Students to Learn About Language, Culture and More at SIUE’s Spanish Summer Camp
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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Spanish Summer Day Camp for children will mix learning the language, being exposed to Latin culture, enjoying ethnic foods and more.
The camp will be held from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday, June 15-Friday, June 26. Children, ages six-12, will engage in a wide range of educational and recreational activities that will develop their communication skills in Spanish, according to Esther Herrera, lecturer in the Foreign Languages and Literature Department and Spanish Summer Day Camp instructor.
Deadline for a non-refundable deposit of $50 is due by May 21. The cost of the camp is $250. To register, see the Spanish Camp registration form.
“As students prepare to interact and live in a global society, students need to be familiar with a foreign language,” said Herrera, who has been teaching the Spanish Summer Camp since 2011. “No matter what career they choose, they will be interacting and doing business on a regular basis with people who do not speak English.
“Young children have a greater capacity to learn a foreign language with a near native-like pronunciation and intonation,” added Herrera, who is a native Spanish speaker. “They also have a natural curiosity to learn about other cultures and languages. Children who learn a foreign language at an early age demonstrate certain cognitive advantages over children who do not.”
Highlights of the Spanish Summer Day Camp include:
- Learn about history and communities
- Make traditional crafts and food
- Play computer games to learn about culture and geography and practice vocabulary
- Engage in campus recreational activities including bowling, rock-climbing, and soccer tips and tricks form a former member of an international soccer club
It is more helpful for the students to take a comprehensive look at a foreign language in order to better understand it, said Herrera.
“The Spanish Summer Camp will help students increase their cognitive skills, creativity and flexibility of mind by being immersed in the language and culture of Latin America,” she said.
