Summer is a busy season for employees of agencies, language schools, and consular departments. Schoolchildren and students are taking their final exams, adults are taking vacations and heading out into the world in orderly rows to seek "linguistic happiness," according to their needs.
Dry statistics show that the vast majority of compatriots going abroad are high school students, university students, or recent graduates. This is understandable: the former need to prepare for university admission, the latter are about to start job hunting. Another very numerous category (39%) is teenagers under 15. Interestingly, in recent years the number of students in the youngest age group (under 10) has grown noticeably, as has the number of people over 30. Whatever goals you set for yourself or your child when going on a language course, we remind you that you should not expect a magical effect from a two- or three-week trip. You cannot learn a language in such a short time. But you can solve some local tasks—for example, overcome the language barrier, start speaking, prepare for TOEFL or IELTS.
Surveys conducted abroad show that the United Kingdom remains the most popular educational destination for us. Next in descending order are France, Ireland, and Malta. As for more specific geographical preferences, they are primarily capital cities—London, Paris, Dublin (many traditionally believe that one should start getting to know a country from its capital)—and resorts: the English Riviera, led by Bournemouth, as well as the Mediterranean Nice, Barcelona, and Malaga.
The experience of European countries in recent years shows that the time when parents were satisfied with the assurance that their children were being looked after in the summer is passing. Most of them prefer that their offspring spend their long-awaited leisure time usefully not only for the body but also for the mind. That is why simple health camps, which, by the way, exist throughout Europe and America, are receding into the background. And programs built on the "language + entertainment" principle have taken confident leadership. The main difference of the summer version of such courses is that a certain set of services is usually sold as a single package: lessons, several excursions to nearby attractions, sports activities on the school grounds, barbecues, karaoke, videos, and other peaceful pastimes.
Unfortunately, as in any other area of trade, a popular product gives rise to many low-quality fakes, so a little vigilance does not hurt. Remember that a school must be accredited in its country by professional organizations. It is better if it operates year-round, not just in the summer. A good school should offer many options for extracurricular activities, and there should be a flexible policy regarding their interchangeability. For example, in one of the oldest New Zealand schools, Dominion English School, the list of additional subjects to the language includes such diverse options as gardening, diving, kayaking, horseback riding, golf, office administration, sailing, winemaking and wine tasting, and even shopping. A good sign is if a group is taught not by one but by several teachers: a large staff indicates the school's financial well-being, and gives you or your child the opportunity to see and try different work styles and hear different speech.
Suppose you have already decided on the country and language. Now all that remains is to decide what should be more in the holiday program. If it is study, then there is one way—to a language school or university center. If it is rest, then an international language camp is suitable: it can be an independent educational institution or operate on the basis of some language school.
In war as in war
"In love, everyone fends for themselves," said Lady Kitty's maid in the well-known film about the Three Musketeers. Likewise, school staff, left alone with the key question "How to attract a client?" have to rack their brains for an answer. In the summer, general language programs are invariably popular; in the run-up to the new school year, interest in exam courses increases. But all this is, so to speak, a standard set that any school has and which by no means guarantees it success, primarily financial.
A lifesaver for many centers is the "Foreign Language Plus" programs. When else but in summer can you realize your long-standing dreams and desires, for example, learning to dance the Irish jig, playing Gaelic football, or learning everything about the architecture of Madrid? For high school students, this is also an excellent chance to try their hand at a future specialty by choosing some semi-professional program like "language plus computer technology" or "language plus journalism." And although such courses remain essentially recreational, and you won't get any valuable diploma from them, this is a unique experience that should not be neglected.
Another fashionable fad, again dictated by economic considerations and the desire to stand out from the crowd, is studying one program in several cities. Such "fickleness" will not affect the learning process, since all branches use the same textbooks and follow a single schedule. Network schools were the first to offer this service - Geos, Tandem, International House, etc. But recently even small schools with two or three branches have been organizing such programs. For example, the Spanish Sociedad Hispano Mundial offers two weeks of classes in Granada and a week in Cadiz, or vice versa, as well as longer programs that allow you to see Granada, Cadiz, and Almunecar. Students of the respectable Italian school Apulia - Domus Aerea can combine study in the Eternal City with study in the small town of Lecce, located on the very "heel" of the Italian "boot". Curiously, both cities are the extreme points of the famous Appian Way, so lovers of deep antiquity have every chance to repeat the famous route of the ancients.
"We are cheerful, merry..."
The optimal option for those who, when choosing between rest and study, still place the main emphasis on "rest" is international language camps. They are usually organized on the basis of universities and schools that dismiss their own students for the summer and can receive "overseas guests" within their walls, so the camp may well be located within the city limits. We know what an "ordinary" camp looks like, if not from personal experience, then certainly from numerous Soviet films. If you add to this three to four language lessons a day, in which children from all over the world take part, you get exactly an international language camp.
For example, the British-Maltese "adult" center EC European Centre organizes one of its summer camps near Cambridge, on the basis of Riddlesworth Hall school, where Princess Diana studied. On the camp territory there are courts for tennis, football, volleyball, badminton; entertainment includes trips to London and Cambridge, theater club activities, drawing, sports games, etc. Classes are held from Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 12:30 with a half-hour break. On the first day, all newcomers are given a test and divided into groups. This type of recreation is suitable for those who want to limit the child's freedom of movement. In a good camp, children are watched around the clock by their vigilant "Comrade Dynin" (remember such a character from the film "Welcome, or No Trespassing"?), and they do not have the right to leave the territory on their own.
British and Spanish camps traditionally have a sports focus; Swiss camps, in addition to sports, provide an opportunity to acquire useful skills, for example in cooking, typing, and digital photography. The list of additional options can sometimes reach 30 items. If a child has a pronounced hobby, it makes sense to send him to a specialized camp, for example a computer or football camp. Thus, students of Manchester Academy of English are taught to properly shoot at goal by coaches of the legendary Manchester United club.
Like language schools, camps come not only in different profiles, but also in different sizes: large, international in the full sense of the word, accepting several hundred students from all over the world, and small, "family" ones, where the number of vacationers does not exceed fifty. Naturally, the level of comfort will also be different. If the camp is organized at a university, then children will most likely have to live on the university campus in rooms for one or two, maximum four people. If the camp is located in the bosom of nature, then it is quite possible to stay in a dormitory in rooms for 10 people with shared facilities on the floor.
Together, at home and on vacation...
If for one reason or another you are not ready to send your child alone, you can order training in a closed group formed back in the home country, which will be accompanied by a Russian-speaking teacher, or even go on an educational trip with him yourself. The simplest option is if both you and your child intend to study. In this case, you will be accepted at almost any school. Naturally, training will take place in different groups depending on age and level of preparation. This is one of those rare cases when age turns out to be an advantage: the range of programs will be the greater the older the potential participant is. Thus, adults do not have to limit themselves to general language courses, but can take a business course or a foreign language for special purposes. The same applies to high school students: in addition to general and sports courses, they can enroll in academic or examination programs (the age limit is usually 16-18 years).
For example, in the British school LVS Languages, all who have reached the age of 18 are considered adults. Young people and teenagers are divided into three subgroups: Young Adults (15-18 years), Junior Classes (10-14), Infant Classes (6-9 years). Here adults can choose between general and business English, evening or morning classes. The program "English through Literature" is also addressed to them: they usually study one or more of Shakespeare's works and watch performances of the Cambridge Summer Festival. Well, children will have to settle for General English.
There are not many schools that can offer ready-made programs for parents with children up to 8-10 years old. In the UK, these include Anglolang and Churchill House, and in Ireland, Munster School of English. Perhaps the least problematic trip for clients with small and very small children would be to Malta, a country where family tourism is well developed (and therefore all children's infrastructure: special centers, playrooms, etc.) and where, in principle, it is not difficult to get a visa. In most cases, specific options will be offered for a particular client. The family education industry is well developed in the USA, but unfortunately, difficulties obtaining a visa reduce the likelihood of a trip to almost zero.
Another opportunity for parents with toddlers is studying at the teacher's home, the so-called Home Tuition programs. Ian Josefe from Home Language International, one of the leading organizations dealing with home courses, assures that two or three weeks of lessons at the teacher's home will have a much greater effect than two or three months at a language school. For a long time, such programs were considered mainly for adults, involving those who need maximum results in a short time. Now the clientele is getting younger right before our eyes.
Alexandra Fletcher, an employee of Churchill House School, admits that their youngest student to come independently was a six-year-old child, and mothers with four-year-old toddlers have long ceased to surprise anyone here. A similar trend is noted at the Maltese school English Language Academy. Here, the number of parents with children aged 4-10 has increased significantly, and consequently, the demand for Lower Intermediate and Intermediate programs has grown. The cost of Home Tuition programs is several times higher compared to general language programs (in the UK, for example, it is at least 600 pounds per week). At the same time, it should be remembered that here learning will essentially not stop for a minute: after all, communication with the teacher will take place not only during specifically agreed hours. This completely excludes the possibility of conversations in one's native language.
In general, neither age nor finances (a good program for moderate money can always be found) have long been a limiting factor in language learning. It remains to not be lazy and finally move from passive 'wanting' to active action.