What Is a Language Immersion Camp?

In recent years, a new style of summer camp has grown in popularity: language immersion camps.

This is a language-learning method in which the entire camp — activities and daily life alike — takes place in a foreign language. By avoiding constant translation, participants pick up a greater range of vocabulary and develop the ability to understand and speak another language far more quickly.

Language immersion has been highlighted by several specialist studies as the fastest way to learn another language. It can come as a bit of a shock at first, suddenly hearing another language all day long, but participants soon adapt. Even without understanding every single word, they feel more confident speaking without having to rely on constant translation, which often slows down and impoverishes the acquisition of new vocabulary.

Our language immersion summer camps are conducted in English, in various locations across Spain. The team of activity leaders and coordinators are native or bilingual English speakers, and from the very first contact with participants they use English to create the right environment for learning.

For activities where it is essential that the team of leaders is absolutely certain that instructions have been fully understood by participants (archery, swimming sessions, etc.), these are carried out in Spanish for safety reasons, to ensure no risk is taken. Safety always comes before English!

For language immersion summer camps, it is advisable that the child has at least a basic familiarity with the language in which the camp will be conducted, and that they are aware of this beforehand to avoid any surprises or frustration. If you are unsure whether this type of camp is suitable for your child, we recommend speaking to their English teacher first, as they are best placed to assess the child’s level and how well this style of camp might suit them.