Karen A Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I would love to hear of anyone's experiences with this foreign language summer camp. My 10 year old daughter has been taking a weekly French class since she was 3. She enjoys it, but once-a-week exposure doesn't get one very far in fluency! She's expressed some interest in going to French camp, but we know no one who has actually gone there. It's expensive and 11 hours away. Wondering if anyone here has been there, and pros/cons versus other camps. If your child attended, did he/she take a friend, or make all new friends when there? And perhaps did you stay nearby so as not to have to make two LONG trips to drop off and pick up? www.concordialanguagevillages.org Thank you for any insight you might have! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ipsey Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 My best friend, a now French prof, went to the French camps as a kid. LOVED them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cera Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I have a friend who sent her children and spoke very highly of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leav97 Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 My DD has been to the one week Swedish camp twice. It is expensive and she wants to go for 2 weeks this year :scared: . It's "only" a 6 hour drive for us. So far we haven't stayed in Bemidjii. Adding the cost of a hotel room for a week and a week of missed work would have made the camp cost too much. They do have some transportation options to pick kids up from the Minneapolis or Bemidjii airports and drive them to the camp. I can't help with pros/cons we didn't look into other camps. My DH also attended Swedish camp as a kid so using CLV was kind of a given. She's never brought a friend. Although for her second year there were several kids she already knew from the previous year. She has really enjoyed the camp. The biggest challenge is reinforcing the learning during the year so they don't forget everything. But, it sounds like you have that covered with the french classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKay Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 My dds attended the Swedish camp at Concordia Language Villages and had a great time. They enjoyed the cultural immersion style of learning the language and made friends there. We live several states away, so they flew to MN. I'd recommend it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen A Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 Back from work now--thanks so much for the replies! It's good to know that there might be "pick-up" from an airport. I've been toying with the "day camp" option, in which case I'd be up there at a campground somewhere. But if she does the overnight, I'm not camping all by myself for an entire week. So if I don't have to drive back and forth twice, that would be GREAT! Did your children know Swedish at all prior to attending the camp? Did you get a feel for how much English was actually spoken? Do they actually do any formal language study? Are children ever grouped according to ability level? In my dd's French class, the kids still all speak English to each other (grrr!) though the teachers are supposed to speak French only. And the kids range from never having spoken/heard a word, to having a French mom and being verbally fluent. Often the teaching seems geared to the lowest level, and my middle-level daughter (for that class) is not challenged. Just trying to figure out if this might be worth the expense and travel time! Thanks again for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catz Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 We live only a few hours away from these camps, and I've only heard good things. I wish they weren't so expensive though! ETA - I'm sure I know at least a dozen families that have used them and loved them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msrift Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 I also have heard only positive things about the camps. (Other than the cost!) My sister was lucky enough to go, and I have a friend who has been sending her two children for 3 or 4 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted February 26, 2014 Share Posted February 26, 2014 One thought: for the cost of the camp, could you hire a tutor to come a couple of times a week during the school year? An immersion experience is great, but a week or two of immersion may be less helpful than regular interaction with a native speaker. maybe increasing her French from once a week to several times a week will go farther towards getting the results you want than the camp. Just an option to consider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McKay Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 My daughters did not know Swedish before. There is formal language study twice a day and the campers are grouped according to ability. The counselors only speak the village language, unless there is an emergency. The students must speak the village language at meals and in classrooms. The campers sometimes speak English in the cabins, but it is encouraged to speak the language as much as possible. Some villages have scholarship money available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leav97 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 DD didn't know any Swedish before she went. We've reinforced it at home by speaking it at meal time. There is formal learning twice a day. The adults almost only speak the village language. So they will ask the kiddo a question in the language, ask the question really slowly, say the word that might give them a clue because it sounds like an English word, act out the question, and if the kid really still needs help or is getting frustrated then they might use English. There is some money available depending on the language and the income level. BUT, scholarship applications are due TOMORROW! I didn't think we would receive a scholarship so I didn't apply the first year. Then they posted there was still money available in June. So the second year I applied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 No personal experience, and I really want to hear that it works for people. But I looked into this for my 9 year old and I just cannot picture how they enforce the immersion part of it, outside the classroom. We are doing an immersion class in France this summer instead. He does 3 hours of lessons daily, and there's field trips, etc (I'm putting some together, the school puts some together). It is expensive, of course, but this will be my vacation this year. I will work hard to find immersion opportunities closer by (Montreal?) when we return, because this is not something we can afford to do every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Edited to ask, do they group kids by level? Would they put an intermediate kid together with a beginner? Also, I think Middlebury college has a similar program. I wonder how they compare. Sorry OP if I am derailing thread, if you mind, I will delete my questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RanchGirl Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I have been with my kids and my mom for a "family weekend". It was great. They do group by ability the best they can, but it is tricky if there is no one at your level (which happened to my Mom). With a week long kids camp I think that will be less of a problem than a multi-generation camp. Also I think their daycamp options are around the Minneapolis St. Paul area, not up in Bemidji. So that would likely be closer for you (I assume you're not coming from Canada for French), and it would give you more options for places to stay. eta, I see on the website that I am wrong, they do also have daycamps in the Bemidji area and the daycamps in the twin cities do not include French. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leav97 Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Edited to ask, do they group kids by level? Would they put an intermediate kid together with a beginner? Also, I think Middlebury college has a similar program. I wonder how they compare. Sorry OP if I am derailing thread, if you mind, I will delete my questions. As you are coming into camp they evaluate your current level. It depends a little on the language how many groups they can create. German, French, and Spanish all have beginners - college credit. It should be easier to find an appropriate group. The rest seem to have beginners - high school credit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 8FilltheHeart's daughter attended one of the French language camps at Concordia last summer. You might want to shoot her a PM, as she doesn't read the chat board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Thanks all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karen A Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Thanks for all the additional information--especially pointing out the scholarship opportunities! If dd goes to Concordia this year, it may have to be the day camp, based on our schedule. Possibly the Family Camp might work, which would be a pretty neat thing to experience with my dd, though I myself know next to no French! And MadTeaParty--glad you asked your questions too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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