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I still remembered that one of my missions
I had planned to implement in LTY was to hold an oversea excursion.
The country I planned to go to must fit my first criteria of
providing opportunities for my students to practise their English
in an authentic situation, as English is the major language
for people to communicate with. Also, I did not want to spend
too much time on the transportation. Although going to England
or USA would be so good, students would have be suffered on
the long flight for over 12 hours. I also hoped our students
would not get sick easily in the cold weather or they would
not have anything to fit for their appetite.
In September, 2018, the school issued a circular
as a survey to let students and parents choose where they wanted
to go. Their options were New Zealand, Australia and Singapore.
Finally, the latter one was the most popular one. Then we started
the procedure to organize this study tour.
On 12th - 16th March, 2019, 3 teachers, 39
students and I set off on our journey. We were so excited for
this study tour as there were so many new things for our kids
and we also had to make sure of their safety. Fortunately, everything
was so smooth and our students were so good and they were eager
to learn. They were so attentive during the lesson in the International
School even though the content was so difficult for them. They
tried to use English to talk to the students at recess. Finally,
they took pictures with each other and they exchanged the contact
number to keep in touch with them.
I believe that English is the own media for
them to communicate with. Besides, students had a lot of chances
to practise their English in different authentic contexts such
as buying food in the food courts, and listening and answering
questions in different museums or learning centres. Of course,
their favourite activity was buying souvenirs. They could not
stop searching for what they wanted to. They tried to bargain
with the shop-keepers. It was such an interesting moment to
see them bargaining with other people in English. They also
needed to speak in English to order the food on the plane and
they even asked the flight attendants how to play the TV games.
I am so happy to see the students can use
English in their daily lives. I wished them not just to enjoy
what they did on the trip but to learn how to use English to
do what they need to or want to. This was therefore a successful
trip and I will try to organize this kind of trip in every single
academic year. I wish for all our students to have a chance
to learn English in an authentic situation and broaden their
horizon.
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