Angelika Kraemer, outreach and co-curricular coordinator for the center, said one of the main goals of MSU’s Community Language School is to make global citizens who are competent in the job market.

One way in which the school is working toward this goal is by offering language camps to children in the community.

David Prestel, acting co-director for the Center for Language Teaching Advancement, said these camps serve as a way to provide more opportunities for students to learn different languages.

Because some languages are not offered in elementary and high schools because of budget limitations or a lack of teachers, the language school tries to offer camps in these languages, he said.

This summer, the school will offer camps in eight languages: Arabic, French, Japanese, Italian, Chinese, Hindi, German and Spanish. All-day camps cost $240, and half-day camps cost $105.

The camps focus on the languages and cultures of different countries throughout the world.
Kraemer said campers participate in a variety of hands-on activities to help them better understand the language and culture they are focusing on.

Some camp instructors create mock marketplaces for campers to practice interacting with others in the language they are learning, while learning about culture as well. Campers also sample ethnic foods, listen to songs and learn dances throughout the week.

Sandhya Shanker, a visiting French instructor, teaches the French language camp and said she tries to create a fun and relaxed learning environment for her students.

Many of the camps incorporate MSU’s campus into the learning experience.

Some campers go to the Dairy Store and order ice cream in the language they are learning.

Kraemer said visiting the Dairy Store is a good way for campers to review color and food items.
Some instructors also make use of the various museum exhibits on campus.

The MASK: Secrets and Revelations exhibit at the MSU Museum shows the campers masks from different cultures, Kraemer said.

Alicia Rice, administrative assistant in the office of the Department of Linguistics and German, Slavic, Asian and African Languages, said she decided to enroll her children, Daryl and Dalton Rice, in a language summer camp because of the importance of learning a second language.
Rice started learning a second language in high school and wanted her children to start earlier than she had.

“They’ll be able to have years of experience, number one,” Rice said. “But they’ll pick it up better as children versus when they get much older like I was in high school trying to learn another language.”

Renee Starkey, computer programer for the Language Learning Center, also enrolled her students in a language summer camp.

Starkey said she also sees the importance in learning a second language.
“I think it opens up the possibility for children, not only right now, but in their future,” she said.