Language Camp Report

As a whole, the camp went on successfully. I was in charged of finance and sponsorships. We had sponsors from some generous individuals apart from contribution from our own camp members and the Education Faculty as well. Thus, money was never a problem. Moreover, it did not cost a king’s ransom for this camp to be carried out. The camp was, in fact, very cost effective. It taught us that we need not spend unnecessary large amount of money just for the camp to be successful. The participants, on the other hand, gained a lot from the camp too. Through behavioral observations, it was obvious that the activities conducted in the camp helps the students to develop their language skills. They acquired many new words (plus the correct pronunciation and intonation). Though, the grammatical aspect was hard to determine its success but, I believe, the students will eventually acquire the correct grammatical form of the language if they are to be exposed to English more often such as having language camps such as this. This is due to the fact that this camp provides grounds for them to experience using the language spontaneously in real life situation. The activities provide an enjoyable informal learning atmosphere to the students which help in decreasing their anxiety level. Thus, they were not only highly motivated to try to communicate using the language but also were very confident in their performance. Healthy competition also took place in the activities which encouraged the students to improve themselves even more. Team spirit was inculcated which further promotes the instillation of moral values such as respecting and helping each other. All in all, the participants were satisfied with the camp and enjoyed all the activities conducted. All said and done, the camp met it objectives.

by Deiyanah Deris

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Once again, the hands of Felda Johor and the Education Faculty of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) are joined together, this time making its mark in Felda Tenggaroh 6, Mersing. During the duration of 3 days from the 6th to the 8th of February 2004, the vibrant lives of 24 TESL students from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia intertwined with the young lives of 138 Primary 6 pupils from schools around Felda Tenggaroh, Mersing.
The camp was indeed a joint effort by both Felda and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The TESL students under the loving guidance of their lecturers, Mr. Ghazali bin Bunari, Miss Fatimah binti Puteh, and Mr. Faruk bin Muhammad arrived in SK Felda Tenggaroh 6, Mersing with enthusiasm and their hearts, prepared to go all out to motivate the Felda students to look forward to learning the English Language via language games and loads of fun! Doubled with the wonderful and extremely warm hospitality of the Felda settlers, who provided the facilitators and lecturers with an unforgettable ‘kampung’ experience, the language camp turned out to be a real success – with lots and lots of really delicious ‘kampung’ cooking, and extra dedicated RELA security!
Shortly upon arrival, the 24 facilitators introduced themselves to the eager faces who were already being seated in hall. The facilitators then presented their group cheer with actions.
After that, everything just sprang into action. The pupils were being divided into their respective groups – Nemo, Mickey, Tazmanian, Garfield, Bugs Bunny, Lilo, Flintstone, Scooby Doo, Snoopy, and Pink Panther. The group facilitators (2 per group) then took charge of all the kids in their own groups throughout the camp.
The groups started off by coming up with their own team cheer, which were all presented in front of all the groups. The cold atmosphere of the first night of the camp warmed up to the excitement and the energy level of the pupils, who were trying to outdo each other with the volume of their group cheers.
The next two days passed within the blink of an eye, with all the fun and the engaging activities throughout the camp. The main feature of the camp that distinguishes it from all other camps of any kind is the amount of language games played. Most of the time, the language games were played in the 10 respective groups, conducted by the group facilitators who were really getting to know each and every one of the kids in their groups. The language games were mostly created and designed by the facilitators themselves, or were adapted from existing language games.
Laughter could be heard from classrooms where the groups take temporary residence as the pupils were busy forming words and phrases based on certain categories (like animals, places, or even language word classes like nouns and verbs), or trying very hard to guess a word based on their friend’s role-playing. Games like Name Game, Tic-Tac-Toe (based on the tic-tac-toe concept), and Perfect Match were played throughout the duration of the camp; with the objective of instilling the interest and motivation to learn the English Language in a fun and less stressful atmosphere. Many facilitators report seeing the kids under their care and guidance getting excited even though some of them may be very weak in English – which is a good indicator that the kids are not so afraid of the language anymore.
Other activities that stand out are the Amazing Race and the Treasure Hunt. Amazing Race was a break from all the language-based activities. Pupils had to go through a few challenges – ‘Mountain Climbing’, ‘River Crossing’, and ‘Tunneling’ where team spirit and sticking up for group members mattered a lot. As for the Treasure Hunt, the pupils had to go from station to station to answer riddles. Well, the kids sure had fun running around with their friends in the group, guessing riddles and the facilitators enjoyed themselves looking at the over-enthusiastic kids who were about 10 years younger than them!
There was also the ‘Building the Tower’ competition, whereby the kids have to build a tower using straws and paper cups, with some of the members in the group being blindfolded. It was a challenge that tests the effectiveness of giving simple instructions in English, and definitely team work.
Besides that, the drama competition amongst group was another activity that drew shy kids out of their shells, and amazing talents out of normal-looking village kids! The pupils were definitely enjoying themselves, acting out their respective roles, and at the same time speaking the language. The kids surely did not realize that they were unconsciously using the English Language while having fun at the same time!
On top of all the fun and ‘unconscious’ use of the English Language, pupils and facilitators had song singing sessions – some kids were literally screaming at the top of their lungs! Amongst the favoured songs were ‘This is what dreams are made of’, and ‘Top of the world’.
Also, to teach the pupils to express themselves in words, every night there would be a ‘Buddy Journal’ session whereby all the pupils had to open their Buddy Journal and write how they feel after going through all the activities and games. During this Buddy Journal session, the group facilitators would be guiding the pupils, especially the weaker kids, encouraging them to express themselves freely without being afraid of making grammatical mistakes.
All in all, the language camp in SK Felda Tenggaroh 6, Mersing, Johor was indeed an unforgettable event for both the TESL students and the Felda community. It is the sincerest hope of the TESL students and their beloved lecturers that the language camp would leave a footprint in each of the 138 pupils – that they will no longer be afraid of the ‘foreign language (English Language), and that they will now view the English Language as a fun experience, and a useful tool for a better future. Before departure from Felda Tenggaroh, all 24 facilitators knew deep down that the Felda settlers had left a precious memory of warm hospitality, and had ‘fallen in love’ with the kids who were so active and eager to learn despite their lack of exposure to the English Language.
Language Camp 6th to 8th of February 2004 was indeed a mark in the history of the English Language teaching profession, and a new beginning for all one hundred and thirty-eight kids, each with their own potential to succeed and master the English Language.

by Angela Kwon


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My contribution for the camp

My job was to make sure the participants and the facilitators follow all the camp rules. I was in charge to get the students into their groups and and queqe up in a straight lines. Most of the time I had to control the crowd with the noise that they made. I need to make sure the students gathered the dining hall in time. We managed to do that but there was an unexpected thing which happened. Some of the facilitators were confused about the shcedule,and that actually affected our pose because the blame was put on us.

by Nur hafiza binti Abu Hanifa