Educational Testing Services hosted a free-of-charge English camp for socially disadvantaged students last week at Seoul English Village Pungnap Camp in Songpa-gu, southern Seoul.

Thirty elementary school students ― five more than last year ― were recommended by 14 district offices of the Seoul city government to participate in the second annual ETS English Camp. Thanks to positive feedback from last year’s inaugural camp, four more district offices agreed to participate this year, said the U.S.-based firm, which administers the TOEFL and TOEIC tests.

It was held from Aug. 2-9, and supported by the Future Foundation, under the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea. Students who are interested in English, but are unable to pay for study programs, were able to hone their skills via fun interactive activities and exercises at the camp, ETS said.

The programs included discussion forums to help students practice their speaking skills, aptitude tests and lectures inviting them to ponder possible future careers.

At the camp, eight college students who won 2013 ETS Scholarships participated as mentors for the attendees and shared their know-how on studying English. Park Jung-won spoke on the importance of English as a lingua franca and on becoming a global citizen, while Kim Han-seok provided tips on how to effectively study English.

“Helping support these underprivileged elementary school students in Korea for a second year is an honor,” says David Payne, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the Global Education division at ETS. “Our camp exposed these young students to an array of events and English-learning activities that will help prepare them for future success.”

The third ETS English Camp will be held next year to consistently support the underprivileged students in Korea, the company said.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)