38 | ENGLISH-L ANGUAGE SUMMER SCHOOLS | INTERNATIONAL
W:
www.ie-today.co.uk
“THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THIS IS THE HARDEST SUMMER SCHOOL I’VE EVER HEARD OF”
London Gates’ Summer School be a part of the solution? Many new arrivals to these shores are reluctant to speak or contribute for a number of reasons, but if they were given litle or no choice, what would happen? If students from abroad were asked to arrive a week early and immersed in both the English language and UK approaches to learning, how well would they integrate when the other domestic students turned up? Would they bond with them after having had cultural barriers broken down over the previous week or would such an intense experience be ultimately counter-productive by bonding all the ‘internationals’ together through shared experience? Of course, there is also the added problem of students phoning home with tales of an academic boot camp and those precious recruits whom your marketing departments have worked all year to bring to the table are not seen for dust after Christmas. I ask Sergey, why his enthusiasm? He’s not exactly
the most conformist of individuals I know, so what possesses him to be so warm in his discussion of an intensive, immersive programme which
pushes these kids to their absolute limit? His response is simple. “The kids love it!” he tells me. “They didn’t want to leave at the end and they’re still swapping stories on Facebook even now.” He shows me countless photos from each of the
days of relaxed, happy and engaged individuals studiously engaged in tasks or running around, having the time of their lives. It may sound strange to think of young people enjoying being stretched, especially over their summer holidays, but could this be a kind of answer to the perennial problem of the international student who arrives at the doorstep without much in the way of English? Too often, we give these students space from the school culture at the start or encourage them to seek out others of their own nationality for solidarity. I would be interested to see if an intensive week for international students at the start of the year, where they are completely immersed in English without recourse to their own language, would work. If you’re interested in trying it out, or have done already, I would love to hear from you. iE
ABOVE: the children are often still solving logic puzzles late at night
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