As Barcelona and the rest of Spain enters the ‘new normality’, it’s time to plan ahead for the summer. Kids and teens have spent much of the last four months on lockdown – stuck indoors, studying online and missing out on quality time with friends.

But even with schools starting to open again, there are strict social distancing rules, so we are not able to run our usual project-based CLIL courses for kids and teens.

That’s why, this year, we’ve decided to offer a full outdoor immersion programme for children aged 8-17.

Not only will your kids have fun learning English in a relaxed environment, but they’ll also have the chance to try new things and explore new parts of Barcelona.

There are many more benefits of learning English outdoors. Read on to find out more!

1. Increased motivation

Most children spend the majority of their school lives learning English inside, in a classroom setting. While this may include the occasional game, much of the time will be spent learning grammar or vocabulary, practising different skills like reading, writing and listening or preparing for end of term exams.

Of course, all these aspects are important for learning a language, but sometimes it’s good to associate English with something fun.

When students are enjoying themselves and are relaxed, they are much more likely to WANT to use English to communicate. In fact, our teachers have noticed that their students make more of an effort to not use their first language with their classmates and seem genuinely interested in new words or phrases when they’re having fun.

2. Learn while doing

Doing interesting activities also makes the language more relevant to their everyday lives. By completing different tasks in English, they are suddenly given an urgent need to understand or use the language.

During our outdoor immersion programme, we’ll be giving the students lots of opportunities to learn while doing. From cooking and hip hop dancing to climbing and self-defence there will be activities to suit all tastes.

3. Explore Barcelona

Barcelona is full of hidden gems – even for locals. Our outdoor immersion programme will take place in the magical Montjüic. Students will explore different areas such as the Greek theatre, the castle and the Olympic stadium, as well as the various gardens and viewpoints which seem to pop-up out of nowhere.

We chose Montjüic as the location due to the fact that there is such a variety of outdoor spaces which give you the feeling of being in nature without having to leave the city. It’s also easy to get to and there’s plenty of shade for those hot summer mornings.

4. Be social while still social distancing

We believe it’s important for young people to form connections with their peers after such a long time studying at home. However, with the current restrictions, it’s not easy to plan fun activities while still maintaining social distancing measures inside a classroom. That’s one of the reasons we decided to go outdoors.

Not only do we have a lot more space to work with – making it much easier to guarantee a safe distance between kids – it’s been proven that it’s much harder to catch a virus when you are in the open air.

However, we’ll still be taking your child’s safety seriously and will be implementing a variety of measures to minimise the risk:

5. Prepare for the future

While the main aim of our immersion programme is to increase students’ exposure to English – that’s not the only focus. Activities will be designed to incorporate a number of other skills, such as creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication. These are key areas which will help your children thrive in their day-to-day lives.

We believe that it’s essential to help learners become well-rounded individuals to give them the best chance to succeed in their futures.

Join the Oxford House outdoor immersion programme

Our kids and teens summer immersion programme is available from July 6th to July 24th, 2020.

Each morning we will have a new and exciting activity planned.

The course is 100% in English and activities will be led by an Oxford House teacher or a trained expert.

You can sign your children up on a weekly basis or for the entire three weeks at a discounted rate.

Find out more!

Glossary for Language Learners

Find the following words in the article and then write down any new ones you didn’t know.

Lockdown (n): a state of isolation or restricted access for safety purposes.

Quality time (n): time in which a person receives undivided attention from a friend, family member or significant other.

End of term (n): when school finishes for the holidays.

To suit all tastes (v+n): to appeal to all interests.

Hidden gem (adj): a secret and special place.

To pop-up (v): to suddenly appear.

Peer (n): a person of the same age, status, or ability as another person.

Key

n = noun

v = verb

adj = adjective