1. education
2. language learning

IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps: A
Case Study from Malaysia
Dr. Ria Hanewald,
CfBT Education Trust, Malaysia
Abstract
Language holiday camps for children or adolescents who are learners of a second or
additional language are a world-wide phenomenon. They are particularly popular in
the USA, Canada and Britain for languages such as French, German and Spanish.
Youth camps (also called summer camps) during the European school holidays to
learn English or other languages have also enjoyed a long tradition. In Malaysia,
English language holiday camps are prolific and have been running since the 1940s.
With such popularity that these camps enjoy the world over, the subject is coming
under research. In line with such researches, the present study covers a four day long
residential English language holiday camp in Malaysia for 31 female students (aged
16) during May 2013. Its aim was to identify activities that actively engage learners
and increase their attitudes positively in regards to learning English.
The paper is intended to stimulate further research into extra-curricular activities,
specifically English language holiday camps due to their global abundance, to build a
corpus of literature in order to fill the current vacuum, and to gather empirical data on
the value of such camps. The findings of the focused study have broad relevance
internationally due to the significant numbers of language camps around the world
and will contribute to the scanty knowledge currently available on this topic. It is
anticipated that the issues discussed in this paper will be useful for students, teachers,
researchers, policy makers and practitioners of English language studies alike.
Keywords: holiday camps, English language, attitudes, adolescents, Malaysia
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
www.eltsjournal.org
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
1. Introduction
1.1 Historical perspective
Residential camps for children and adolescents have been in existence for almost 140
years. In 1876, Swiss Pastor Hermann Walter Bion organized a holiday camp for a
group of 68 underprivileged children from the Swiss city of Zürich. It afforded them
some time away from their often crowded, poor and unhygienic homes to spend their
school holidays in the clean air of the Appenzeller country side while engaging in
recreational activities for example hiking, singing, dramatic performances, adventures
games and kite making. The success of the initial camp led to a larger cohort of
campers the following year. It grew to 3,500 youngsters by 1899, hailing from 29
different cities in Switzerland. Before long, the idea of holiday camps spread around
Europe and to the USA, South America and Asia (MOTIF, 2008).
In the United Kingdom, camps are attributed to Lord Baden Bowell, who founded the
Boys Scouts in 1908 and introduced camps with outdoor activities for children. The
number of annual summer camps in England increased exponentially after the end of
World War II. The British training of educators during the 1940s established the idea
of holiday camps for children and teenagers in Japan, Hong Kong and Malaysia
(Pulliam, 2013).
1.2 The global context
Camps are held either on weekends or during the school holidays and offer supervised
programs for youngsters. Day camps are usually offered for younger children so that
the participants (also called campers) can go home every night to sleep. Residential
camps are frequently designed for older children or adolescents as they include one or
more overnight stays. Camps are commonly focused on either recreational activities
in the areas of sport, music, performing arts; enrichment pursuits such as cooking,
yoga, photography, comic book design; or educational development concentrating on
computer/technology or second/ additional languages classes. In recent years, weight
loss camps, bible camps and Tech camps (with 3D Game creation, robot building, and
web design) have been also advertised.
Establishments offering camps can be divided into non-profit organizations, charities
and commercial providers. Examples of the first are religious groups, girl or boy
scouts, and youth music organizations. The latter are wide-spread in the USA. The
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
www.eltsjournal.org
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
American National Camp Association (NCA) reported nearly 10,000 camps during
2013 with the majority (60%) being residential (also called sleep-away) camps. Each
year, over six million youngsters attend camps at the average cost of U$ 2,500 for a
four weeks stay (NCA, 2013).
The British Activity Providers Association (BAPA), who sets the standard for quality
safety and value for activity centers, residential and day camps for private sector
providers acknowledges copious annual summer camps with large number of
youngsters attending but has no statistics on these. However, more than twenty camp
providers are listed, some with up to 130 person capacity and others with a history of
running camps for more than 30 years giving an indication of the scale of operations
(BAPA, 2013). Likewise, the European Camping Association established in
September 2003 with the member countries of Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Hungary,
Ireland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine aims to enhance the quality of camps by
establishing standards in services and programs but has no statistics on the number of
youngster attending (Pulliam, 2013).
The literature on language camps is limited to descriptive reports that date back 30
years ago such as covering the activities, schedule, staffing, fees and special events
(Trujillo, 1982; Vines, 1983); publicity materials and volunteer forms (Griswold,
1989) or a sample syllabus, proposed budget, teacher packet and schedule (Shrum,
1983, 1985).
The only empirical data available was published by the American Camp Association
(2010) and consists of a 12 question survey administered to 228 camps across the
United States. The top reasons for running a camp were given as revenue raising
(55%) and keeping young people engaged throughout the year (43%). Overnight
camps (80%) were the dominant form, with two and three days stay (51 %) followed
by a half or full day stay (47 %). Campers were mostly from middle school (88 %)
while the top activities in this English speaking nation focused on Environmental
sciences (75 %), General Sciences (51%), and Biology (47%). While a third of the
camps indicated that they linked their lessons to learning standards from the main
stream syllabus, almost a quarter did not assess the learning outcomes. Hence, what
learning really occurred as part of the camp is not known to almost half (40 %) of the
staff (American Camp Association, 2010).
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
www.eltsjournal.org
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
The outlined literature above shows the proliferation of camps, the size of this
industry, the significant number of young people and educators engaged in these as
well as the considerable amount of time spent in camps. It also clearly demonstrates
the lack of empirical data on any aspects of the camps (quality of teaching and
learning environment, curriculum and materials evaluation, assessment of learning
outcomes). It is therefore argued that the current capacity of camps - and specifically
English language camps - should be of interest to students, teachers, researchers,
policy makers and practitioners of English language studies. Furthermore, it is
hypothesized that globalization will lead to an increase in demand for English
language camps and it would be advisable for the various stakeholders to harness this
potential as it emerges.
1.3 The local context
Malaysia is located in the Southeast Asian region, with a population of 28.3 million,
of which 1.6 million live in its capital Kuala Lumpur (Department of Statistics,
Malaysia, 2013). It is a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic and multi-religious country with
three major groups: Muslim Malay (67.4%) who speak Bahasa Melayu, Chinese
Buddhists (24.6%) who speak Cantonese, Mandarin and other dialects as well as
Indian Hindus (7.3%) who speak Tamil or related dialects (UNESCO, 2011). English
was introduced and served as the official language under the British government until
1957, when Malaysia achieved Independence. Bahasa Malaysia (also referred to as
Bahasa Melayu or Bahasa Malay) became the national language, with a course of
language cultivation perused by the Malaysian government for over 40 years.
Increasing globalization and the need to communicate with global market for
business, trade, tourism and more recently education has given English increased
importance. It led to the Malaysian governments’ decision to establish English as a
compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools (Gill, 2005).
The English language has been historically associated with British Imperialism in
Malaysia. Internationalization combined with the status of English as a lingua franca
for the world changed attitudes amongst the population. Another issue is social
harmony as multi-lingual Malaysia holds 137 living languages (indigenous language
such as Iban, Kadazan and Dusunic) and English serves as a common one, which
underpins the country’s aspiration for national unity.
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
The development of English language holiday camps in Malaysia can be traced back
to the late 1940s due to the British training of educators (Pulliam, 2005). The holiday
camp tradition for children and teenagers survived into present times despite the 1957
Independence of the British. Oral accounts of adult Malaysians recall fond memories
of attending holiday camps as children during the late 1980s (R. Hanewald, personal
conversation, May, 29, 2013).
This assertion is further strengthened by various reports in the mass media such as an
English Language Immersion Camp for 80 students (Embassy of the United States,
2010); a facebook site with photos of a 30-day English camp in Kuala Lumpur (PD &
U Academy, 2012); a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant’s photos of a camp, which
he helped to run (Pan, 2013); a camp schedule by KDU College in Penang, Malaysia
(KDU, 2013) and several clips on YouTube about various English Language camp
experiences. The evidence shows that substantial numbers of English language camps
by various organizations have been taking place for decades in Malaysia. Despite this
sizeable involvement, there is no data available on the quantity or quality of English
language camps.
In an effort to fill this void, this action research was conducted to identify
effectiveness of such camps in teaching English and providing enjoyment for the
participants within the context of a Malaysian school holiday camp.
2. The action research project
In planning the English language camp, the age, gender, nationality, religious beliefs,
geographical location and language level of the learner have to be considered
(Tomlinson, 1998). In this case, the campers were a homogenous group: all 16 years
old female Muslim Malays from a rural area in the northeast of Malaysia.
2.1 The participants
The four day residential English Language Camp was held from 27th May to 30th May
2013 with 31 Muslim Malay students in Form 4 (16 years old) under the leadership of
one English language educator. This particular age group was selected as they had
already settled into their secondary schools (during From 1 to Form 3) and thus were
ready for a challenge but not yet in their final year (Form 5) which might distract
them from their exam preparations.
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
The all female campers came from a pool of about 20 rural schools in a northeastern
state of Malaysia. The camp package included transportation, hostel accommodation
with six meals per day and an excursion to the hot springs. Due to English being a
compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools, it was assumed that their
language skills were at a reasonably high level. However, English language
proficiency levels of students in rural areas are typically lower than those of students
living in urban areas as exposure to (native) English speakers and media or events
(newspapers, movies at the cinema, theatre productions, concerts) are fewer.
The camp took place at a residential school with a modern campus that has excellent
facilities. The high quality learning environment included a designated (airconditioned) language room with ample resources, an extensive library with a large
English language collection as well as a computer laboratory containing 30 desktops.
Most activities of the English learning and teaching component were held in the
language room, with the exception of the Information and Communication
Technology (ICT), which was held in the computer lab of the library. There was also
a recreational component, which consisted of an excursion to the hot springs for
bathing.
In conceptualizing the camp structure, schedule, recreational and English language
program a number of cultural, linguistic and social-emotional considerations had to be
taken into account for all Muslim Malay campers. For example, it was decided that a
single gender cohort would be easier to supervise due to the overnight stays in strictly
segregated Muslim dormitories and the reluctance of many students to participate in
mixed gender teams within a classroom. The five daily Muslim prayer times and the
six associated meal times (provided at the residential school’s dining hall) were the
corner stone for the daily schedule around which the English language program had to
be constructed. Although the camp ran from 8 AM to 10 PM, the total amount of
English learning added up to only 14 hours; the remaining time was allocated for five
daily prayers, six daily meals, daily afternoon rest and an excursion.
2.2 English language learning activities
In designing activities and creating the camp program, Tomlinson’s advice that
“…materials can achieve impact through novelty, variety, attractive presentation, and
appealing content” (1998, P:7) was taken into consideration. Hence, educational
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
www.eltsjournal.org
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
games, art and craft activities, quizzes, songs, music, dramatic performances, puppet
plays and ICT sessions were devised. This range offered a variety of texts and
classroom management choices while drawing on subject areas such as the Arts,
Computer Technology and Physical Education. Such an activity-based organization
principle has as its main advantage that individual sessions are like building blocks. A
modular approach enables greater flexibility as units can be selected to fit the
students’ needs, interest and energy level. Activities can be changed every day to
ensure variety as well as a balance between artistic, intellectual, physical and
recreational activities. Given that the English language instructor was unfamiliar with
the students, their ability levels, learning styles and preferences, it seemed the most
sensible tactic.
In the light of the fact that only 14 hours of English language exposure were available,
it was unrealistic to expect huge improvements in the students’ proficiency levels,
especially since these were unknown in the first place. Therefore, the goal was to raise
students’ motivation to learn English by providing them with pleasurable experiences
in the language. It was hypothesized that a range of fun activities would nurture
positive attitudes towards English and an interest in continuing to pursue it. The
central idea of the program was therefore enjoyment and engagement. It was further
reasoned that without the fun element, the holiday camp would replicate a normal
school week. It was speculated that it would be highly likely that this may cause
resentment, boredom and frustration in the students who – in turn – may refuse any
involvement in future English language camps. Furthermore, the students may not
have self-selected for the camp but may have been forced to attend by their parents or
school, causing them to be unenthusiastic and uninterested as they might have been
coerced to spend their holidays with extra lessons while their peers are travelling or
relaxing.
2.3 Research questions
Since the focus of the English language camp was on increasing learners’ motivation,
interest and enjoyment of English, the research aims focused on finding activities that
would enable this most effectively. The central research problem was to explore the
relationship between learner participation, satisfaction, motivation and types of
activities. Specifically:
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
1.) What is the most effective camp structure to ensure students’ satisfaction?
2.) What are the types of activities that encourage students and actively engage
them?
3.) What are the types of activities that interest students most during English
camp?
4.) How satisfied are students with the various aspects of the camp?
2.4 Data collection
For this action research project, a mixed-method approach was employed, consisting
of pre-and post camp questionnaires, observations, visuals and individual interviews
of campers. The questionnaire used a five-point Likert-scale for most questions, and a
‘choice of yes/maybe/no’ as well as indication of frequency for the remaining
question. The language for the questionnaire was kept simple in terms of length,
structure and sentence complexity. Campers were asked to ‘tick the box’ that was
closest to their feelings on the range of ‘strongly dislike’ to ‘strongly like’. It was
based on the notion that the participants were learners of English, teenagers (and not
adults) and may lack previous experience with this type of questioning due to cultural
norms in Muslim Malay rural communities. Each of the Likert-scale question
questions had an extra line (named ‘others’) to include a short explanatory sentence if
desired. However, it was hypothesized that this would most likely be kept blank or
perhaps filled with a compliment due to the Muslim Malays culture of nonconfrontation. Reluctance of English learners to write freely may also be based on
fear of spelling mistake, hence open-ended questions and free commentary were seen
as inefficient and therefore kept to a minimum on the questionnaire. A number of
noted observations, visuals (still images) and individual interviews were gathered in
situ.
At the beginning of the camp, the pre-questionnaire was given to all students with
instructions to leave off their names to ensure anonymity, which afforded them the
freedom to answer uninhibited. The purpose of this pre-questionnaire was to establish
previous camp experience, reasons for attending, perceived English proficiency and
preferences for activities. The post-camp questionnaire aimed to gauge students’
satisfaction rates and reflections on their English language attitudes in terms of
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
enjoyment, interest and motivation. The completed pre-and post-camp questionnaires
were then compared to detect and measure any differences.
3. Findings and Discussion
This section deals mainly with the examination and discussion of the findings from
the pre-and post camp questionnaire. Then, a comparison between the two sets of data
was drawn and the difference deliberated in terms of its significance.
3.1 Pre-camp questionnaire
The main goal for the pre-camp questionnaire was to seek insights about the learners’
previous experience of camps, differentiated into English language and other subject
areas. Since the literature search had found evidence of English language camps in the
form of photos, videos and a media release on websites, Facebook and YouTube that
revealed substantial activity in this field, it was hypothesized that the students have
had some prior involvement with camps. Therefore, the first question of the pre-camp
survey aimed to explore if and how often the learners had been to camp (see Table 1).
Table 1 Pre-camp Question to Elicit Prior Camp Experience of the May 2013 Camp
Cohort
How often do you go to Never
1-2 before
3-4 before
more than 5
camp?
before
English language camp
8
13
4
3
Sport, Art, Music, Science
1
13
4
3
camp
Why? Why not?
Note: Some participants did not respond
The responses (n=31) were unexpected as their answers showed that the majority (60
%) of the cohort (29 out of 31) had been to one or two previous English language
camps. One camper had been to at least three English language camps, averaging one
camp per year of secondary school attendance, which makes this an annual event for
the learner. Eight campers indicated that they had never been to an English language
camp before, although they may have previously been to a Sport, Art, Music or
Science camp as twenty learners indicated.
Three campers had been to five or more camps, which was considerable and averaged
to more than one camp per year during their secondary schooling. The interpretation
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
of this data is made somewhat challenging due to learner’ missing reply, with two
answers omitted on the English language camp experience and ten absent for the other
subject area camps.
Two comments in the ‘why’ and ‘ Why not’ line were “I don’t know” and “Because I
don’t know”, interpreted as no prior awareness or knowledge that camps and an
opportunity to participate in them exist, which might explain why eight campers had
not been to any previous camps. However, the majority of campers’ previous
experience shone through during the four days, as they quickly and smoothly adjusted
to the hostel accommodation, layout of the campus, English language program, prayer
and meals routine, instructor and group dynamics.
The second pre-camp survey question (Table 2) aimed to unearth the motivation for
attending this particular camp (own, parents or school’s choice, academic or social
purpose for attending, and rating of own perceived English skills).
Table 2 Pre-Camp Question to Elicit Motivation for Attending the May 2013 Camp
Why did you come to camp
Strongly
disagree
disagree
Ok
Strongly
agree
Agree
My parents said I should go
6
0
12
8
4
My school/teacher
said I should go
3
3
8
11
3
My English is poor
and I want to improve
0
1
2
10
18
Holidays are boring
and I want something to do
1
3
7
13
6
I just want to have fun
and meet new people
1
1
14
6
5
Note: Some participants did not respond to each statement
Almost a third of the campers (12 out of 31) indicated that their parents sent them to
camp, whereas six decided for themselves that they wanted to attend. Twelve learners
seemed to be at camp due to a mutual decision between their parents and themselves
as they ticked ‘ok’. This interpretation of the data in Table 2 was confirmed by
follow-up interviews with individuals, who stated that they discussed and jointly
decided the issue with their parents. The influence of the school or teacher was
acknowledged by a third of the campers (14 out of 31). The entertainment,
recreational and social aspects of the camp rated highly, as the majority (19 out of 31)
campers were looking for something constructively to do during their holidays, which
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
www.eltsjournal.org
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
were perceived as boring. The follow-up interviews with individuals revealed that
they would usually either “watch TV all the day” or be involved in doing chores such
as “….cook the food…clean the house…wash the clothes….help my grandparents
pick the fruit”. Since the participants all came from a rural area of Malaysia with little
or no public transport, recreational facilities (i.e. sporting venues, public libraries) and
entertainment options (i.e. museums, theatres, cinemas), the option of attending a
camp may have seemed like an attractive alternative. Socializing with peers was
valued by eleven (n=31) campers, while two campers did not value it at all. The
driving force to attend the camp seems to be a self-perception of poor English
language skills and a desire to improve their proficiency by most of the attendees (28
out of 31), with only one learner disagreeing.
The next question explored the campers’ favorite activities ( Table 3) to tailor the
camp program to their needs, interests and preferences, which would have been
possible with very short notice due to the modular plan that allowed great flexibility
in reshuffling, additions or omissions of activities.
Table 3 Pre-Camp Questions to Elicit Preferred Activities for the May 2013 Camp
What activities do you
want to do?
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
Ok
Agree
Strongly
agree
Brainteasers/ Crosswords
4
0
12
8
6
Songs/Music
4
1
9
7
9
Poems, Stories, Jokes
Art and Craft
2
4
9
10
5
Cultural/ drama night
2
6
9
6
5
Quiz session
0
1
12
12
4
Visit to the Hot Springs
0
0
0
5
25
Physical Education
0
1
10
16
4
Certificates giving
0
2
3
12
13
Others:
Note: Some participants did not respond to each statement
In ascertaining preferred activities in the Table 3 campers (30 out of 31)
unequivocally determined a visit to the Hot Springs as the most desired activity.
Follow-up interviews revealed that six campers had never been to a Hot Spring and
only three campers could actually swim. The Hot Springs visit was preceded by a
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
preparation session, which included a power point presentation of the facilities, a map
of the venue, which was used to practice directions (i.e. north, south, to the left, right)
and prepositions (i.e. near, next to, behind, in front, between). Information on the
health benefits of the Hot Spring waters and some reviews from Trip advisor were
made available from the Internet, as well as some trivia like the setting of an egg
boiling record, which occurred there.
As expected due to the cultural traditions, certificate giving was desired by two thirds
of the campers (25 out of 31), with only two campers not valuing them. Physical
Education rated highly (20 out of 31), as did a quiz session (16 out of 31),
songs/music (16 out of 31), poems, stories and jokes, art and craft (15 out of 31),
brainteasers/crossword puzzles (14 out of 31) and a cultural/ drama night (11 out of
31). This initial pre-camp ‘wish list’ was later compared to the actual post-camp
evaluation of these activities to gauge the difference between expectation and actual
experience. The final question (in Table 4) dealt with the English language attitudes
of the campers.
Table 4 Pre-Camp Questions to Elicit English Language Attitudes of the May 2013
Campers
How do you rate
your current skills?
Strongly
Disagree
Disagree
4
5
18
3
0
I enjoy socializing in English 0
0
15
11
2
I am not afraid of making
mistakes in English
1
6
13
7
2
I enjoy watching English
programs and movies
0
0
9
12
2
I feel confident speaking
0
with native English speakers
4
18
6
2
I am aware of my strength and0
weaknesses as a user of English
1
13
11
4
I am highly motivated to
improve my English
0
8
10
7
I feel confident speaking
English in public
0
Ok
Agree
Strongly
Agree
Others:
Note: Some participants did not respond to each statement
Seventeen (out of 31) campers were highly motivated to improve their English,
perhaps in the light of the fact that they were approaching their final year of
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
secondary school soon and thus facing examinations. The self-rating of ‘poor English’
in pre-camp question 2 (of Table 4) combined with their self-choice of attending
underpins this hypothesis. Campers’ confidence of speaking English in public (3 out
of 31) and with native speakers (8 out of 31) was low, whereas enjoyment of English
programs and movies (14 out of 31) and socializing in English (13 out of 31) rated
much higher, with half of the cohort responding positively. Almost a third of campers
were experiencing fear of making mistakes in English (9 out of 31) which may inhibit
speech and written production and in turn hinder progress in acquiring the language.
Half the campers in the cohort (15 out of 31) were aware of their strength and
weaknesses in English. The gathered data at the beginning of the camp showed that a
supportive, fun environment needed to be created that would encourage risk taking in
using English while acknowledging learners’ efforts to strengthen their confidence
and enjoyment of using the English language.
3.2 Actual camp program
The modules aimed to incorporate the four macro-skills (listening, speaking, reading
and writing) while traversing various subject areas to provide a variety of fun
activities, listed here by subject category with a short explanatory statement:
3.2.1 Music/songs: three pop songs as part of a listening comprehension task, a battle
of the choirs in groups of seven to eight students in each that chose a known song or
wrote an original song and performed it, and a ukulele sing-along for the whole cohort
to finish off the module
3.2.2 Drama: props made by campers as well as a story and dialogues written and
then performed as puppet play in groups of four students
3.2.3 Brainteasers/crossword puzzles: a variety of crosswords, trellises, first and last
activities, word searches and alphabet soups for individual students, finished off with
a challenge to design a brainteaser or crossword themselves in either pairs or trios.
3.2.4 Social night: a birthday celebration for one camper and games in pairs or small
teams such as Scrabble, Who’s who?, Hangman, Battleship, Snap and Celebrity
identity.
3.2.5 ICT sessions: individual creation of a greeting card to family or friends with
padlet
(http://padlet.com/), the production of a comic with Toon Doon
(http://www.toondoo.com/)
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
3.2.6 Excursion: power point presentation of the Hot Springs, reading of a map and
giving directions, research on the health benefits of the water, reviews from Trip
advisor
3.2.7 Jokes/ stories/poems: reading and re-telling of prepared ‘question and answer’
jokes in pairs or small groups, individual reading of a variety of texts and use of the
reading laboratory
3.2.8 Art and craft: reading of instructions for egg decorating, origami, greeting
cards
3.2.9 Quiz session: individual, pair, trio or small grouping to answer quiz questions in
writing
3.3 Post-camp questionnaire
The first question after the camp, that is as part of the post-camp questionnaire was
trying to gauge the campers’ overall satisfaction, indicative of an expressed desire to
participate in another camp. The post-camp questionnaire was administered to only 30
campers, as one camper fell ill and thus was unable to participate.
Table 5 Post-Camp Question to Elicit Satisfaction with the May 2013 Camp
Would you like to go to another camp?
Yes
Maybe
No
English language camp
26
2
0
Sport, Art, Music, Science camp
21
7
0
Note: Some participants did not respond to each statement
The overwhelming majority (26 out of 30) of campers would attend another English
language camp, which seemed to imply high satisfaction with the experience.
Twenty-one other campers were interested in participating in a camp with another
focus.
The second question of the post-camp survey rated the food, the activities, the peers,
the instructor as well as improvements in the campers’ English skills and confidence
in using English. The average scores were as displayed in Table 6 below:
Table 6 Rating of Food, Peers, Instructor, English improvement and Confidence Postcamp
What do you think?
Average score out of 5
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
The food was great
3.6
The other students were great
3.9
The teacher was great
4.7
The activities were great
4.3
The camp improved my English skills
3.6
The camp improved my confidence in using English
4.3
While the food received the lowest score (3.6), the instructor received the highest
(4.7). There was also high satisfaction with the fellow campers (3.9) and the overall
activities (4.3). In terms of English language skills improvement, the average score
(3.6) reflected the short duration of learning opportunities which amounted to a total
of 14 hours. The other factor may have been the high ratio (1:31) of instructor to
students. A smaller group of perhaps 20 students may have yielded better results on
that score. However, campers’ confidence in using English was self-rated rather high
(4.3).
The next question aimed to ascertain satisfaction with specific activities, with
averages displayed in Table 7 below:
Table 7 Post-camp Rating of Individual Activities for the May 2013 Camp
Which activities were most enjoyable?
Average score
Brainteasers, crossword puzzles
4.4
Songs/Music
4.7
Poems, Stories, Jokes, Art and Craft
4.2
Cultural/drama night
4.4
Quiz session
4.1
Visit to the Hot Springs
4.9
Certificate giving
4.4
Overall, the visit to the Hot Springs received the highest score (4.9 out of 5), followed
by music/ songs (4.7 out of 5). These were followed in equal places by the cultural/
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
ISSN: 2308-5460
July-September, 2013
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47
IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
drama night with the puppet show, the brainteasers/crosswords and the certificate
giving (4.4 out of 5). The poems, stories, jokes and art, craft (4.2 out of 5) and quiz
session (4.1 out of 5) also received high scores.
The post-camp’s final question (No 4) was identical to the pre-camp survey. For ease
of comparison, the pre-and post-camp averages as well as the difference are shown in
Table 8 below:
Table 8 Post-camp Rating of Campers’ Attitudes Towards English for the May 2013
Camp
_____________________________________________________________________
What do you think?
Difference
Before Camp After Camp
I am highly motivated to improve my English
+0.5
3.6
4.1
I feel confident speaking English in public
1.0
2.7
3.7
+
I enjoy socializing in English
0.2
3.5
3.7
+
I am not afraid of making mistakes in English
0.8
3.6
4.4
+
Campers’ confidence, enjoyment and motivation increased positively during the four
day camp. The most significant increase was on confidence gained in speaking
English in public, which showed an average of 2.7 in the pre-camp questionnaire but
had increased to 3.7 on the post-camp questionnaire. Equally impressive was the gain
in students’ motivation, which scored an average of 3.6 before the camp and 4.1 after
the camp.
Although the total English language teaching and learning opportunities amounted to
only 14 hours, the measurable improvements in the participants’ attitude towards
English was a most pleasing result. It is hypothesized that a smaller instructor/
student ratio instead of the 1:30 ratio for this camp will produce even better results as
more individuals will receive greater attention and more teaching input.
A line at the bottom of the post-camp questionnaire was titled “Any other
comments?” and elicited the following replies repeated verbatim (inclusive of spelling
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
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July-September, 2013
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
and grammatical errors): “No”, “This camp is very enjoy!”, “Awsome”, “do more
physical activities”, “thank you for teach me in the english”, “I want join this camp
next time”, “may be no, haha”, “I hope this camp will keep going year to year to
improve English among students“, “more physical activities like jungle trekking,
flying fox, bungee jumping, etc”, I love this camp”, “have improvement skill camp”
and “I like to do the brain teasers and something that can challenge my brain.”
4. Limitations and future research direction
The greatest limitation was the dual roles of the camp instructor and researcher. A
large group (31 campers) and a long day (from 8 AM to 10 PM) made the running of
the camp a challenge. The data collection was therefore largely limited to the pre-and
post questionnaire. Some opportunities for observational notes and still images
occurred in situ. Individual interviews with campers were held during the six daily
meal breaks on an ad hoc basis. A designated research assistant or a smaller group
size (instead of the 31 teenagers in attendance) would have yielded more qualitative
data due to the availability of time to peruse the data collection process in a
systematic and more thorough way.
Given the length of the camp, it may have also been more advantageous to ask for
feedback after each session to give an accurate first impression and then follow this
up with an end of camp overall evaluation by the campers.
At this point in time, another camp is planned for November 2013 alongside a further
round of data collection. It will provide opportunity for the improvement of
professional practice and the continuation of the action research as well as further
publication to disseminate the knowledge to stakeholders in the field.
English language camps are a field of research in its infancy and it is hoped that
others will follow suit and start investigating this under researched area to close the
vacuum of knowledge.
5. Conclusion
Language camps and particularly English language camps for youngsters are a worldwide phenomenon. In Malaysia, the latter are prolific and have been running for
decades. However, apart from a few still and moving images on Facebook and
International Refereed & Indexed Journal of English Language & Translation Studies
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July-September, 2013
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IJ-ELTS: International Journal of English Language & Translation Studies Vol: 1, Issue: 2
English Language Teaching and Learning during Holiday Camps
Hanewald, Ria
YouTube, the occasional press release or news paper report and some over thirty year
old descriptions of camps there is no evidence of their existence in the literature. The
only exception is a set of statistics generated by the American Camp Association
during 2010.
The apparent popularity of language camps the world over and their enormous
potential in terms of teaching and learning is in stark contrast to the silence in the
academic community on that topic. It is hoped that the action research of this English
language holiday camp during May 2013 triggered an interest in readers to peruse
their own research in this area. The paper has aimed to overcome the silence on
language camps in the academic community and may serve as a starting point to build
a corpus of empirical data. The author believes that literature on language camps is
sorely needed and would benefit students, parents, educators, researchers and policy
makers.
About the Author:
Dr Ria Hanewald is a teacher mentor for CfBT Education Trust, currently on
assignment in Malaysia. She has wide experience of teaching English as a foreign
language, professional English and curriculum designing. She provides professional
learning and curriculum support for English language teachers, conducts regular
English conversation classes for administrative school staff and runs English language
holiday camps for secondary school students.
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