This summer, AMICUS held a special Summer School event for non-AMICUS students both inside and outside of Okinawa! This is our second summer school, continuing from last year!

The CHALLENGER GROUP, for students in Grades 5–7, went beyond simply memorizing English words to take on the challenge of expressing their thoughts in English—making it three truly next-level, “challenging” days, just as the group’s name implies!

Since many of the children do not have many opportunities to use English in their daily lives, they looked a little nervous at first. Still, with the strong comprehension and focus typical of older students, they did their best to communicate in English by listening to their teachers, asking questions, and expressing themselves in their own way!

First, the children explored the spacious AMICUS campus. As they learned the English names of different places and things, they enjoyed asking questions using their new vocabulary and interacting with the teachers during the tour! After returning to the classroom, they took on another challenge: writing about their favorite memories and sharing their stories proudly with the class.

The Summer School also included special hands-on experiences that the children do not often get to try, such as horseback riding and pottery♪
Before their horseback riding experience, the children learned English vocabulary for different parts of a horse in greater detail than the Discovery Group. They listened with great interest to these new words, and then bravely took on the challenge of riding the large horses!

For pottery, the children first practiced with paper clay before creating their own original pottery pieces “3D Shisa”! Stepping up from the Discovery Group’s flat Shisa, they made high-level 3D pieces through trial and error, resulting in unique creations filled with personality. Once their pieces were finished, they enjoyed viewing each other’s work in an art gallery, and worked in pairs to present the concepts and special details of their artwork in English. Seeing them stand confidently in front of their teachers was truly memorable!

Although they were anxious at first, we saw a big change in the children over the three days. They went from simply listening to actively asking questions, answering, and sharing their ideas with others♪

The joy of thinking, “My English worked!” inspires them to take on their next challenge. It was a truly rewarding three days, filled with exciting discoveries and fruitful English communication!✨