Learn English at Summer Camp

Research indicates that children often learn a second language easier than adults. Children raised in bilingual households will often learn two languages concurrently and without conscious effort.  International students enrolling in school here in the United States can learn English at school, but that can be a very difficult and frustrating endeavor. Enrolling in an esl summer camp for international students is a better way to begin learning English and be ready for the school year. Read on to discover the advantages in doing so.

Learning English can be Difficult

This is, of course, relative. If your first language is a Germanic or a Romance language, learning English may pose a challenge to your child, but it may not be an insurmountable one. Yet, nearly four times as many people in the world speak Chinese—primarily Mandarin—than they do English. It would be far more difficult for a Chinese adult to learn English than a child as Chinese and English are very different languages. The less-related linguistically and culturally the mother language is to English, the better it is to learn it at the source.

Language Immersion

One of the surest ways to learn a new language at any age is to spend an extended period of time in a place in which it is the primary language spoken. Travelers realize quickly that in order to be able to get around, they need to acquire a few stock phrases and have to be able to pronounce them clearly. An ESL summer camp provides a great way to experience this language immersion in a structured way.

Use Summer Free Time

How do your children spend their summer? Do they complain about being bored? Instead of learning a second language in a classroom, let them learn it in a country in which it is spoken. This working vacation also provides an opportunity to learn local history and geography at the same time.

Bilingual citizens often enjoy a distinct advantage socially and financially over monolingual ones. Giving your child fluency in a second language can be one of the most precious gifts they will ever receive. Consider how an esl summer camp for international students can help your child meet their life goals.

(Now I'm wondering if there are camps like this for American students. Perhaps in Mexico? Maybe France, or even Canada? We tend to believe that everyone else should learn our language...  And, honestly, there are plenty of children and adults in this country who could benefit from an English summer camp.)

He Will Be Driving

Jeffrey took Cory to get his driving permit (Temps) this evening. He took the classroom portion of Driver's Ed. last summer during summer school, so he studied up a little this afternoon to remind himself of all the stuff he learned.

He passed the test. He got his temps, and he will be driving. He starts driving in Driver's Ed. on July 2, so this will give him a little bit to go out and practice with his dad. I like to wait until the kids have a little experience before I go out driving with them, though he is trying to convince me that since I'm the one who's home during the day that I should take him out driving tomorrow. Umm, No.

He'll be 16 next month, so he could have gotten his license soon, but we made him wait to take the driving portion of Driver's Ed. until this summer, because he can take it for FREE through the school. Taking it anywhere else would cost at least $300, and there was no serious need for him to drive, so we waited. Besides, there's no rush to get him his license - because then we'll have to pay for car insurance, and it's expensive to insure teenage boys.

Going Through the Mail

I sat down to go through the mail this afternoon. Report cards came, so of course I had to go over those. Beth still has her B average. Go, Beth! It is a shame that her lowest grade is in Phy Ed. You'd think that would be a gimme class - show up, dress, participate, have a good attitude, get a good grade. It's the part about participating and having a good attitude she has trouble with.

Cory's grades are mostly A's and a couple B's. I have to mention that because he feels that he doesn't get enough attention for getting good grades. All the attention goes to Beth because her grades aren't what they should be. We look at Cory's grades and, since they're what we expect from him, don't really pay that much attention. Sorry, Cory. You rock! Results from his sophomore testing also came. He scored at the advanced level in all areas. The one that puzzles me is that, with a maximum score of 820 in reading, he only scored a 600. The way that boy reads, I would have expected at least 800! That was only in the 88^th percentile for the state. His highest was in Language Arts - 98^th percentile.

Also with the report cards, we got summer school registration information. I already filled Cory's out so he can turn it in tomorrow. He has to be registered for the class to get his Driver's Ed teacher to sign the paper he needs to get his learner's permit. Yikes! Cory's going to learn to drive. We'll have to get the permit as soon as possible so he has time to practice before his driving sessions start.

Now I need to get back to work. I'll put all the school stuff where Jeffrey can read it and put the bank statements where I will remember to take them downstairs so I can file them. Jeffrey doesn't look at those. He leaves all the checking and savings accounts to me. Speaking of savings accounts - the interest rate is ridiculous - .11% - We got a whole 13¢ on that account this month.

Of course, that was just the important mail - except for my $20 rebate from Symantec. There was plenty of junk too - credit card offers and people wanting to sell me stuff. That all went straight into the recycle bag.

School's Out for the Summer

Cory's last day was yesterday. He was only required to take 4 of his exams, and one of those was Jazz Band, which he took last Thursday. The other 3 were all yesterday, so that was his only day this week. Beth only had 3 exams she had to take, but hers were spread out - one each day, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. So, when she got home today, she was all done - done being a sophomore. Next year she'll be a junior. Only two more years of high school. Wow. I remember when she started kindergarten, just yesterday.

It was good that Cory only had one day of exams. Otherwise he would only have gotten two days off (plus the weekend) before summer school starts. This way he got practically a whole week off. I don't know what he's doing with his time off, but it's nice to have some. I think tomorrow we might go to the lake and go swimming. Other than that, what should we do for summer? Better start thinking of some fun stuff.

Driver's Ed. This Summer

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Originally uploaded by Toni_V

We found out yesterday that Driver's Ed. and Advanced Language Arts 10 are both going to be at the same time next year. That means that if Cory wants to take Driver's Ed. (the classroom portion), he will have to take it this summer during summer school. Either that or we will need to sign him up for a private driving school. Since summer school isn't going to cost us anything, except probably transportation back and forth to school for six weeks, summer school seems to be the best choice. He could have bus transportation to school for the first four weeks, but he would have to choose another summer school class, and he isn't interested in any of them. We thought maybe he could help the band teacher out, but her classes are all going to be held in Eagle at the Elementary school. So that won't work. Either way we would have to provide transportation the last 2 weeks of class.

This basically takes his whole summer. Summer school starts about a week after school lets out and goes through the end of July. Yes, it isn't all day every day, but he will still have to get up and get going in the mornings. I guess it's good that he won't be able to sleep his summer away. I'm not really looking forward to going back and forth to Palmyra a couple of times every day, but Beth should be able to help with that since she can drive now. With the cost of gas, it will end up costing at least a couple dollars every day, but that really is cheap compared to the cost of a driving school. Hopefully next summer when he takes the driving portion of the class it will still be free - like it was for Beth last year. Driver's Ed. is seriously a good deal in this district. We really should be thankful for that.

Cory was figuring this would be his last summer to spend some time with his grandparents in Kentucky, but now he won't get to do that. We'll have to tell the grandparents. Perhaps they can come visit us for a while. Then we could all spend some time with them.