Singaraja– Ganesha University of Education (Undiksha) is again holding an English Immersion Summer Camp. The activity, which opened on Tuesday (9/8/2022), is in collaboration with the International Center for English Excellence (ICEE). This program is a medium to provide experience, one of which is in English for students which can later be used as provisions to take part in various international programs.
This activity was opened by the Deputy Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Cooperation of Undiksha, Dr. Gede Rasben Dantes, S.T., M.T.I. He appreciated ICEE for collaborating with Undiksha since 2017. The implementation of the English Immersion Summer Camp is one of Undiksha’s strategies to continue to improve student’s language skills, especially English. This opportunity can also be used as a space to learn about the culture of each country. “So actually if we want to learn a language, we don’t only learn the language but also learn the culture. With the arrival of native speakers at Undiksha, students can immediately have experience communicating with native speakers, both from the US, the Philippines, and some from Indonesia,” he said.
Delivered further, Undiksha launched an Internationalization at-home program in 2019. This program is expected to make Undiksha a home for international community learning. In addition, Undiksha also has a number of programs that collaborate with universities abroad. It is hoped that improving English language skills through the English Immersion Summer Camp will encourage students to take part in the program and be able to foster an international atmosphere. “Hopefully, through activities like this, an academic or international atmosphere will begin to occur at Undiksha so that what the Chancellor’s program is, Internationalization at home can really happen,” said Rasben Dantes.
Apart from being related to improving English language skills, this activity is also expected to motivate students to express opinions, have the courage to speak, practice questions leadership, and care for others.
International Operations Director of ICEE, Jeremy Bickel admitted that his presence at Undiksha with the team was an extraordinary experience. He hopes this program can motivate and increase students’ confidence in using English. It is hoped that this program can provide benefits for students, the same as what has been going on before, namely increasing English language competence can broaden students’ opportunities to find jobs, find scholarships, and so on. The director of ICEE, Prof. Dr. L.E. Redick gave his appreciation to students who took part in this program. According to him, this program will provide new experiences, both in terms of language and culture.
Meanwhile, the Chair of the Committee, Nice Maylani Asril, S.Psi., M.Psi., Ph.D. explained, this year’s English Immersion Summer Camp participants totaled 105 people consisting of students from all faculties at Undiksha and 1 lecturer. There are various activities in this program, including learning English with instructors from ICCE and also a culture class consisting of a lontar class, Balinese cooking class, dancing class, gamelan class, as well as Tri Hita Karana class.
Participants in this activity are expected to get good benefits so that they can improve their English language skills, ability to socially relate to the outside world, and also improve leadership. “Because here the instructors come from abroad so they can train their social relations skills and also do group activities so there is building their leadership as well,” she continued. The 2022 English Immersion Summer Camp activity received extraordinary interest from the academic community. This is shown by the number of registrants which is more than the available quota. (hms)
