Magic Village

Key Info

Location: El Puerto de Santa Maria, Near Cadiz in the south of Spain

Number of Campers: Max 80

Age: 11-14 Years Old

Competition: House Competition (Dragons, Wizards, Titans)

English Methodology: Pre-Teens Total English

ABOUT MAGIC VILLAGE

Magic Village is a camp which is designed for the kids between 11 and 14 years old who want maybe a bit more an English immersion than TECS Camp Puerto. Although they share the same venue, the programmes are different. The primary difference is that in Magic Village they run pre-teens total english programme in which students are required to zero Spanish during 80% of the day. This is similar to the 100% Total English of Little Village but allow the younger 11-14 years olds have some moments of rest in which they can speak Spanish amongst themselves (Never with staff).

Magic Village only runs in the first fortnight of July, so staff will usually go into work in Little Village in the second fortnight.

HOUSE COMPETITION

Whereas in the rest of our camps we have the Colour War competition where all staff and campers are divided into either the blue or white team, in Magic Village we have the House Competition. This competition, based on the Harry Potter books, means that staff and campers in Magic Village will be sorted into one of the three houses: Dragons, Wizards or Titans. Campers will constantly compete throughout the 2 weeks of camp in order to win the coveted House Competition cup.

ENGLISH PROGRAMME:

This camp runs a “Pre Teens Total English” programme where the whole theory is that campers learn the oral language they really need in day to day camp life but without too much focus being put on teaching grammar.

Classes will be split into two parts with the first part being activities and games to introduce the language themes of the day and the second being “English through media” where English is taught using different media, like film/TV., music, drama and comics etc… with the idea being to teach English in a more natural way so that students gain a greater cultural interest and connection to the language which they want to pursue not just during camp but even more so post camp. Throughout the day there will be certain moments which will be run as “Total English” which further makes it a more intensive English learning environment for campers, and also makes Magic Village act as a ‘stepping stone’ to our Total English Little Village camp.

Teachers will be recruited for this camp on evidence that they can teach English through games and fun activities and also we will be looking for them to have a keen interest in teaching through media, as each teacher will be assigned a specialist medium to teach through for their length on camp. Classes are run in outdoor classrooms set up under marquees but complete with electrical sockets. As the classes are focused more around fun dynamic activities in this camp, generally the class sizes are big bigger, usually around 12 campers.

The aim of course is to provide a more comfortable learning environment for students where it is possible to provide a more natural learning environment where campers are not stigmatized but are rather given an equal natural opportunity to bring out the best of their own level. Above all in this camp we aim to inspire personal interest and responsibility in English learning in a way that is far-reaching and long lasting and for that reason we strive to focus English learning on natural way that native learners pick up the language – fun inspired contextual learner.

For all these reasons, Magic Village is most suited to teachers who are looking to experience a new innovative way of teaching and looking to play their essential part in this exciting project. Like in Full Immersion English full syllabi and material are provided (Student and Teacher Packs and Flashcards), although teachers are given a lot of scope to use their own innovative and fun ways of covering the set language themes. As mentioned above, students are motivated at certain times of the day to speak only in English, having more of a Total English experience at a younger age (than Little Village).