44 students and two teachers from SK Tiram Duku attended an English camp called “Kid Reporter Camp” at Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities (FSSH) on 2nd November 2022. The camp was co-hosted by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Language Academy staff and 16 final-semester TESL students who served as facilitators for the video-making workshop.
The camp’s purpose was to walk participants through the process of creating original English media content to be posted on the Internet. Prior to joining the camp, the students went for a campus tour and visited places like UTM Tasik Ilmu, Hangar, and Structure Lab. During the tour, they were encouraged to take photos and videos that would be used later in the workshop.
The programme began with an icebreaker session called the “Telephone Game.” The first participant had to memorize a statement shown by the facilitator and whisper it to the following participant. The sentence had to be passed from one player to another within the allotted time until it reached the final participant. At the end of the game, the last player would announce the relayed sentence to the crowd. Despite meeting for the first time, the facilitators and participants quickly warmed up to each other amid the game.
The English camp comprised of four main sessions. Session 1 (Content Making & Input on Script Writing), which kicked off the first half of the English camp, introduced participants to script-writing tips. Participants learned how to use the 5 Ws and 1 H to develop their scripts’ outline. Each participant also received a script template with blanks, which they had to fill out with appropriate phrases.
In the second session, “Planning: Storyboarding & Rehearsal”, the participants learned how to sketch the scenarios they wished to include in their videos. Following a briefing on the meaning, purposes, and procedures for making a storyboard, participants were given a storyboard template with six squares. They were then instructed to draw scenes representing each video shot.
The second part of the English camp began with Session 3 (Shooting & Editing) after a one-hour break. Before being escorted by their respective facilitators to shoot a one-minute video, participants received a brief review of the fundamentals of videography. Following the video recording activity, participants were taught on how to edit their raw footage with CapCut, a free video editor with simple editing tools.
A video of the Grammy Awards ceremony was shown at the start of Session 4 (Video Screening). At the same time, the facilitators gathered all the participants’ edited videos for review. Five of the top videos were chosen as nominees and shown on screen.
A prize-giving ceremony preceded the event’s closing ceremony. The top three video producers were awarded goodie bags, and the top performing group from each session was given hampers. Following that, the programme advisor, Mr. Ghazali bin Bunari, and SK Tiram Duku representatives, Madam Nor Ain binti Ahmad Apandi and Ms. Nur Amanina binti Abdul Basit, gave their closing speeches. They congratulated everyone for a job well done.
The participants were then invited to complete a post-programme survey to give the organizers feedback on the camp’s highlights and drawbacks. A photography and heartfelt farewell session officially marked the end of the English camp.
According to the survey analysis, most participants provided favorable comments since they had fun during the camp. While assisting the participants in producing their script, storyboard, and short video, the facilitators also had a fantastic time socializing with them. In addition to teaching the students how to create original media content, it is anticipated that this camp has inculcated confidence in them to actively create their own videos in English.