Incheon National University (President Lee In-jae) Great Books Center (Director Hwang Seung-hyun) operated the “2025 Incheon Global Leadership School Southern Region Vacation English Camp” for two weeks from July 28 to August 8, targeting local elementary school students. A total of 150 students participated, with 75 in each of the two sessions. The Incheon Talent and Lifelong Education Promotion Agency (President Lee Yoon-ho) cooperated in promoting and supporting the program.

Sketch of the “Incheon Global Leadership School Vacation English Camp” Operation

This educational program was designed to discover outstanding young talents among elementary school students in the southern region of Incheon and provide opportunities for foreign language education and global cultural experiences.

Incheon National University Great Books Center, making active use of its educational cooperation with St. John’s College, renowned worldwide in the fields of classical humanities and liberal arts education, developed and operated a distinctive curriculum focusing on reading classics, discussions, and presentation activities.

For the first three days of each session, students read abridged English versions of works such as Solon, The Little Prince, and Frankenstein, and engaged in student-led discussions guided by questions from the teaching staff. Alongside this, they participated daily in a “Voice Chain Game” (a pronunciation relay game), and created scripts based on analyses of the works and characters.

On the fourth day, students held rehearsal sessions for a staged reading performance, and on the fifth day, they presented their group performances at Incheon National University’s small theater, with parents invited as the audience.

Incheon National University Great Books Center program

The level of satisfaction among students and parents who participated in this differentiated, integrated English learning program—centered on classics and masterpieces and designed with play and experiential methods—was very high. Students recorded a 100% satisfaction rate (based on the second session survey) and left comments such as, “I want to participate again next time,” and “This camp made it the most enjoyable vacation ever.” The majority of parents also gave overwhelmingly positive feedback, emphasizing the differences from private education methods focused on English academies. Responses included, “My child’s satisfaction is the highest,” “At first, my son was annoyed when I signed him up because he was tired of private English academies, but today he was sad it ended and said he definitely wants to join again,” and “My child is usually very picky, so I thought he might refuse to go, but after just one day he said an hour of class felt like only 15 minutes.” Parents also praised the educational approach of learning English through discussions and performances, saying, “It was great that my child could encounter English while acting in a play,” and “Thanks to this, my child developed a more positive emotional attitude toward English.” Many students and parents expressed regret over the short camp period and suggested, “I hope this will also be held during the winter vacation.”

This program brought together outstanding faculty and native-speaking instructors from the Department of English Language and Literature and the Department of English Education at Incheon National University, along with undergraduate students, as well as two tutors (professors) and six students from St. John’s College. Professor Jeong Ye-ji (Department of English Language and Literature, INU) commented, “I felt truly rewarded watching children who were once shy and awkward about speaking English confidently read aloud in front of many people.” For INU students who participated as teaching assistants, the camp also served as a form of work-study learning opportunity. Their feedback included, “I was able to learn so much through class preparation, administrative tasks, and seminar participation,” and “I am grateful that the camp gave me diverse experiences and greatly helped me think about my career path.”

Professor Emily Langston, Senior Advisor to the President of St. John’s College, also expressed her impression after leading the camp for a week, saying, “I was deeply impressed by how Korean elementary students, though working with short texts, discussed classics in English and often displayed sharp questions and insights surpassing even adults. I sincerely hope such educational programs continue to grow.”

Incheon National University Great Books Center successfully organized this vacation English camp for elementary school students after signing a Mutual Cooperation Agreement (July 23, 2025) with the Incheon Talent and Lifelong Education Promotion Agency to revitalize global talent cultivation programs for children and youth within Incheon.

The Incheon National University Great Books program is expected to contribute to the advancement of lifelong education for Incheon citizens, as well as to the healthy growth of local children and youth and the cultivation of global talents.