Publish at February 16 2016 Updated June 13 2022
It is often said that context can make a difference and this is especially true in the case of language learning. Certainly, these days, thanks to new media and advanced technology, it is easy to learn Russian, Mandarin or even English without having to travel to said countries.
That said, this touch of modernity cannot, however, make up for certain elements specific to the face-to-face setting itself, which is what we discover through language stays!
A language stay is not necessarily the dream of every child... because as this one suspects, it implies classes, and therefore a "return to school", he who dreamed of vacations! Not every language stay is 100% academic. Certainly, the interest of an immersion is to promote the linguistic context of the learner as much as possible, but no need to be full time sitting on class benches.
In fact, this immersion can very well be done, in addition to the courses naturally, in the tourist, cultural and sports discovery of the chosen place. Moreover, more and more organizers of such stays offer a plethora of programs, adapted to all, according to the interests and tastes of each. For example, at CLC, the Club Langues et Civilisations, we have more than a hundred different programs, from the very studious (staying at the teacher's home directly, so compulsory classes almost during the whole stay) to the well-balanced (1/3 classes, 1/3 sports activities, 1/3 visits), passing by the purely touristy (discovering London) or, the most popular of all, the one that combines mornings to classes (in the morning) and afternoons to visits.
No, a language stay is not "school on vacation abroad". This system is much more complex and is organized, ideally, around four axes, as the CLC group points out:
In fact, the objective is not to brainwash the learner linguistically, but rather to teach him or her to open up to another culture and another language, so this also involves intuitive personal development.
Of course, if this is done in an enjoyable way, the learning will only be more effective. After all, don't we learn better by having fun!
The actors in context : the chaperones, the family (or residence) and the teachers
Most of the time, the participants in such stays are between 11 and 17 years old, and thus do not possess the maturity that one would expect in an adult learner.
In addition, the uprooting of family, country and culture can really be an ordeal for some learners, which is why the stays are done in a rather structured and organized way in order to reassure not only the children, but also the parents.
In this sense, the role of the chaperone, leader or group leader remains preponderant. Having myself had the good fortune to be a chaperone on two occasions for language stays in England, I was able to notice the importance of this role because it brings an important emotional link to the participants, the one that makes faith between their family of origin and their host family.
On this subject, here too, everything must be relearned : the rules of family life, social life... complete immersion also involves this uprooting : that of living in another family, in another context and above all... in another language!
Residence housing remains less effective because of the proximity of the learners, and thus the lack of immersive practice of the language being learned. The real advantage of residencies lies in the geographical location they are usually located right on campus and allow learners to be in a close school setting. However, this option distorts the traditional quality of life in the country and therefore will be lacking for the learner, offering only a global vision of the school system (residence, cafeteria, library) without the opportunity to live a real authentic family experience.
The third actor, and not the least, is the teacher. It is through him that all the learning of the language in presence will take place. More structured than in a family setting, the teacher's role is indeed to teach, but also to help correct errors by explaining them in their grammatical, orthographic, phonetic, syntactic or lexical context.
This professional will have to demonstrate pedagogy in order to manage the different levels of students as well as possible. However, he or she is not alone and is part of a pedagogical team made up of managers, coordinators and directors, each one capable, in their own specialty, of helping and advising the learners.
Another option exists that of the linguistic stay directly with the teacher. Here, no choice : you live in the teacher's house, with his family, you go on outings with him, you learn with him... all day long! Everything is a pretext to learn, impossible to ignore. Either way, it's a radical system, but generally terribly effective!
Other than classes, the best way to discover a country and its language is to blend into the landscape by traveling through its socio-cultural wealth. Here again, well-organized language stays offer both fun and sports activities, as well as cultural ones.
What better way to understand England than to learn about cricket, one of the favorite sports of the British, or to stroll through the great museums such as the British Museum or the Tower of London, in order to fully understand the political issues that have plagued England for centuries, before ending up posing in front of the famous Big Ben or the Tower Bridge. These clichés remain favorites of learners and contribute to their contextual immersion.
Context does play a determining role in language learning. Never will one achieve the same results sitting in a classroom as by diving directly into the setting at hand.
Summer camps remain the most popular and, generally, students come away from them grown and delighted and this despite the difficulties of " uprooting " Many even wish to extend this moment by repeating the experience several years in a row. Travel is forging youth!
Illustrations by Ridoand F. Jimenez Meca, Shutterstock
References
Thot Language Travel Directory - https://cursus.edu/en/13453/directory-of-language-stays
Partir en séjour linguistique, trucs et astuces (CIDJ article)
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