2006 Press Releases
Bashkoristan is ready to expand the english language summer camp program
July 13, 2006
At their meeting at the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Bashkortostan July 12, 2006 Consul General John Stepanchuk and Deputy Minister Artur Surin discussed the results and perspectives for the International Summer Camp program, which was successfully held in Ufa for the third year.
The American-Russian English language summer camp has been held for high school students from low-income families, as well as children from Ufa orphanages since 2004. The English Language Office of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow has provided teaching and technological support to the camp.
The 370 Ufa children who have participated in summer camps since 2004 have had a chance to improve their English, gain leadership skills and experience cross-cultural communication. The American-Bashkir Intercollege, headed by Dr. Vyacheslav D. Shvayko, developed the summer camp curriculum so that it has become a model for other regions in Russia and abroad. Supported by the English Language Office of the U.S. Embassy Moscow, similar summer camps have been held in 15 major cities of the Russian Federation in 2006.
The cross-cultural component of the camp curriculum is one of its main features. The English language teaching is held in the context of local cultural traditions, which form the basis for the children’s activities. This year the campers were mastering such new modules as “English through sports and games”, “English through arts and crafts”, “English through acting and drama”, and others. For the first time the Bashkir national holiday ‘Sabantuy” was celebrated by the campers in English this year.
The Camp is a great success among the students, parents and teachers, and has attracted much interest from the city and republic community - a good reason for the program’s expansion next year, as was suggested by the Ministry of Education.
