“Being immersed in a foreign language at camp is an intense experience.”
How does it feel to be instantly immersed in a foreign language when you arrive at camp? English camps volunteer Lien went to a basic training event with Roeland and experienced firsthand the intensity of the process. “But it is by far the best way to learn a new language”, she says.
At the Roeland basic training event, experienced and new volunteers learn about animation and didactics: how to organize a productive camp, how to prepare for a weeklong camp, how to make language labs fun and educational, … It is also an ideal weekend for the teachers to get acquainted and make friends notwithstanding language barriers.
Lien: ”The fact that one of the courses I signed up for at the basic training weekend was taught in a foreign language came as a total surprise to me. When teacher Jérémie started the course by explaining everything in French, I was caught completely off guard. Are we in the right class, I wondered. A doubt that struck the hearts of other volunteers as well.”
Mild panic
It soon dawned that we did attend the right session. Jérémie kept addressing us in French. It required some adaptation because French classes were a distant memory for most of the attendees. But soon we understood that Jérémie wanted us to know how it felt to be somewhere where you did not master the main language. It is a feeling well known to our participants.
“The moment I realized the workshop was going to be taught entirely in a foreign language I felt the onset of a mild panic, to be completely honest. But soon I noticed that we had fun, and making mistakes was totally accepted. We helped each other while trying to find a particular word. And we ended up having a wonderful time.”
“I was primarily afraid that even the most basic French words would elude me, and that I would make a complete fool of myself. But I quickly learned that I could pull through when it came to speaking in French, which turned out to be an enormous self-confidence boost.
Very intense
“Because of this experience I now understand how the children and youngsters feel when they arrive at camp, when they must switch immediately to speaking in a language that is not (yet) their own. This hour-long workshop pushed me to make a real effort, so I could grasp what it was all about. I learned that a weeklong camp must be a very intense experience for our participants.”
An effect on camp experience
“Shortly after basic training, I started out as a game coordinator at an English language camp. Thanks to Jérémie’s workshop I learned to be open and expressive, to make use of gestures, to avoid words that are too difficult, to make sure everything is explained properly and to repeat words in English aplenty. I have grown to become more patient when participants do not immediately understand what I am saying.”
“Before the workshop I did not really understand how a student feels at camp. As a volunteer, you are familiar with the language you are instructing and sometimes it is easy to forget how it feels for children and youngsters to live in a foreign language. By experiencing it firsthand, I learned to empathize with their situation, and to bring the difficulties they encounter at camp better into account.”
