English camp

English Camps are camps, many of them multi-day, held at venues across Akita Prefecture during the school year as a chance for students to interact with many different ALTs and use living English in a communicative environment.

English Camps are organized and run by the High School Education Division (English Education Promotion Section) of the Akita Prefectural Board of Education.

Outline and levels

Around 15 to 18 camps are held each year. Attendance at camps is open to all students within the prefecture of the appropriate level. Each camp aims to host from 40 to 60 students, depending on level. The number of staff also ranges depending on the size of the camp, from around 5 to 10 ALTs per camp. Students and staff are expected to stay overnight and eat meals together at the camp location.

Generally camps have varying lengths. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, all levels of English Camps have been condensed into two-day schedules, with the first day (Saturday) being held online, and the second day (Sunday) being held in-person (except Wanpaku, which was only one day to begin with).

English Camps are split into the following levels.

Wanpaku

Level: 3rd-year to 4th-year elementary school
Length: 1 day (Saturday)
Student attendance: around 30
Number held per year: 3

Usually rendered as わんぱく.

Pre-teen English Camp

Level: 5th-year elementary school to 1st-year junior high school
Length: 2 days (Saturday noon - Sunday afternoon)
Student attendance: around 50
Number held per year: 4 to 7

Teen English Camp

Level: 2nd-year junior high school to 3rd-year high school
Length: 3 days (Friday afternoon - Sunday afternoon)
Student attendance: around 45
Number held per year: 3 to 5

Super English Camp

Level: 3rd-year junior high school to 3rd-year high school (with Eiken level pre-2 equivalent English proficiency)
Length: 3 or 4 days (various days)
Student attendance: around 40
Number held per year: 3

Eiken (英検) level pre-2 (準２級) equivalent or higher English proficiency is required to attend this camp (though actual certification is not required).

Liberal Arts Seminar

Level: 1st-year to 3rd-year high school
Length: 3 days (Friday afternoon - Sunday afternoon)
Student attendance: around 40 to 50
Number held per year: 1

Liberal Arts Seminar is a rebranding of the Global Summer School program, which was discontinued in 2014.

Fun Writing

Level: 5th-year elementary school to 3rd-year high school
Student participation: around 200
First period: September through October
Second period: January through March

Fun Writing is a program within the English Camp system where participating students and ALTs exchange written letters. The content of the letters is based on students' levels. The impetus to create this program was the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused widespread cancellations of English Camps from 2019 through 2021; Fun Writing was created as a way to fill this void. It continues to this day.

Lesson plans

Full lesson plans will be sent your schools and then passed on to you. The camp will involve full group activities and small group activities. There is little if any preparation required from ALTs. The plans have been made in advance. However, it can be expected that some plans will have to be adjusted before and during the camp in response to varying group sizes and age variations.

Each activity will be lead by one more of the attending ALTs; ALTs need to be familiar with the activities they are leading during the camp with materials provided by the camp. Otherwise, ALTs typically need to create one 20-minute cultural activity for the Various Cultures presentation. This presentation is often repeated three or four times in succession.

Potential Various Culture activities are:

Sports
How to play: football, cricket, fencing
Music
Quiz/Sing: nursery songs, famous songs, bagpipe, didgeridoo
Arts & Crafts
Art and its meaning: national flag, cave art, dot art
Dance
How to: salsa, ballroom, four square, thriller
Literature
Quiz: well-known stories, American symbolism
Events/Holiday
Quiz: Day of the Dead, Christmas, Thanksgiving
Fashion
How do we: dress (outfit quiz), traditional clothes
Everyday life
Quiz: at home, at school
Travel
Game: become the travel guide and guide the students, vice versa

Dress code

Staff members are expected to wear the attire that they usually wear to work (typically cool-biz, as camps are predominantly held during the warmer months). After dinner on the first day, staff may change into more casual clothing. On three-day camps, casual clothing is typically allowed for all of the second day as well.

To bring

If you are selected to attend an English Camp, you will typically need to bring at least the following:

Indoor shoes
Hanko
Money

English Camp fee (which is later reimbursed)
Extra change for vending machines, if desired

Changes of clothes

One set of work attire for each of the first and last days
One set of casual attire for each of the first day (after dinner) and any other days that are not the last day

Pajamas
Toiletries

Toothbrush and toothpaste
Bath soap and shampoo
Razor and shaving gel, etc.

Bath towel
Writing utensils
Stickers, stamps, etc. for decorating postcards (optional)
Materials necessary for your Various Culture activity
Anything else you require for a multi-night stay (medicines, contact lenses, etc.)

Questions/Information (English Camp CIR)

If you have questions or want more information, then please contact Rose Jacques. Her email address can be found on the Prefectural Advisors page. You can also check out the English Camp website here

Historical English Camp CIRs

Year	English Camp CIR
2013-2014	Naomi Vogt
2014-2015
2015-2016
2016-2017	Kristina Tan
2017-2018
2018-2019
2019-2020	Allyson Roberts
2020-2021	Allyson Roberts
2021-2022	Majesty Zander
2022-2023	Majesty Zander
2023-2024	Rose Jacques

Venues

English Camps are held (or have been held in the past) at the following venues.

Municipality	Venue
North Block
Happō	Akita Shirakami Taiken Center
Ōdate	Ōdate Chūō Community Center
Ōdate	Ōdate Shōnen Shizen no Ie
Capital Block
Akita City	Hokubu Shimin Center (KITASKA)
	Youthpal Youth Community Center
	Yufōre Prefectural Health Center
Katagami	Prefectural Education Center
South Block
Daisen	Yaotome Community Center
Yokote	Horowasan Shōnen Shizen no Ie
Yuri Block
Yurihonjō	Iwaki Shōnen Shizen no Ie