English Summer Seminar 2017
2017/10/24
This year, fourteen students and two teachers from the Department of International Culture took part in the English Summer Seminar at Kinugawa Hot Springs. This is an annual event where students join a 3-day intensive English program. This is a very special opportunity for students to experience communicating in English, learn something new, and make new friends.※
We met on a sunny day in August at Shinjuku Station and headed for Kinugawa Hot Springs at around 1:00pm. We arrived at the hotel in time for dinner, which was very delicious. Traditional Japanese food was on the menu that night. After dinner, we took part in some English activities. Through the activities, we introduced ourselves and got to know each other a bit better.
The next day was unique and special because the students became teachers and the teachers became students! Every year, as part of the English Summer Seminar program, all students are given an assignment to teach something in English. They can choose anything they want to teach as long as it’s practical and everyone can do it together. This year was really interesting! We learned how to do handcrafts and how to draw various pictures. We learned some basic phrases in Korean, German, and Vietnamese. We were shown how to do some traditional dances as well as some interesting games, all in English!
After everyone had finished their teaching assignments, we all took a nature walk together. The surrounding river and mountains were so beautiful and everyone enjoyed getting some fresh air and exercise. Later that evening, we had a barbeque where we cooked the meat ourselves. It was very fun and everyone ate a lot of meat and vegetables. Also, after eating, we enjoyed Barbeque Bingo! Students listened to the numbers being called out in English and everyone got a prize.
After the barbeque, we had more English activities. The night before, the teachers created the activities, but this time, the students had to think of their own original games. Of course, all the activities were in English! Everyone enjoyed themselves and made great efforts at using English.
Last day reflections
On the morning of the last day, after a delicious breakfast, the students made a photo presentation of the highlights of the program at Kinugawa Hot Springs. They each chose some of their favorite photos, said why they chose them, and described the scenes. It was nice to see and hear about the different viewpoints of each student. Lastly, the students each wrote a reflection on what they thought about the program. Below you can read some of the comments.
- “I tried to speak English always and make new friends. I think I could achieve it! I could speak English well!”
Student 1 - “When I came, I worried about how can I do in the seminar. But everyone was friendly so I didn’t worry about anything. And I hope the time will be very long and long to stay with my new friends.”
Student 2 - “This seminar was a very good experience for me! Because we tried to speak English and think about how to speak English well. And we could support each other. ”
Student 3
- ※ 本内容は、人間文化学類 英語コミュニケーション専攻の前身である国際文化学科のカリキュラムについて紹介しています。
人間文化学類 英語コミュニケーション専攻での学びの参考にしてください。
