BEIJING, July 18 -- The BridgeNet International Summer Camp at the Xiehe Bilingual School bases its teaching on a blend of drama, sport and study designed to expose the students to complete English environment, writes Fei Lai.

    If you mix fun with language learning, picking up English is no longer a pain for pupils. Currently, some 150 kids ranging in age from six to 14 are attending the East-meets-West BridgeNet International English Summer Camp at Xiehe Bilingual School.

    "It has been running for 10 days now," said Johnnie Cooper, the course director. "Actually, the camp integrates the best of English education and that of Chinese. The Chinese approach is concentrated learning, about getting the knowledge, while the Western style is communicative learning, about using the knowledge."

    With three teachers from Oxford International College, the summer camp consists of dramatic plays, sports games and Internet research.

    The specially tailored English culture themes and enrichment activities expose the kids to a complete English environment.

    "We divided the kids into five classes, according to their level of English," said James Waldron, a fellow of the Oxford International College.

    "The six-week summer camp gives them an idea of what life is like in England and other nations. They cast themselves into roles from fairy tales, play games to build team spirit and make presentations on the global village after doing research on the Internet."

    Coming from countries and regions such as Brazil, Canada, Germany, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong, they play and learn together.

    Each class has a Chinese teacher to help the foreign teacher better communicate with the kids.

    "I like the biography of Princess Diana," said Zhang Wanshan from America. "I collected information on the Internet and make it into a small piece of work. I hope my parents will be happy when they see it."

    Bi-weekly, there is a show prepared by the kids for their parents. The dramas, games and work they have done over the past few days will be performed on stage.

    Course Director Cooper said that two kids from the camp will be selected based on their performance at the camp and sent to the camp in Oxford International College.

    "The camp's aim is to let the kids grow harmoniously with each other. By breaking down prejudice and misunderstanding, the children see and know one another with respect and love. Hopefully in the future they will be more understanding about different cultures in the world."

    (Source: Shanghai Daily)