EUROCAMP - A CAMP LIKE ALL THE OTHERS?

Summer Offer 2010 - 5th edition

EUROPEAN SCOPE. Each member of the European Union wants to display its best qualities, and the Czech Republic is no different. We are proud to be a part of it, because we are able to demonstrate excellent results in the works of our top specialists, such as in medicine and athletics. Our traditional Czech products are able to compete with well-known international trademarks, for example in the auto and beverage industries. Don’t forget about the particular features of our own cultural tradition, which may enrich our European neighbours. The Czech Republic is proud of its heritage of history, art, widespread health-care in spas and, of course, its tradition of summer camps for children. In these camps, our country offers an excellent range of childcare. Consider this small comparison: many European countries are interested in leisure activities concentrated in luxurious hotels, beaches, mountain resorts or casinos; but the Czech Republic adds to all of these activities a new, more intellectual, dimension. We prefer looking after our health in the beautiful scenery of spas or preparing for our children’s free time by means of these special camps. Compared to well-known spas the children’s camps in Western Europe is sometimes still a new idea (but don’t forget the camps in the USA where they have been very popular for a long time). However, the popularity of these camps is increasing day by day. That’s why we, since 2006, present a new kind of camp program - EUROCAMP.

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY "CAMP"? In principle, a group of children leave their homes to spend one or two weeks in a place surrounded by nature. They stay there without parents. More often than not they are accommodated in small cottages, sometimes in tents, which they have to put up themselves. The children are under constant supervision of adults who are skilled and responsible for them at all times. The camps have different durations, focuses and settings. Our EUROCAMP intends to build friendships between different nations, develop communication skills, and of course, improve sport skills.

WHAT CAN EUROCAMP OFFER? Our camp is situated in the beautiful scenery of a south Bohemian valley between the towns of Tábor and Bechyně. Although there are similarities between our camp and others, we offer some important and poignant contrasts. As in other camps, children here will be able to rest in pure nature full of forest, meadows, and hills near the river and far from big cities. They may measure their strength in various sport activities. They will learn to be independent and responsible for their behaviour. They can make friends among lots of children and display their good manners. We are all together - young children and older, so the younger can learn from older, and of course the older can often help the younger. All of this without parents, just on their own. In contrast to other camps we are open to children from all countries, because we are trying to remove the language barriers. We use two languages to speak - Czech and English (an international language). Along with Czech leaders there are native English speakers who communicate with the children in English the whole day. This means that each group has two adults who look after the children - one Czech leader and one English leader. This is a great combination for the children: there is always the possibility to ask one of the leaders to translate. Of course, there will also be new friends and campmates to help as well. That’s why foreign children may join our camp - they do not have to be afraid of misunderstandings or miscommunication. At the same time the children take part in various activities and are compelled to be in continuous contact with the English language. On the other hand they are not forced to use only English. It’s up to them how they get on with the language. For children from English speaking countries it’s an excellent occasion to assist with language and easily find friends from different nations. Moreover they may get their first experience with different languages.

EXCEPTIONAL CONTRIBUTION TO CHILDREN. There is a really big and obvious advantage - children who are not from English speaking countries are in a good learning environment with organized contact with a foreign language. Even weaker or shy children are able to be a part of every day communication with native English speakers. This is something that native English speaking children can help with, and thereby become active participants of the camp. One other point is very interesting too. Children from different countries are all together and so they just don’t improve their speaking skills, they also improve their ability to adapt to a multicultural environment. This is really important for children growing up in a united Europe and further in a new global world. This is why our camp wants to support and develop children’s attitudes. In addition, we are prepared to fight against xenophobia, racially motivated prejudice and intolerance. We would like to offer not only a camp full of healthy activities in fresh air, but also to help children become responsible and well-educated individuals with good language skills. A Commission of the European Communities drew up an action plan Promoting Language Learning and Linguistic Diversity that helped to establish the Czech National Plan of Language Education (in Czech) intent first and foremost on English. The aim of this project is to create conditions for the development of language knowledge and the language competence of the inhabitants in society. We believe that EUROCAMP presents the best choice of language education as a complement to school language education. For English speaking children this is the best way to experience a unique multicultural environment.

WHY SOUTH BOHEMIA? WHY CZECH REPUBLIC? It's generally known that children will become bored or restless unless their activities are many and varied. They will unconsciously take part in learning English the whole day. Non-native English speakers will not notice that they are in the process of learning English while native English speaking children will be exposed to a variety of foreign languages. We guarantee a varied camp program each day. All of this is in the middle of attractive scenery far, far away from smoky chimneys or busy motorways. The Czech Republic lies in the heart of Europe, and South Bohemia belongs to the part of the Czech Republic with the purest nature full of large forests. There is another exciting point: beautiful, historic small cities. Our camp is situated between the towns Tábor and Bechyně. There are many mysterious ruins, caves, and also one rare national technical monument - the chain bridge that was built in the Empire style above the Lužnice River quite near to our camp. Thanks to the quiet Lužnice we might use it either for rowing in small boats or for swimming. Moreover the area is equipped with good sports facilities, its own sport grounds, and spaces for playing volleyball, table tennis and of course big rooms for indoor activities, in case of bad weather. The children are accommodated in four-bed wooden cottages. They are served five meals during the day. There are sanitary facilities with toilets and warm water. The camp is quite far from any civilization, so our camp’s program cannot be disturbed by anything. It means this is the right place for setting up an English camp.

HAVE TRUST IN US. EUROCAMP follows up with 16 years of camp experience with SUMMER TIME (see www.detskytabor.cz) and for the last eight years the more and more popular ENGLISH 4 YOU (see www.englishcamp.cz). The excellent reception of our camps (read the references here - mostly in Czech) has testified that children love staying there and parents have confidence in us. That’s why you should think about us and accept our invitation for this year’s camp play TEN DAYS IN NEW YORK. Don’t miss summer 2010 with a camp that promotes a new, modern approach to using the English language in a multicultural environment. Welcome to our language camp! Welcome to EUROCAMP – YOUR SUMMER ENGLISH HOLIDAYS!

AGES, TERMS AND PRICE. The camp is designed for children between the ages of 7 and 16 years who have a basic knowledge of English or are native speakers of English. One week is not enough for the specific needs of our EUROCAMP, but two weeks in multicultural ambience may be too much for the younger ones, which is why we arrange ten day groups in these terms (All prices are quoted in Euros and USD):

There are comfortable buses reserved for transportation to our camp by the reliable company Comett plus.
Departure and arrival is close to Hotel Diplomat in Prague.