Concordia Language Camps and other Spanish Immersion Summer Programs

[Anonymous]

Has anyone’s kid done the Concordia Language program? If so, would appreciate thoughts on whether it was worthwhile. I’d also appreciate recommendations for other summer Spanish immersion programs. TIA!

[Anonymous]

Yes! My DD was a camper in the French program and also a counselor. She loved it!! Great way to really immerse in the language. She also did the Middlebury summer language program and enjoyed that as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes! My DD was a camper in the French program and also a counselor. She loved it!! Great way to really immerse in the language. She also did the Middlebury summer language program and enjoyed that as well.

Thank you! Did she do the 1, 2 or 4 week program or the high school credit program? In which program do you think she learned more and was more immersive—Concordia or Middlebury?

[Anonymous]

My son (current HS sophomore) did Concordia's 4-week HS credit Mandarin camp this past summer. He had an absolute blast. Previously he had only studied Mandarin on his own using apps, online materials, etc. and chatting with some online friends. He took the Mandarin-only pledge very seriously and made great progress. His high school (not DMV) doesn't offer Mandarin, so he's doing an online credit program for year 2 (paid for by the school). He'll likely do a summer study program in China or Taiwan between junior and senior years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes! My DD was a camper in the French program and also a counselor. She loved it!! Great way to really immerse in the language. She also did the Middlebury summer language program and enjoyed that as well.

Thank you! Did she do the 1, 2 or 4 week program or the high school credit program? In which program do you think she learned more and was more immersive—Concordia or Middlebury?

bump

[Anonymous]

Is this for a high schooler or college student? I don’t think Middlebury has a high school program anymore?

I’ll note for the price of the US-based options, your kid can go to Spain for a program for probably less money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this for a high schooler or college student? I don’t think Middlebury has a high school program anymore?

I’ll note for the price of the US-based options, your kid can go to Spain for a program for probably less money.

yes Concordia is expensive!
Has anyone done it? is it fun? good learning exeperience?

[Anonymous]

Must add that we signed kids up a few years ago on State Department friend recommendation - had to back out for health crisis - took the insurance option (thankfully) but Concordia was a beast to deal with- absolute mess if things go awry. They treated us like we were trying to pull fast one. Agree with Spain for this reason alone. Avoid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is this for a high schooler or college student? I don’t think Middlebury has a high school program anymore?

I’ll note for the price of the US-based options, your kid can go to Spain for a program for probably less money.

This is for a high school student. Spain is less expensive (although you do have international airfare), but there are a lot of programs I've been sorting through and it's hard to access which ones provide best immersion for improving Spanish vs being an incredible adventure abroad with limited Spanish improvement. Would be great to have recs from people who've done one.

[Anonymous]

They spent some time and energy overhauling their back office operations in the last two years or so. Much better customer experience.

It’s $6k for a month of language immersion. For comparison, DS went to a traditional camp for a month for $9200 and DD went to one for $6500.

[Anonymous]

My kid worked in a restaurant kitchen for a few years. This really helped his Spanish a lot. Full immersion, and he made money rather than spending it.

[Anonymous]

Glad to hear they are overhauling things. Some people rave about concordia but my kid did the 4-week HS program a few years ago and did not have a great experience. Every language has a different 'village' so perhaps their language camp was an outlier (japanese)? The language instruction was ok but facilities/food was poor and my kid said many of the other students had some serious issues (mental health issues, family/identity challenges, etc). Lots of home-schooled kids and kids never away from home before, etc. The camps are also located in super remote areas of northern Minnestota - 4 hour drive north of minneapolis (closer to fargo, ND). This was during covid, so at the time, not many camp options. But if I did it again, would have them do a college program or an international host stay program. If my kid studied spanish, seems like there are likely many other options to consider.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Glad to hear they are overhauling things. Some people rave about concordia but my kid did the 4-week HS program a few years ago and did not have a great experience. Every language has a different 'village' so perhaps their language camp was an outlier (japanese)? The language instruction was ok but facilities/food was poor and my kid said many of the other students had some serious issues (mental health issues, family/identity challenges, etc). Lots of home-schooled kids and kids never away from home before, etc. The camps are also located in super remote areas of northern Minnestota - 4 hour drive north of minneapolis (closer to fargo, ND). This was during covid, so at the time, not many camp options. But if I did it again, would have them do a college program or an international host stay program. If my kid studied spanish, seems like there are likely many other options to consider.

Yes I looked into it for Spanish and seems like a real hassle to get there.

[Anonymous]

Logistical consideration: If coming from the east coast, need to fly into minneapolis and stay in a hotel the night before to catch the morning 'camp bus' to the language villages. Otherwise, you need to fly in, rent a car, drive 4 hours, etc. Because minors can't check into a hotel on their own, I also had to fly out with my kid before program started. The return home was smoother- camp bus makes a drop at the airport and they can fly home on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Glad to hear they are overhauling things. Some people rave about concordia but my kid did the 4-week HS program a few years ago and did not have a great experience. Every language has a different 'village' so perhaps their language camp was an outlier (japanese)? The language instruction was ok but facilities/food was poor and my kid said many of the other students had some serious issues (mental health issues, family/identity challenges, etc). Lots of home-schooled kids and kids never away from home before, etc. The camps are also located in super remote areas of northern Minnestota - 4 hour drive north of minneapolis (closer to fargo, ND). This was during covid, so at the time, not many camp options. But if I did it again, would have them do a college program or an international host stay program. If my kid studied spanish, seems like there are likely many other options to consider.

Yes I looked into it for Spanish and seems like a real hassle to get there.

Did you find an alternative? DC really needs to work on their Spanish and on-line programs aren't a good option in terms of sticking with it and would like to find something enjoyable as well