Camp Life

Imagine awaking early and the Spanish song from last night’s barbecue is still fresh in your memory. The words come back easily. Rustling in the hall is your counselor rounding up the Spanish jogging group, but you decide to sleep in. Soon your breakfast table is alive with discussion of today’s visit to a nearby taqueria as other campers practice how to order. Before the taqueria, though, your group runs to a morning class, and then takes a mid-morning plunge in the pool, playing inner-tube water polo in Spanish.

Meanwhile, you see the Chinese campers divided in groups, having chosen either water brush calligraphy painting on the slate walk, practicing tai chi on the field, or playing badminton…just like the early mornings at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing.

Then, French students pour out of their dormitory in bright blue t-shirts and you remember…Les Bleus, Les Bleus… the French soccer team is practicing for the afternoon game. They are joined by the Arabic camp, also getting ready for the afternoon match, enthusiastically practicing free kicks and headers.

Each day is a mix of learning more language every day, and the opportunity to use that language in the events of camp. Every day is different and each day is planned for fun and learning.

Over four weeks, you learn a lot, get to live in the language so that your learning is reinforced, while making great friends and great progress in your fluency.

Cultural events

Culture and language are inseparable, so each day is filled with cultural events, including culinary excursions, theatrical performances, and movies, as well as and skits and dramatic productions of our own. In the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy, language and life are inseparable; students learn language and culture seamlessly.

Field trips

Occasional off-campus field trips enhance the Academy experience. Over the course of four weeks, we may join nearby French festivals or visit Chinatown; use our Arabic with native speakers over a Moroccan meal; and visit a Mexican celebration to sing, dance and eat in Spanish. Each week is different. Each experience adds excitement to a camp full of the language and culture.

Dormitories

Students live in college dormitories or residence halls. You may live with one or more roommates, in a double or triple suite. Your roommates are chosen by age, gender, and language. You may request a roommate if you are coming with a friend. We do not, however, guarantee roommate assignments.

Dormitories are separated by gender, age and language, sometimes using separate floors, sometimes separate buildings. There is at least one residential advisor of your gender for every 12 students. Your residential advisor is fluent in your chosen language. For additional support, faculty and assistants also live in the dormitories.

Meals

Most meals are provided at the college dining hall, where you eat with students and faculty in your language school. Special dietary requirements can be accommodated. Please indicate any special requirements on your registration form.

Additionally, programs include barbecues, picnics, and informal snacks. If you are away on a fieldtrip during mealtime, your meal will be provided at an alternative site. In such cases, the Academy may have less ability to meet individual dietary requirements.

Health and Safety

Each program site is led by trained faculty and staff, experienced with middle and high school students, backed-up by an on-site health office, including a nurse and health assistant. Acute medical needs, including emergency care, are provided by local hospitals. Before employment, all of our faculty and staff undergo background checks conducted by a third-party organization that specializes in staffing for youth programs. The medical form must be completed before a student attends the Academy. Please be specific with any conditions we should be aware of.

Academic and personal counseling is also available on campus. We stay in touch with parents and guardians if a child needs assistance. And we welcome all parental advice.

Virtual Communities

The Internet, when carefully used, has enormous potential to support language learning. At the Middlebury-Monterey Language Academy, we create a "virtual" language community in a closed on-line network in which students and faculty in a language school communicate with each other during the session.

We use virtual communities to engage in written discussion on varied topics: some mundane, some silly, and some important—but all in the target language. With students and teachers communicating on-line, students learn quickly and teachers see areas where individual or students groups need reinforcement.