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<p>KINGSTON &#8212; Nancy Chen came all the way from China to clap and gasp with joy at a little robot executing a bit of programming by lifting a truck and carrying it to the safety zone. One small step for Legos, one impressive step for international cooperation.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s really cool,&#8221; the 13-year-old from Shanghai said after her team&#8217;s robot coding worked during a class at Wyoming Seminary Friday. &#8220;We don&#8217;t have these kinds of classes at home.&#8221;</p><p>Chen is one of about 26 students from seven countries participating in Seminary&#8217;s annual English Language Institute to help foreign students improve English fluency, not only by spending time in an English-speaking nation, but also by getting them to work with people from other countries on projects like this: Programming a small robot to navigate through a mini mock natural disaster and perform life-saving tasks.</p><p>For example, they must devise and program a vehicle that will roll into the scene and push an inert ambulance and supply truck to safety. Most teams opted for a design that scooped one, and then the other, up in front of the robot, but the one Chen cheered on poked a rod through the truck cab windows and lifted it by the cab roof.</p><p>Teacher John Eidam said students are grouped as much as possible with those from different countries, increasing the need for all students to speak English if they want to cooperate.</p><p>While many struggled to fine-tune the programming so the truck maneuvered exactly right, 25-year-old Owen Li set down his bot, turned it on and watched it scoop both vehicles flawlessly, pushing them into the safety zone before returning to the starting point.</p><p>&#8220;I think that one&#8217;s completed,&#8221; Li, of China, said to Eidam before returning to his work table. He didn&#8217;t stay away long, quickly coming back with a robot of another design, intended to travel over obstacles without hitting nearby Lego people.</p><p>The contraption had a single large rear wheel and two pairs of front wheels that spun on an axis to give the robot a bobbing motion, up and down as one set or the other of the front wheels hit the ground. It barreled over the obstacles but clipped several innocent bystanders.</p><p>&#8220;Needs work,&#8221; Li said, heading back to his work table.</p><p>Like Chen, Li said he loved the class &#8212; a four-week opportunity to program computers, write and speak in English while working with students from places like Thailand, the Czech Republic, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Nepal and Vietnam.</p><p>Unlike Chen, Li conceded he had plenty of experience with robots back home. &#8220;I&#8217;ve worked on them a lot.&#8221;</p><p>This is the first year the robotics option was offered at the English Language Institute. The intent is to focus the student&#8217;s learning on STEM (Science, Technology, English and Math) subjects. The institute also offers programs focused on culture and travel. It concludes next week with teams competing in the completion of robotic tasks.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">David Wang, 13, of Shenzhen, China, tries to operate a Lego robot during a STEM class at Wyoming Seminary for non-English speaking students. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL080616robot1.jpg</photo0><caption0>David Wang, 13, of Shenzhen, China, tries to operate a Lego robot during a STEM class at Wyoming Seminary for non-English speaking students. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL080616robot2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Nancy Chen, 14, of Shanghai, China claps and celebrates as the robot her team worked on successfully completes a task. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL080616robot2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Nancy Chen, 14, of Shanghai, China claps and celebrates as the robot her team worked on successfully completes a task. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL080616robot3.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Students work on robotic mock disaster situations at Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s English as a second language STEM class. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/web1_TTL080616robot3.jpg</photo2><caption2>Students work on robotic mock disaster situations at Wyoming Seminary&#8217;s English as a second language STEM class. </caption2><photoCredit2>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Mark Guydish</p><p>mguydish@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on Twitter @TLMarkGuydish</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Students cross language barrier to program mock bots at Wyoming Seminary