Emerging Trend: English Immersion Villages

As students, teachers and other educators realize that there is much more to speaking a language than learning grammar rules and translating (or memorizing lists of) vocabulary words, a new learning concept is being born: English language immersion “villages.” And you know it’s serious when the TEFL Logue is linking to the International Herald Tribune.

Parents pay to send their children to an English village for a week or two, and the children spend their time doing everyday activities, like going to the post office, in English. Part of the idea is to be totally immersed in the language, and part of it is just having a non-stressed situation in which to practice what they know.

What is it like to work at an English village? Search for jobs posts about such positions at the Korea Boards at Dave’s ESL Café.

Vaughn Villages in Spain operate on a somewhat similar basis – but the students are adults;they don’t roleplay situations like in the post office but rather business meetings and the like. You can even volunteer your native English fluency skills in exchange for room and board…people without TEFL experience are actually preferred.