Summer camp and a second language

BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

Heading to summer camp is a rite of passage that many girls and boys anticipate eagerly. But for English as a Second Language (ESL) students, going away to camp takes on a whole new meaning.

For them, far from home isn't a different town or province, it’s another continent. And when they arrive in Canada for the first time, there are new faces, new geography and a new language. That’s pretty intense when you’re only nine or 12 years old.

However, there’s a reason why parents send their children all the way from Venezuela, Mexico and Korea to Windsor, Nova Scotia. It's to improve their child’s grasp of the English language and experience a new culture.

The month-long camp held at Kings-Edgehill for the past two years promises fun and adventure in rural Nova Scotia, but the main focus is language. Students spend three hours each weekday with ESL instructors improving their spoken and written English.

Homesickness aside, these young students are ambitious, as intent on improving their English as they are in soaking up the Canadian atmosphere.

Universal language “English is a universal language,” says 11-year-old Patricio Salazar of Mexico. “You need to communicate everywhere in the world.” He admits to missing mom and dad but less so when he's absorbed in the fun line-up of camp adventures. “If I'm bored I think of them, but when I'm having fun it’s okay.”

He spent his 11th birthday at the camp and didn't mind one bit. His favourite sport is soccer, so on the special day the class headed to the indoor soccer dome in Kentville. “It was a good birthday,” he said.

He looks forward to going home, mostly to teach mom how to make chicken burgers and ‘sloppy Joes’, his favourite local fare.

Yet he will leave with happy memories. “I climbed a tree for first time,” he said. “I like it here; people are very kind.”

Assistant director Nikita Levy lives onsite 24-7 with the students. She deals with the initial homesickness and culture shock head-on. “They have their challenges and some kids are really down at first.” For the most part, however, she says their English level is high, but students are shy and self-conscious in their new environment. “They’re embarrassed if they can't pronounce properly so they don't want to try outside the classroom, which can be frustrating for us.”

She said gestures are often used to bridge the communication gap until students become more confident.

Levy said there’s also an element of economic as well as culture shock to deal with as many of the children come from families of a 'high economic status' where employed help in those countries is the norm. “Many don’t know how to make a bed or do their own laundry and they're used to being served their dinner.”

But that’s part of the experience students gladly adopt in exchange for soaking up some Canadiana. “I love the trees,” says Mimun Park of Korea. Like classmate Salazar, climbing trees is a new fascination. “We have only small trees at home. Here they’re big; they go up and up. I like to climb them.”

Park is back home again now, but plans to return in January through the ESL Korean Elementary School Exchange Program. There may not be any tree-climbing going on, but his favourite apple pie should still be available.

Different culture part of the challenge

Instructor Selin Oren was an ESL student once as well. She traveled from Turkey and settled eventually in Halifax, graduating from Dalhousie University in 2004. Her field is business management, but during the summer months she's committed to helping other ESL students get the most out of their foreign experience. “I know how difficult it is to learn a different culture and language at the same time. But they go together; you can't have one without the other.”

The Canadian experience has a strong draw for Venezuelan native Marie Gunzalez. She lived in Canada for six months last year when her father was transferred to Ontario for work. She couldn't wait to return, so homesickness wasn't a problem for her. “Sometimes I miss my mom and I cried at the airport, but I love it here. It's the cleanest and calmest.” Gunzalez’s English is advanced and she hopes the camp will help improve her enunciation.

Then there are always the boys to draw this 13-year-old back. “I love the houses and the gardens, but the boys best,” she laughs. “Most boys here have yellow hair; I love that.”

She has lived in Spain and Argentina as well, but would love to settle in North America someday. “My favourite is Canada. If I could come to live here, I would. I want to be a Canadian girl.”

Avon View High teacher Robin Bremner-Popma tutors exchange students through the school year and during the summer camps. Her first teaching experience was in Korea, so working with ESL students is well with in her comfort zone. “I loved teaching in Korea, so this is my chance to go back to that,” she said. “The kids are a treat to teach. They have the same energy and issues as other kids, but they take studying English seriously. They’re here because they want to be; they want to learn.”