By Woo Tae-young
"Sit down everyone. Today we're going to talk about countries, and then I have a drawing activity for you. Could you translate that for me?"
Ten seconds after my question was directed to a local volunteer, I heard the "ahhs" and "okays" that I always had to wait for. I knew that body language was the most important factor for breaking a language barrier, but in order to start an activity with children, I learned that communicating with words was also necessary.
I began writing a phrase on the chalkboard ― which I was told they were "very lucky to have"― for the kids to copy down on their paper. "I want to visit…"
Our first car ride to the local Youth Women's Christian Association (YWCA) was filled with anticipation as well as anxiety, as the five of us were about to meet 20 students for a two-week summer camp.
It was to be operated in English and scheduled with physical activities as well as academic lessons. We were assured that the students, supposed to be from age 9 to 12, had moderate levels of English proficiency.
When I took my first steps into the building, I saw a group of about 15 children that looked about 5 to 7 years old. Surely, these aren't the students we are teaching, I thought, as I did not hear any English words coming from them. I quickly had to throw that thought out when they gathered around, waiting for their first day.
The most predictable but frustrating challenge between the children and me was language. The smaller children knew a few English words, but those were not enough to start a conversation. I had to recall phrases I learned from taking Chinese classes in order to figure out what they wanted and what they were asking.
As my group realized that simply sitting the children down and giving them lessons would not work, we shifted our plans to games. Playing basic games such as tag, relay races and musical chairs helped us to learn more about the students as well as interact without communicating with a language. As the days passed, we decided to incorporate simple English words by playing games such as Pictionary.
In the second week, the children got more comfortable and made attempts to speak in English, even if it was just using phrases such as "What is it?" while pointing to an object. In the latter half of the week, we brought children's books to the camp. I was surprised to know that most of the students in my group were able to read the words before I read them aloud.
The final day came and the children and the volunteers prepared a talent show for the parents. We had the students sing "Old MacDonald" and the "Friendship Song" as a group. After, the students came up individually to the front of the class to showcase a variety of talents, which ranged from singing and dancing to showing and explaining paintings. A few of the boys performed a short segment of Kungfu, and girls gathered in small groups to dance. The volunteers all performed acts as well: three female volunteers gave a dance performance, Mike played a song on guitar, and I played a short segment of the soundtrack from the movie "Legends of the Fall" on the piano.
The final minutes of camp were filled with picture-taking, conversations, and the handing out of certificates to show that each child had completed the camp. The youngest child, 4-year-old Owen, smiled widely and said "Thank you" aloud when I gave him his certificate. That was the first English phrase that anyone had heard from him during the camp.
Watching the children grow comfortable with us, as well as with English, throughout the two weeks showed me how volunteering can impact people's lives. Some of the children who cried on the first day when I asked them to come up to the front of the class to present would run up and proudly present what they had written by the end of the second week.
Although my goal as a volunteer was to increase the children's proficiency in English, I could feel that they had gained confidence in their own creations and abilities. As I left the campsite, I knew that I would never forget the smiles and thumbs-ups that my students proudly gave me.
Woo Tae-young is 10th grader studying at the Taft School in Connecticut, U.S.A.