The two-week 2016 SEU-UT English Immersion Summer Camp was launched on Jiulonghu Campus this summer, starting in late June and ending in early July. A delegation of 10 faculty members and 16 student volunteers from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville attended this summer camp. Due to the great success of the summer camp last year, close to 300 Southeast University students from 25 departments and schools entered for the camp.
The opening ceremony was held in Runliang Auditorium, Jiulonghu Campus on June 27. Attendance figures included all the SEU and UT faculties and students concerned, and honorable guests who are Pu Yuepu, Vice President of SEU; Wu Juan, Deputy Director of the Office of Teaching Affairs; Xu Jian, Deputy Dean of College of International Students; Chen Meihua, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages; and Ma Dongmei, Deputy Dean of the School of Foreign Languages. The ceremony was chaired by Zhu Shanhua, Deputy Dean of the School of Foreign Languages. During the ceremony, Mr. Pu Yuepu, Vice President of SEU, Mr. Tom Broadhead, leader of UT delegation, and Chen Meihua, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages, delivered their speeches, in which they all reviewed the first summer camp with a successful completion and extended good wishes to the approaching one this year. In the end, Mr. Pu Yuepu declared the 2016 SEU-UT English Immersion Summer Camp open.
During the following two weeks, the whole summer camp curriculum proceeded smoothly and orderly, which included interactive lectures, speeches, various writing activities, performances of special talents, etc. With such a camp aiming to foster a casual learning environment where Chinese students can practice and improve English language communication skills with native English speakers while learning about American culture and life, our students developed both English language competence and social communication skills through extensive interactive activities with UT teachers and student volunteers. Meanwhile SEU and UT students shared culture, grew in confidence, and established new friendship.
Two weeks later on July 8, all the camp faculties and students returned to Runliang Auditorium for the closing ceremony. Guests of honor included Dr. Susan Martin, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor, UT; Dr. Pia Wood, Associate Provost, UT; Dr. Masood Parang, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, UT; Dr. Shih-Lung Shaw, Director, Confucius Institute, UT; Lei Wei, Director of the Office of Teaching Affairs, SEU; Qiu Bin, Dean of the College of International Students, SEU; Chen Meihua, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages. The ceremony was chaired by Ma Dongmei, Deputy Dean of the School of Foreign Languages. During the ceremony, Dr. Susan Martin, Mr. Lei Wei, Mr. Qiu Bin, and Ms Chen Meihua delivered their speeches, expressing their heartiest congratulations on the success of this summer camp and their anticipations for more prosperous cooperation in the future. Then Lei Wei, Director of the Office of Teaching Affairs, was invited to declare the close of the 2016 SEU-UT English Immersion Summer Camp. After that, SEU students and UT teachers and students brought a camp-wide talent show, which they had spent two weeks preparing for. They won showers of applause by amazing the audience with their stunning performance. This talent show, as a highlight of the two-week study, convinced all of us that both SEU and UT faculties and students had harvested a fun and rewarding summer camp.
(By Wang Ting)
