Traveling is one exciting activity and learning a language while traveling may be more exciting than ever! Learning languages abroad has its many perks – it allows faster assimilation of the language in a language learner’s system since he or she will be immersed in the language and it gives a lot of opportunities for learning more about the place like its history, culture, and people!

There are many things to consider when traveling to another place yet one of the most important concerns would have to be accommodation. Knowing where to stay when traveling in another place assures the traveler that he or she will have a secure and clean place to stay while enjoying his or her vacation or language abroad program.

One of the most convenient forms of accommodation for travel is a hostel. Hostels are a type of accommodation that provides budget oriented and sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, and share a lounge, bathroom, and sometimes a kitchen with other occupants. Rooms in hostels can be shared among occupants though there are some private rooms available. Hostels are normally cheaper for both operators and occupants and they only assure that the best services are available at affordable prices.

If you are planning to learn a language abroad and would want to spend time with fellows who love traveling and learning languages too, you can opt to stay with any of our partner’s hostels. Hostelworld.com provides on-line confirmed booking for hostels, budget accommodation centers and package tours, as well as comprehensive content such as city and country guides. The staff of Hostelworld is composed of people from different parts of the world and has many years of experience in the budget travel industry. All of the bookings made with Hostelworld are made securely and in real-time, guaranteed for travelers like you.

Hostelworld has hostels on different parts of the planet including the more popular locations such as London, Amsterdam, Paris, Prague, Dublin, Berlin, New York, Vienna, Edinburgh, Sydney, Munich, San Francisco, Glasgow, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Madrid, Rome, Venice, Florence, Budapest, Lisbon, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Aside from providing quality services to their customers, Hostelworld.com also donates a portion of their service charge from every booking to UNICEF. UNICEF provides assistance to and works for long term improvement in the lives of children from the poorest countries in the world by supporting programs aimed primarily at protecting children through immunization, education, health, and the long term eradication of poverty as well as emergency relief. Booking your hostels with Hostelworld.com assures you great accommodations, as well as helps you help underprivileged children from different parts of the world.

Booking for Hostelworld hostels is easy; all you have to do is enter your destination city and country, date of arrival, and the duration of your stay. You can book for hostels from the Abroad Languages main page and look for the Hostelworld widget at the left sidebar. You can also connect to Hostelworld’s website and search for more than twenty thousand hostels in over one hundred seventy countries.

Are you set to explore the world? Equip yourself with foreign languages and book in superior hostels right now!

A summer camp in Westside Elementary Schools aims to teach young students the Chinese culture as well as the Chinese language.

Children who have just finished kindergarten are still learning all there is to know with the English language and some of them are learning Chinese as well. 250 students will be joining the Excelling in Chinese Language Learning summer camp, which conducts a four-day activity aimed at expanding on what the students may already know about the Chinese culture.

Diane Jackson, the camp instructor, has said that they have made the program very basic for the young children since some of them have had no Chinese experience at all. Whether the camp teaches basic or non-basic material, it is trying to teach students as young as six years old a second language before they have mastered their first. According to those who are involved in the summer camp, even the youngest students seem to have few problems in learning Chinese.

Doris Grotheer, one of the instructors, said that the children do much better than even some adults do. Diane Jackson also said that the young students actually benefit from being at such a young age when they learn a new language. They are surprised at how quickly the children catch on and that the younger they are, the easier it is for them to learn a new language. By the end of the week, the instructors expect that everything the children have been taught they have pretty much taken in their system.

The Mandarin Chinese program has been funded by the Foreign Language Assistance Grant for the past two years. FLAP funded a rotation of two years through the district’s schools. The grant funded teaching positions which the district will not fund after the current fiscal year due to budget restraints. Yuan Yu, one of the teachers funded by the FLAP grant and an instructor in the summer camp, has said that she has enjoyed working with young students and said that learning about the Chinese culture will benefit them in the future.

The United States and China need to learn more about each other and language is the medium that helps people learn more about each other’s culture. The teachers who are working as instructors in the summer camp went through an intense training session in advance of the camp.

Summer is just around the corner and most of us would love to go on vacation and spend days basking under the sun. Summer is a time for relaxation, unwinding and refreshing ourselves and it is also a time for learning new things. There are so many things we can indulge ourselves in this summer and we may become productive persons while having a vacation!

We can choose to learn doing handcrafts, painting, playing instruments, surfing, balancing checks, learning how the stock market works, and a whole lot more. Yet, there is something else you could learn while you travel to a different place.

Where should you learn a new language this summer? There are many destinations you can choose from and each place offers a unique atmosphere and an interesting culture. Check out some of our partner schools and their summer offers:
• Learn French in France. Our partner language school in Paris has a French language program that combines language learning and the opportunity to work as an intern. The program is composed of two stages: the first stage is to take the French language preparation course; the second stage is to experience work in Paris and be in contact firsthand with native French speakers! One of the requirements of the program is that you should not be a complete beginner in French language learning. If you have already taken basic lessons in French this program could just be the one for you!
• Learn German in Austria. German is one of the most spoken languages in the world and you can learn it this summer in beautiful Vienna! The summer language program is targeted for young students aged from 12 to 17 years old in a summer camp setting where students can learn German through class lessons and other activities. German language lessons in Vienna are available in 2, 3 or 5 week programs. If you would want to be issued a Zertifikat Deutsch for young adults by the end of the program, just meet the requirements and qualifications and you’re all set!
• Learn English in Ireland. Dublin is a remarkable and interesting city and it also has an English language summer program for students aged between 12 to 17 years old. The program includes tuition, homestay accommodation, and a full itinerary of cultural, social, and recreational activities. The program has a minimum length of two weeks and takes place during the months of July and August.

Summer is a fun season and it will be more fun if you do something educational and enjoyable at the same time. Check out our summer programs and have a wonderful experience this summer!

We have written several articles about language learning programs connected with sports, this is our second article related with soccer and foreign languages. Football (which is also known as soccer in some parts of the world) is one of the most popular sports on the planet and it has a wide following of fans. One of the most popular teams in the world today is Arsenal of the English Premier League.

Arsenal has an innovative educational and football program, the Arsenal Double Club. It offers a range of subjects to the youth together with football coaching. The Double Club programs are presented in schools as after school clubs and during lesson time. The aim is to raise the ability and confidence levels in various school and education subjects.

The Arsenal Double Club has a language program set with primary schools that teaches children modern languages such as Spanish, French and German. The basis of the language lessons is football; children learn languages through songs, interactive DVDs, workbooks, memory games and even Arsenal top trumps with the details in the foreign language the children are learning.

The foreign language learning module goes like this: forty-five minutes is allotted for language learning, afterwards the children have a forty-five minute football coaching session. Upon completion of the module which lasts for six to eight weeks, the pupils are invited to take a tour of the Emirates Stadium which is the home of the Arsenal Football Club.

The British government is set to make foreign languages a compulsory part of the curriculum in the next few years. Language learning has been neglected recently but programs such as this one may change all that. The earlier children learn languages, the easier it is for them to absorb them. Arsene Wenger, the manager of the football club, has said that “the more you learn about the language, the more you can understand and penetrate the soul and roots of a culture.” Well said from a man who is fluent in French, English and German and also speaks some Spanish, Italian, and Japanese.

The children love the program since they get to learn languages and play football at the same time-and the coaches and players of the football club are also part of the process! The project has helped language teachers develop their skills in a cross-curricular approach by learning languages with their pupils. Then the football stars teach the children football skills but in order to do that, the children must speak the target languages with them while playing football exercises and games.

This program is very helpful in promoting language learning and sports among the youth. If other football clubs and sports teams create programs such as this in various parts of the planet, there’s a better chance that more children will be able to learn languages and communicate with more people.

Summer is fast approaching and you might wonder what you are better of to do during that season. Going on a vacation and having fun will be most probably the top things on your mind, however, have you ever thought of going away on vacation, having fun and learning something new at the same time? How about planning to go to a summer camp and learn languages?

Summer camps nowadays are not limited only to arts and crafts activities. Specialty summer camps offer a wide range of activities from counseling to sports to music to language immersion. Language immersion is one of the most popular ways for young ones to learn foreign languages since they will be given the opportunity to live and experience the language everyday for a period of time.

Language immersion language summer camps teach various languages from English, to Spanish, French, among some. The other activities in the summer camp for example, music, dance, cooking, arts, and field trips are also presented in the language the camper wants to be immersed in.

Most language immersion summer camps start their days with language classes in the morning and then in the afternoons they offer a range of activities which may help the campers improve their language skills more.

The summer camps which offer language immersion for young children and teenagers are typically secure places where you can spend your summer. Most summer camps are designed to guarantee that it meets the expectations of the campers and their parents and that includes security, quality language courses, clean accommodations, healthy food, and interesting activities.

Then why should you rather spend your summer in a language immersion summer camp than a regular summer camp?
• You will be learning a new language! You will be able to speak a new language by the end of your immersion period and if your target language will be offered in the next school year you will be prepared to tackle the language!
• You will have a chance to travel to a different place and experience a different culture and language!
• You will be able to meet new friends form different parts of the world who are also interested to learn your target language.
• You will have the opportunity to enhance your skills in other fields such as art and music, at the same time learn a foreign language!

So what are you waiting for? Better plan your summer ahead and try to spend it meaningfully in a language immersion summer camp!