Alicia from South Africa, long, loose hair, baseball cap, is surrounded by children. Everyone has heard of rugby, but how does it work with this eggy ball? Alicia shows how to throw the ball to yourself – definitely not over your shoulder.
How the idea for the summer camps came about
Sabine Görner, a teacher for sports and French from Schwerin, had the idea of combining language learning during the holidays with exercise and games.
She founded Leolingo 18 years ago and organizes language camps in Mecklenburg and Hamburg.
As I am also a physical education teacher, I have enjoyed learning languages through activities myself. For example, I did a surf course in France. And through Leolingo, I combine language learning with activities. I also like to bring in experiential education because the children learn a lot about their personality in a team. Experiential education also means that you reach your limits, i.e. high ropes course experiences, canoe tours or stand-up paddling.
Learn the language through sport
Matteo gathers the kids around him, with whom he now wants to play baseball. He is new to the language camp, while Justin has been with the Mecklenburg camps for four years. He comes from Sydney and works in Spain as an English teacher.
“If you want to learn a language properly, you should play sports and play games. Don’t think what they say – you know what I mean? You can just move your body and with that movement you understand those words . I think the brain also works so well with this connection between body, language and games. You think: Ah, English is actually cool because we’re playing something cool. And then you have the connection: English, cool!”
In the meantime, Matteo has started his baseball lesson on the meadow in front of Wiligrad Castle. Throw the ball, hit it with the bat, run! The meeting alone is not that easy.
Justin: “Here at Leolingo you can really immerse yourself in the language. We only speak English all week so that the children only speak English – and they learn a lot.”
That’s because you learn a little bit through the back door. When you sit in school, have to copy, have to cram vocabulary, you just don’t have the connection to it. As soon as you deal with the language, as soon as you use it in movement or with all your senses – that’s simply part of imitating the word again and again and thus hearing it again and again in context. That’s so important. It’s very different from standing at the blackboard and being copied.
Some participants are there more than once
Daring to ask questions, to speak, to make mistakes in a foreign language – and at the same time to show what sporting skills you have, Janne likes this combination. This is the second time the girl has attended such a language camp.
“Really cool, because the people here are always really nice. They can all speak English well and only speak English to us. That’s why it works best this way. There are some things we’ve never done before, but we’re always taught how to do it. Actually, everything has been cool so far!”
Leolingo offers language camps with sport in Mecklenburg and Hamburg. © Leolingo
Sabine Görner soon set about using an internet platform to get young native speakers excited about next year’s camps, to apply for visas and to obtain work permits.
friendships are formed
“It’s become friendships now. I have known some native speakers for ten years. They are grown up themselves now, so they will be 30 and have started a family. And I’m still in contact with them. One of my trainers, who I’ve had here for ten years now, lives in Washington State, on the west coast of America, and I would like to visit her with my family soon. Well, these are really lasting contacts – and it really is a very special story for me.”
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2023-08-27 11:13:40
#Summer #Holiday #Camps #Learn #English #Rugby
