Learning is fun: how to choose a language camp for the student

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A month in a language environment, several English lessons a day and even an exam at the end of the shift. During the summer holidays, language camps are ready for schoolchildren who are tired of the school year. ForumDaily figured out what level of English is best for sending a child on such a vacation, what to look for when choosing a camp and, most importantly, what results does the combination of foreign language lessons and relaxation in an international company of peers bring.

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Five daily English lessons and classmates from around the world - 16-year-old Ruslan from Moscow is going to a similar camp in California for the second time. His mother, Karina, admits: initially it was her initiative; her son imagined the holidays completely differently. “We agreed with him that he would try and, if he didn’t like it, then he would go to the sports camp that he wanted so much,” says the Muscovite. But the results exceeded all expectations: Ruslan’s English became much better, he enjoyed studying.

“I felt like the language barrier had disappeared. Grammar is a matter of time. But from the point of view of vocabulary, he began to communicate freely, it was clear that the barrier had been broken,” the woman continues.

Karina with her son Ruslan. Photo: from the personal archive

Karina quickly found a company that organizes such a vacation. Its main requirement is that the organization must be foreign. This immediately eliminated more than half of the options. Karina was especially careful about reviews - both online and personal. I checked if the USA was among the proposed destinations. Karina herself once studied in America and was sure that her son would definitely like their approach to classes.

How to find a camp

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Language school Education first, where Karina applied, has offices in Russia, so the woman could ask all questions personally. The company has its own camps in the USA, and it works without intermediaries. Parents can also contact the American camp - the Internet is replete with similar offers.

Eva Strausberg, Director of Youth Programs American language school Converse, advises to call in person or write to e-mail. “For example, our phone is always available. And the letters in a good company respond quickly. ”

It is also worth paying attention to whether the camp is in specialized organizations. For example, American Camps Association carries out accreditation of all its members. The press service of the ForumDaily organization said that they have 300 standards that the camp must meet, starting from the site, program, living conditions, and ending with the specialists who work in the camp. And every three years, representatives of the association check whether the company fulfills all the conditions. Moreover, the site has a list of questionswhich the association advises to ask the camp directorate before making a trip.

Camps most often offer two accommodation options: in dormitories (campuses) or in a host American family. The second is cheaper and more suitable for calm and not very sociable children. “They, in fact, simply move from their family to another, where they are trying to create all the conditions that are familiar to them,” explains Daria Karpukova, director of the “Foreign languages ​​during the holidays” program at the Education first school. The company selects families throughout the year, and an agreement is concluded with them, which clearly states all the rights and obligations of the parties. And a curator comes to pick up the children every day for lessons.

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Students have permanent access to the Internet, they can be in touch with relatives. Parents are allowed to come and pick up the child for the weekend. But in the American Converse language school is prohibited. All six weeks of the course children should spend on their own, without parental intervention.

What is the level of language to go

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Before making a ticket Ruslan passed the test in English. Knowledge of the guy turned out to be average, which is more than enough for the American camp. Daria Karpukova says they have no strict limitations on English. The only caveat: if the level is very low, Karpukova advises parents to carefully weigh the pros and cons.

“If a child has never traveled anywhere before, and in English he can only say his name, we will most likely recommend that parents postpone the trip and improve his knowledge,” says Daria.

Eva Strausberg also agrees with her. Americans, like their Russian colleagues, do not require schoolchildren to demonstrate fluency in English. But, according to Eva’s experience, only a few come to their camps without basic training. Moreover, she always warns parents that there is no need to force their child to go to camp.

“You see, if a child doesn’t want to go, absolutely categorically, then he won’t study there either. This is both wasted money and a ruined vacation,” says Eva.

Their camps are located in seven cities, some of them at prestigious universities such as Yale in Connecticut, or Georgetown in the District of Columbia. Teenagers from 14 years old are accepted here. According to Eva, children immediately find themselves in a language environment: all teaching is only in English, children are from all over the world, from China to Brazil, and English is the only way for them to communicate.

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Russian office Education first schools He also tries to make the groups multinational - children from different countries go to America. The only concession is that the group from Russia is accompanied by a Russian-speaking teacher: in case of problems, the child has someone to turn to in his native language. But most of the entire four-week course is taught in English.

“They have no other option but to speak English. This is a somewhat shocking situation upon arrival, but they need to say something, no one will understand their Russian,” says Daria Karpukova.

Denis Horishniy. Photo: from the personal archive

Denis Horishniy from the Ukrainian Nikolaev understands well what this is about. He was 14 when he went to a language camp in Canada. I thought that the language knows well, but the adaptation was difficult. “The first time it was not easy, I understood practically nothing, only at the end of the trip I began to clearly hear what exactly the locals were saying,” says the guy. Nevertheless, he liked his studies and sat in class with his mouth open.

“The teachers have a completely different approach - they don’t force you to memorize. They want us to really understand the subject,” says Denis.

Study as entertainment

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A standard day in Denis’s camp began at seven in the morning. Breakfast, lessons until lunch, and then excursions and free time. And so - six times a week. The only real day off was on Sunday, and then the children had something to do. Denis does not think that he studied much - the lessons were always different and were perceived rather as entertainment. “The teacher sees that we are tired and suggests we take a break - play mafia, for example. We played, but we still continued to speak English. That is, even when there was time to rest, we managed to practice,” says the guy.

The language camp program from the Education first school includes five English lessons a day. But often children don’t even realize that they are currently in class. Therefore, parents are immediately warned: children won't bring home written exercise books. Instead, each student after the program will have an exam. The results are compared with those that preceded the trip, and thus the effectiveness is assessed. It is not necessary that the child in four weeks will advance one level, but he will surely learn to better speak and perceive the English language by ear. The main indicator for Olga Gorishnaya, Denis's mother, was their first meeting after the camp.

“He immediately began speaking to me in English. And this, of course, struck. ”

You will have to pay a lot for such progress. The average price of a language camp in the USA starts from $3000 for a two-week session. Karina says her son Ruslan's month-long trip this year will cost more than $6000. For this Moscow family, it’s a little expensive, but they consider this amount as an investment in the future.