Many parents dream that their children learn to speak English fluently. And increasingly, following the principle "the earlier, the better," they send beginner "students" aged four to seven to language courses. By ages 8-12, these children accumulate sufficient vocabulary and basic communication skills in a foreign language to try their hand in an English-speaking environment – in programs for younger schoolchildren in the UK. To ensure that learning surrounded by native speakers brings the child benefits and positive emotions, preparation for such "free swimming" must be thorough and serious.
A good program is not boring!
Most programs in language schools in the UK (as well as Malta, Canada, the USA, and other English-speaking countries) are designed for adults and teenagers from 14-16 years old. However, only some schools in the United Kingdom work with children of primary school age (7-11 years old) that have special conditions and specific methodological developments for teaching young foreigners. A suitable educational institution can be found in different parts of the country: London, Sidmouth, Shrewsbury, Edinburgh, and other cities.
How should a program be organized so that a child does not get bored and studies English with pleasure for two to three weeks away from family? Children's programs differ in content from adult and teenage programs. Instead of hours of classroom lessons, they use teaching English through games, exciting activities, or sports. What does your child love most? Are they a researcher or an athlete by nature? First of all, help them to be among peers who share similar interests. If the school's website states that they accept children aged 10-15, be sure to ask whether they will be divided into age groups.
The small family school Channel School of English in the town of Ilfracombe (Devonshire) operates under the program "English Plus Sport." Children from the age of seven are offered no more than 15 English lessons per week, and the rest of the time is devoted to "Discovering Devon" – hiking tours and excursions, all kinds of entertainment and outdoor games. The youngest can engage in tennis, football, golf, and even horseback riding, while students from ten years old have access to canoeing, rafting, surfing, and archery. In such an environment, children from different countries enjoy communicating with each other and gradually improve their English. They return home rested and happy.
In Exeter – the capital of Devonshire, recognized as the best city for quality of life – a summer course for 7-10-year-olds takes place at Globe School. Schoolchildren attend 20 English lessons per week and many cultural and entertainment events.
Holme Park School's programs are held in the outskirts of Edinburgh. Teachers know well that at 8-10 years old, a child from any country happily takes their school backpack to quickly head to class. They will enjoy picking strawberries and making jam, participating in chocolate-making during a tour of a chocolate factory. For younger children, they select activities that allow everyone to feel like the most active participant. If a museum trip is organized, they choose not boring Madame Tussauds wax figures, but a natural history museum for schoolchildren, where children can touch and try out any exhibit. Particularly popular are excursions to theme parks – for example, a "living" Viking village or old mines where costumed characters show how coal was mined. Any of these activities are conducted in English and are long remembered by the young visitors.
In Brighton, the European Center runs summer programs for children aged 8-13. From the age of nine, one can enroll in the summer program at Cambridge Academy of English (Cambridge). Concorde School in Shrewsbury accepts students from the age of eight for an intensive English course.
Independently or with mom?
Not every parent will decide to let their child go abroad alone. At primary school age, not all children are adapted to solving the simplest everyday issues on their own. And finding themselves among people who do not speak their native language, even teenagers can experience serious shock and often feel lost. So it's easier to go with the child, and then either live together with a host family, or drop the young student off at the school residence and stay nearby themselves. For children aged 5-8, it is much easier to get a visa if one of the parents is traveling with the child. But even older children cannot enter the country alone: you will have to arrange for the child to be accompanied at the airport by a representative of the airline.
Collingham College in London offers summer programs for parents with children aged 5-15. Moreover, a child aged 5-6 will only be accepted into the program if the adult also plans to attend a language course. But if in London or Edinburgh parents can have an interesting time without studying, in schools located in rural areas, English lessons are often the only entertainment for adults.
If you do not want to let your child go alone and cannot accompany them, there is another option – traveling in a group of children organized by one of the educational agencies. In this case, you must ask how they will be distributed into study groups at the school. The highlight of studying English abroad lies in the opportunity to communicate in an international environment where there are no Russian-speaking students, and English is the only language for exchanging information. However, ideally, this option is almost unattainable. Even if there are no compatriots in a group of 10-12 people, you cannot predict that there will be no students from other CIS or Baltic countries who speak Russian perfectly. Still, good schools try to maintain a multinational environment both during lessons and when placing children in rooms in the residence.
European-style comfort
An important point when choosing a school in the UK: do not expect five-star comfort. As a rule, in school residences, children live four to six people in a room and use shared facilities on the floor. Even in summer, there are many rainy and foggy days, rooms can be damp, and clothes dry poorly after washing. To feel comfortable, you either need to toughen up in advance, or, as the English proverb says, have an extra sweater in reserve.
Paying for full board, be prepared that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner your child will have modest meals without frills – cereal with milk, toast, juices, French fries, sausages, vegetables. For those who like more calorie-dense food, it is advisable to stock up on pocket money in advance, at a rate of from 50 pounds per week.
Most children do not pay attention to the Spartan living conditions. They simply have no time: besides lessons, they are constantly offered new sports games, competitions, creative tasks. But to ensure that the unusual way of life does not spoil the mood, it is better to prepare in advance. At the same time, explain to children that their European peers do not fight at school (they can be expelled for fighting). It is customary to 'tell on' offenders rather than 'fight back.' But it can be difficult to explain to the teacher in English what happened...
There is still time until next summer to learn as much as possible not only about the way of life of a particular school, but also to get to know the culture of the country as a whole. To dream about interesting excursions and choose exactly the program that your child will like.