Visiting Seoul Banpo Elementary School, Where Students Learn English in Fun Ways!    [18-04-2009] On April 2, The Kids Times paid a visit to Banpo Elementary School in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The school is famous for its excellent education system. Under the school motto of “Wise, Honest and Healthy Children,” the school helps children become future global leaders. The school also has wonderful English education programs. Principal Lee Sun-bae welcomed us warmly and explained to us all about the school’s fun English programs. If you are curious, keep reading! Banpo Elementary School places great importance on three values: Smiling, Greeting, and Praising. “I think smiling brings us happiness and good luck. That is why I encourage my students to smile often. I love to see their smiling faces at school,” Principal Lee said. “I also tell them to say hello to each other politely. Greeting is about respecting other people. It helps us have good relationships with people both inside and outside school. Lastly, praising each other is very important, too. But it is not very easy to praise other people. So I’m trying my best to help my students to be good at praising each other.” Banpo Elementary School thinks self-discipline is very important for students, too. This is because children can achieve self-confidence by trying to do something on their own. Accomplishing something by themselves will give them a sense of achievement. It will make them feel good about themselves, too. It will also help them try new things with courage in the future. Banpo Elementary School has a program where every student learns how to set a goal. Teachers help them make plans and achieve their goals. The school also helps students stay healthy. Every student has to run in the school playground each morning. Banpo Elementary School has a very unique English education program. Each student makes their own video clips. They record themselves speaking in English. Some kids record their conversations with their family members or friends. Some kids videotape themselves cooking. They explain the recipe and cooking directions in English. Then, teachers choose several good video clips and hold a school UCC (User Created Contents)손수 제작물 contest. All of the students watch the video clips together every Saturday morning. Everyone loves watching them. The students say making UCC is a great way to learn English. Most importantly, it is so much fun! “One day, one of our students made a video clip where he was telling a fun story to his little brother in English. That was one of the most interesting and impressive video clips,” Principal Lee said. The school also helps students learn practical English, so they can use it in their everyday lives. There is an English Zone at the school. In after-school classes, students learn useful English expressions from native English teachers there. Regardless of grades, classes are divided according to students’ English levels. Students are encouraged to share their thoughts with their friends in English during class. Why don’t you make your own UCC video clip like Banpo Elementary School students and improve your English in a fun way?     출처: 어린이 영자신문 키즈타임즈 (www.kidstimes.net)