Exploring Instructors’ and Students’ Perceptions of an English Science Program for Gifted Learners

This study aimed at exploring what students and instructors perceive in the process of developing and implementing an English science camp program for gifted learners. Fifth and sixth grade South Korean students participated in this program, and the camp was held intensively for one week at a university setting in Korea with the science instruction delivered in English. Mixed methods of quantitative and qualitative research methodology were adopted, and data were collected through student survey and group interviews, curriculum materials, classroom observation, and instructors’ reflective interviews. The instructors concluded that the three aspects are essential to the program development and implementation: the importance of partnership, making content comprehensible, and inquiry-based learning and higher-order thinking skills. The student survey revealed that overall, this content and language integrated program was helpful to understand content and to improve their English language ability. The majority of the students indicated that activating prior scientific knowledge would be one of the major reasons for understanding scientific content. Science experiments and English presentation were also helpful for them to practice English language. The result of the study can be utilized as a resource for developing and implementing an English science camp program.