Tsinghua University’s seventh English summer camp is now in session. This three week program will use interactive lessons with native speakers to improve the spoken English of more than 2,000 Tsinghua students. Last week, 150 foreign teachers and volunteers arrived from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Ireland, France, Germany, New Zealand, Australia, and Catalonia. They joined 130 volunteers from Tsinghua and Hong Kong Polytechnic University for orientation before the camp opened Monday, July 1, 2013.

Themed lessons include presentations, discussions, and fun exercises designed to improve students’ skills and confidence. This week, lessons revolve around music and sports, and the next weeks will focus on culture and comunication as well as current issues, including education, economy, and the environment. Each day, students are also encouraged to participate in a variety of activities including games, movies, dancing, and public lectures. There is also a camp store for students to spend “shells” earned through participation.

Students attended the opening ceremony in their classrooms Monday morning before getting acquainted with their teachers and volunteers. The camp population is treated as a nation, comprised of eight provinces named for the letters of Tsinghua. Each province is further divided into five cities, each with a visiting teacher, two visiting volunteers, and two local student volunteers. These groups will compete with each other in the upcoming speech and singing competetions. The singing competition is always a camp highlight, with the finals taking place at the closing ceremony on Thursday, July 18, 2013. This popular camp gives students and teachers a unique chance to learn from each other, forging lifelong friendships.