This past October, Mahanaim hosted its very first TOEFL Study Tour with students from South Korea. Coming from the city of Cheongju, the 32 Lincoln House School students with their teachers were able to experience the trip of a life-time while learning real-life English.

Students remained at Mahanaim from Monday through Thursday of each week and learned English in a traditional classroom setting. They donned their uniforms, took to their notebooks and pencils to engage in the rigorous TOEFL Explorer curriculum with various teachers. Each teacher incorporated the different aspects of English into their lesson plans: grammar, listening, speaking, even learning fun things like idioms and pop songs.

Every Friday through Sunday, students toured the East Coast of America, visiting famous and historical sites. On the first weekend, with an air of excitement and bit of nervousness, the students packed into their vans and went to their first stop: Niagara Falls. Students were amazed by this natural wonder and learned many interesting facts through their well-spoken bus driver.

Another weekend was spent in Washington D.C. where students visited the famous Lincoln Memorial, White House, and the Washington Monument. They were filled with awe as they beheld these famous structures.

The third weekend was filled with planning for the future as students visited Harvard Square in Boston, Massachusetts. They were inspired by the many impressive universities in Boston, and took advantage of this prime opportunity to meet American college students and talk about what life is really like on a college campus.

On the last weekend, students stayed in good old New York City where they visited the many attractions of Manhattan – the Statue of Liberty, Times Square, and the Empire State Building. They even took in a musical on Broadway. Talk about a great ending to a very eventful trip!

As the students became more familiar with the English language, their teachers, and even the great food at Mahanaim, they were able to feel very grateful for everyone and the TOEFL Explorer Study Tour program. When it came time to return to Korea, everyone felt sad to go. Personalized thank you cards were exchanged and fond farewells were given with wishes to come back to America in the future. Rather than a sad ending, Mahanaim sees this as a hopeful beginning to many more such inspirational TOEFL Explorer study tours.