The AFS Philippines in partnership with the Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study and the US Department of State organized an Intensive English Language Workshop to train the new batch of YES Program scholars in order to help them practice and enhance their knowledge of the English Language.
When the scholars arrived in Manila, they went straight for the orientation where the AFS interns led the GTKY (getting-to-know-you) activity called ‘line up’. The activity helped the scholars to know be meet and be familiarized with their co-scholars from the different parts of the Philippines.
In the evening, the AFS Philippines staff led the game called ‘human chair’ to challenge the batch of scholars on how they would exercise teamwork and trust towards each other and their leaders. After the scrumptious dinner, the scholars were instructed to prepare for their visa requirements and U.S. Visa in-person interview.
The next day, the scholars had a conversation and confidence workshop with the representative and interns from the U.S. Embassy in the Philippines. They had different activities prepared for them such as creating their own board games and sharing their views about the life of a typical American high school student. The scholars also had the chance to ask the Interns from the U.S. Embassy about how they will cope up and what will they be expecting during their stay in the United States.
It was on Wednesday that the scholars took ‘How To Improve Your English Listening Skills’ test and had an activity to listen to movie soundtracks which they had to guess what movie it came from facilitated by Ms. Marjorie. And they also took Improving your ‘English Speaking And Pronunciation Skills’ test and had an activity to listen to some certain songs that are assigned to them.
To sum up, the 5-day Intensive English Language Workshop really helped the scholars to improve their English Language skills through the different conducted activities that helped the scholars to speak comfortably with one another.