Students at Oxford and Cambridge make learning English fun

The students, mostly aged between 12-14, had four hours' tuition every day, with three hours of formal learning and an hour of fun, games and quizzes to improve their use of the English language.

Fourteen volunteers from Oxbridge Summer Camps Abroad (OSCA) taught the children speaking, listening and writing skills at four camps based in schools: Al Nukhba and Al Safaa for boys, and Al Ibdaa and Al Qiyam for girls.

This was the first time OSCA had come to Dubai, with a programme organized by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority. All of the students were awarded with certificates at the end of the four-week course, after they presented small plays and readings about life in Dubai - all in English, of course.

Hayley Burwell, an Oxford graduate who was the director of the Al Safaa camp, said: "The students' speaking and listening skills were much higher than we expected. The children were very enthusiastic and asked us lots of questions about England, while we learned a lot about Dubai. It really was a true cultural exchange."

Another volunteer, Ben Kett who is studying physics at Oxford, said: "There was a wide range of proficiency in English, but by the end of the month we were able to joke with some of the students, which proves a really high level of understanding."

And Ivan Gladstone, who is studying Arabic at Cambridge and has spent the last year brushing up his language skills in Syria, Yemen, and Egypt, added: "Dubai is such an exciting city to be in at the moment, and the students taught us a lot about their home."