier to inculcate the habit of reading among the younger generation,” said Christina Ong Sook Beng, the Head of Department of Languages and Linguistics who is also a former student of SMK Methodist (ACS) Sitiawan.

The language camp ended with a Treasure Hunt where students participated with much enthusiasm. Manjung district Head of Education Officer Suhaimi Ramli was also present at the camp and he said, “Such collaborative activities will definitely benefit ACS in the long run and look forward to more of such activities in the future.” He also commended the PIBG for their continuous support to the school.

Organisers and participants of the UTAR-ACS English language camp

The Newspaper Puzzle group work

An entertaining group activity