Concordia Village HS Credit Session

[Penguin]

I found a couple old threads about Concordia Village's foreign language programs, and they get mixed reviews.

 

I am specifically wondering if any of your students have tried the four week high school credit sessions, but I would be interested in new or updated reviews of any of their programs.

 

 

 

 

Previous threads for reference:

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/214486-concordia-language-camps/

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/494800-academic-summer-programs-for-high-schoolers-add-your-favorites/

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/506106-any-experience-with-concordia-language-villages/

 

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/46739-concordia-village-reviews/

 

 

[Momling]

Not HS credit, but my dd went to a 2 week french program this summer at the Concordia lac du bois site and loved it.

[Momling]

To be clear though, it wasn't a Concordia staff member. It was a school field trip to the camp and the school brought their own instructors with them.

 

If anything, I thought CLV was a little to overly cautious about safety; perhaps it is in response to that incident four years ago?

[8filltheheart]

My dd went to one of the regular 2 week sessions 2 summers ago (not the one for high school credit.) She was disappointed b/c so much time was spent speaking English. She was hoping for a stronger immersion experience. She was still glad she went, but it wasn't quite what she had been expecting.

[Guest pamayawaa]

My son did a 4 week high school credit session this past summer.  It was a fantastic experience for him.  Last year he did the 2 week program which he also enjoyed.  The credit session is obviously much more intense with a variety of learning experiences.  I think the experiences vary depending on the language village.  My son attended Sjolunden (Swedish).  If you have any specific questions, please let me know.

 

I would have no concerns about safety issues (any more than another activity away from home).  We received regular updates on our child's progress and saw photos each day on the main blog as well as the credit blog (written by the students).

[madteaparty]

I keep going back and forth on Concordia. It seems to me most participants that had a great language learning experience were at a beginner level at their relevant language.

My DS is studying French and I wonder if an immersion camp in Quebec might be better. Issue is I find very few reviews on these.

[KJB]

My son has attended for the past two summers for the two week session. He is a fourth year Spanish student and a sophomore in high school. He has enjoyed his time there greatly. He spoke primarily to other like-minded students and to the staff, many of whom are native speakers. In fact, his cabin staff member was a native speaker who spoke very little English. My son would like to work as a junior counselor there in the summers to come.

 

I fully support the mission of the camps and I think they do an excellent job of giving a student a near immersion experience. We have lived overseas and know firsthand that you get out of an immersion experience (even in another country) what you put into it. I know my son's conversational Spanish and confidence speaking has benefited greatly. 

[Penguin]

Thanks, all.  I live in Europe and am looking into language schools in the USA - talk about ironic.  But it might make sense if we spend the summer in the USA.