French language camps for kids

Stays for teens in France: a new way of learning French

The concept of language camps for teens gained ground in France from the 1970s with the craze for learning English. Going to England, then Ireland, was an opportunity for young speakers of any language to make countless discoveries. We have kept lasting memories of these experiences that both contributed to our personal development and were full of discoveries, where we were those strange foreigners for our British hosts as they were for us. As for our parents, their memories are of their kids being looked after intelligently and safely during the long Summer holidays. 
As such, when French, a language on the syllabus in school systems worldwide, began in turn to be offered on summer camps for kids and teens, the concept was already well established. It was simply a matter of adapting it to the specificities of France. Teaching French as a foreign language has become an academic subject in its own right with courses and diplomas offered by French universities. Summer French language camps for young foreigners became even more professionalized as textbooks by major academic publishers specifically designed for young learners accompanied the emergence of new methodological approaches.

Today, French classes for kids are taught by qualified teachers skilled in the use of a range of teaching aids including ICT, injecting some fun into learning the basics of any language, creative and stimulating and, as such, using teaching methods based on the desire to learn that are motivational for kids and teens.
 

The language camp: A worthwhile vacation for teens 

Today, sporting activities and the exploration of France’s rich heritage are overseen by trained group leaders who keep a close eye on safety. These group leaders are young French adults, often university students, who, to an extent perform the role of big brothers and sisters for school kids.  You only have to see them calling each other by their first names. As such, due to their constant interaction with kids and teens and their close relationship with them, these supervisors help to create the French-only environment before and after French classes which now characterizes the summer camp.

Choose the language camp to immerse yourself in local culture 

Indeed, it is with this perspective, and to facilitate and expand this concept of immersion in their teaching strategy, that French language schools in France very quickly put in place a specific service offering accommodation with selected French host families. These host families must be able to provide meals and accommodation of a high standard as well as be at ease with teens. This takes the form of the ability to share and communicate and, most of all, to be comfortable around foreign teens who, although interested in France and the language, can sometimes be intimidated as they are not familiar with French social conventions.

In addition to offering the perfect way of learning them from the inside this type of accommodation provides an introduction to the way of life, with its daily habits and routines. Briefly sharing family time with a host family, particularly at mealtimes, is an opportunity to become familiar with the specificities of French cuisine; but it above all an opportunity to a appreciate moments full of mutual discovery and to make lots of memories.
However, this type of accommodation does require adaptation on the part of young foreigners and is not necessarily suitable for everyone. That’s why lots of young students opt for accommodation on campus. In their student residences French language camps in Summer give young people the opportunity to be together and as such evening activities with group leaders are under optimal supervision. Staying on-campus also gives teens the opportunity to interact with each other and with the various school staff: Administrative staff, group leaders and kitchen staff who, with the teaching team, are the adults responsible for providing exposure to the language that goes far beyond the classroom.

Language camps in France: A first step towards independence

One aspect of the language camp has benefits beyond learning French in France and is worthy of mention: This is the strong character-building aspect for these kids and teens of traveling alone far from home, often for the first time. This departure leads to situations, confrontations and experiences that will help you to develop their personality as the famous saying goes, “Les voyages forment la jeunesse” (Travel shapes youth). This was coined by intellectuals of the Enlightenment who were already fully aware of the educational role of interaction with other cultures and with the different ways of thinking about the world.
Another important consideration is that  a summer camp in France should raise awareness among foreign teens. It should show them that a French class is not just a school subject in which you can get good or bad grades, but a real tool for communicating with different people in a foreign land: The French in France.

Teachers will strive to help raise their awareness in this way by removing their students from the classroom context. They will try to bring about encounters with shopkeepers, passers-by, professionals etc.  They will have prepared their students in advance by giving them the necessary language tools for this communication outside the classroom.
This mix of French classes and a French-speaking environment raises awareness among teens of their ability to cope with real-life situations in the day-to-day. Guided by the teacher who does not try to make things difficult but to build their confidence, students are able to see a gradual increase in their autonomy. But, when it comes down to it, the French language camp in France will be an interlude, a moment suspended elsewhere, where kids and teens will have experienced something else, will have had their certainties up-ended, lost their bearings, have had to make an effort to adapt to a new, international environment with kids and teens of their age from the world over. They will have gained in maturity and have learned a little more about themselves, gained a degree of confidence and ultimately had a good time whilst perhaps making new lifelong friends.