English Festival redux!

This past week, all of us ETAs were running around for 72 hours straight (more or less) for the ELC’s Spring 2010 English Festival. For an idea of the jam-packed schedule, click the link above.

As in the fall, the festival’s purpose is to promote English learning as meaningful for students’ futures, and possibly even fun at times. The meaningful part was provided by a series of presentations ranging from “Traveling in English” and “Using English in the Workplace” (bringing in speakers from international corporations such as Disney and Boeing), while we ETAs provided most of the fun through activities such as Jeopardy!, a UM Amazing Race, Games Corner, and UM Idol Talent Show.

Opening ceremony ribbon-cutting

Traveling in English panel (thanks to GAs Tom/Karen and Tom's roommate Willem!)

Mock debate on "Women need men like fish need bicycles."

Joseph presenting on his experience as an exchange student at SIU Carbondale

Austin and Rex (one of the other ELC teachers) with students at Games Corner

Teams fighting to ring the bell first in Jeopardy!

UM Amazing Race was one of the new things we tried, partially inspired by our own Amazing Race during orientation week. We were mostly nice: the students didn’t have to go around Taipa and Macau, just around campus, but they had to complete various tasks at each stop, and some of these were harder than others. For example, unscrambling some words isn’t so difficult, but carrying a team member piggy-back…uphill…

Task: Identify flags of 7 countries at the World Expo and take a photo with Haibao =P

Task: Carry a team member up the hill from the sports center

Aiyaaa...falling down!

Secret task at the end: Say the English alphabet backwards!

UM Idol was also expanded slightly to encourage more participation – students could do things other than singing English karaoke songs (although many of them chose that anyway). However, some groups got more creative, e.g. a dramatic reading of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and an English dub of a Chinese drama (with soundtrack!)

The Boy Who Cried Wolf (with super-cute folders!)

Annie and Adam dubbing "The Flirtatious Scholar"

PSP (Peer Support Program) - these guys can always be counted on to give a good show

Overall, it was fun but exhausting, so I’m glad it’s done. One event left…UM Prom in two weeks!