By playing the role of a tourist, many elementary school students in Ho Chi Minh City had the opportunity to practice English at a festival devoted to foreign language learning last week.

The festival for elementary-level students was attended by hundreds of students on Friday.

About 500 4^th and 5^th graders from schools in District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, were given tons of activities to explore the culture and people of different countries around the world.

As a ‘tourist,’ each student was given a ‘passport’ or ‘visa’ to ‘travel’ around the ‘world.’

There were five sections featuring five destinations, namely England, the U.S., Australia, France, and Hong Kong, each of which had two workshops, one for students of intensive English programs who have high language competence and the other for less advanced students.

The goal was to pass the challenge given in each section.

In the England section, based on four pictures depicting identical cultural features of the country, the students had to help their mates figure out the keyword by using gestures, or describing it in English.

They also had to solve word puzzles, find keywords related to culture, traditional cuisine, famous destinations, and more to get through.

Meanwhile, in the U.S. section, students needed to predict a word based on information provided by the judges, identify its part of speech and make a correct sentence with it. Alternatively, they had to recognize the type of speech of the word attached to a ball, before throwing the ball into the right basket in order to pass the challenge.

By picking random cards, students could also answer questions related to a passage given in the Australia section or could take part in sack racing in order to collect letters and put them in the appropriate gaps.

The festival also opened several performances and competitions for elementary students to take part in, namely the English eloquence contest about various topics, including the future, their nation, and their dreams.