A Study of Primary School Students' Perceptions of English Learning and Teaching in an English Camp

This study reports the findings of an empirical study on how primary school students and native English speaking teachers (hereafter NESTs) who participated in an English camp perceived the English learning and teaching, and effects of the English camp. Data for the study included questionnaires from students on English learning and e-mail correspondences with NESTs regarding English teaching. Results showed that first, the students possessed very positive attitude and high motivation toward English learning. Second, the students indicated that 'speaking' was the most important skill while 'reading' was the skill they need to improve most even though they failed to see the significance of it. Third, the students' perception of the NESTs was very positive, and they also recognized the need of the presence of both NESTs and Korean teachers in the classroom. Further, the students pointed out that even though they liked 'games' and 'sports/art,' they recognized that 'story-telling' classes were more helpful in their language learning. Finally, the students' reaction toward the camp was positive as well, as they became more interested in using the language and learning of the culture and people from English-speaking countries through the camp.