On Tuesday, June 2nd, students exchanged views about making a field trip in their quiet 10th floor classroom with the bustle of the Washington, D.C. streets below. Seven students representing the countries of Morocco, Tunisia, Chad, Senegal, France, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Sao Tome and Principe embraced the opportunity to practice their English skills during a field trip to Filene’s Basement.

Margarita Duque de Botero, from Colombia, took charge by reading the directions and directing her classmates down G Street and up 17th Street. Along the way, students used their English skills to interact with a street vendor, ask a traffic guide to clarify directions and also window shop.

In Filene’s basement, students completed a scavenger hunt activity, looking for specific clothing items, speaking with store employees, and if they were interested, doing a little shopping! Although it wasn’t required, Caridad purchased a sophisticated pair of sunglasses and Koutou bought two flowered cotton blouses. Students spoke with each other, to the fitting room attendant and numerous salespersons. All in all, everyone reported that the experience had been very helpful!

The students, all spouses of World Bank employees, have been part of a 10-week English program sponsored by the WBFN. For this particular English class, students voted on studying a unit on shopping and this field trip became the culminating activity. Through this experience, students were able to apply what they had learned in class to an authentic life experience and prove that an important step to learning a language is using it in your everyday life!

By Beginners Group – English Class