OWLETS FRENCH SUMMER CAMP

All weeks are full - no further registrations are being accepted for Summer 2022.

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(For Summer 2022 flier, click here)

Dr. Blattner and her team are delighted to announce the second edition of the FRE camp and the inauguration of the SPN camp in Summer 2022! Being able to offer a language camp on the FAU Boca Campus is a wonderful addition to the local community. FAU is a striving multicultural and multilingual center in South Florida that offers many amenities, which include state of the art electronic classrooms in which the camp will be based. Campers will also take advantage of the FAU Olympic size pool and explore other areas of the campus in different occasions. It is an exciting opportunity for such young learners to discover a university campus and to take advantage of this vibrant educational setting.

Curriculum

The Owlets French Camp is an initiative of the Department of Languages, Linguistics, and Comparative Literature at Florida Atlantic University. The camp program will provide an opportunity for children ages 5 to 12 to learn and experience French language and culture in a fun, interactive, recreational setting. Our mission is to effectively use innovative teaching strategies to meet the learning, emotional and psychological needs of a wide range of diverse learners. This summer language camp is designed around different weekly fun themes with a variety of playful and instructional activities that will make learning French an engaging and thrilling experience. This camp has been designed for all level of proficiency, but participants will be grouped according to their linguistic abilities (beginners to intermediate/advanced French speakers). The curriculum was designed to promote an appreciation of diverse cultures and experiences, and to develop internationally-minded and actively-engaged young citizens.

What we do

In the morning and in the afternoon, the children will have intensive French lessons based on the theme of the week. We will introduce the topic of the week through visual support, tasting sessions, storytelling, etc. Each day’s activities will be tailored to the linguistic level of the learners. Participants will complete fun writing & reading activities focusing on comprehension skills, while fostering the love of books and a habit of reading in French for pleasure. Our program is based on communication and therefore the participants will not simply learn vocabulary, but how to actually to use it actively in specific contexts. Overtime, learners will develop more complex knowledge and understanding of language. Each week the children will also work on an art project based on the theme of the week, which will allow them to discover works of art, explore artistic processes, and develop their creative capabilities. At the end of each week, the participants will take home their project, along with a list of key items (songs, vocabulary,…) that they have learned and used during the same week. Our focus is to make sure the children improve according to their skills and abilities.

Our instructors hold a master’s degree in French or Education or have completed at least 18 hours of graduate work in the same fields. In addition, they are native speakers and have extensive experience with children. They are dedicated to personalized instructions according to the needs of the learners. Our goal is to recreate a natural language environment, in which the children will learn organically, and by having fun!

Week 1 (May 30 – June 3): la Francophonie à travers la gastronomie (Francophone world through food) (Week 1 is full - No more registrations are accepted for week 1)

Week 2 (June 6 - 10): la Francophonie à travers la mode (Francophone world through fashion)

Week 3 (June 13 - 17): la Francophonie à travers les villes (Francophone world through travel) (Week 3 is full - No more registrations are accepted for week 3)

Week 4 (June 20 - 24): la Francophonie à travers le sport (Francophone world through sport) (Week 4 is full - No more registrations are accepted for week 4)

Summer 2019 Photo Gallery 1
Summer 2019 Photo Gallery 2

A Typical Camp Day

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9:00 – 9:10 am: Welcome (activities to complete on desks)

9:10-9:30 am: Circle time (work on basic skills: time, dates, counting and introduce/explore weekly theme)

9:30- 10:30 am: Workshop (participants are separated according to age and linguistic abilities to work on linguistic development and cultural enhancement through geography & history)

10:30- 11:00 am: Snack- Music- Story-telling – food tasting

11:00 – 12:15 pm: Sports: yoga – piscine- petanque (film-cartoons in case of rain)

12:15 – 1:00 pm: Lunch break (bring your own picnic)

1:00-1:30 pm: Circle times (songs, stories, vocabulary presentation)

1:30-3:00 pm: Workshop (participants are separated according to age and linguistic abilities to work on linguistic & art)

3 :00- 5:00 pm: optional aftercare with various activities (reading/games/crafts/coloring/ language homework)

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STAFF

Director

Geraldine Blattner Dr. Géraldine Blattner is a Swiss native. She obtained her Ph.D. (2007) in French and Applied Linguistics from Pennsylvania State University, and she also holds a master's degree in TESOL and in French literature from the University of Mississippi (2002). She has been teaching at FAU for over a decade. She specializes in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) and new technologies as tools for communication and for language learning and teaching. She is the Director of the French Basic Language Program at FAU and trains the incoming French teaching assistants every year. She has developed and taught a multitude of courses at the college level and has also been teaching younger learners for years. For more information: http://www.fau.edu/artsandletters/llcl/french/faculty/blattner/

Instructors

laura Ms. Laura Deveze is a French native from Paris. She is a certified France public school teacher, and taught elementary school for 6 years before moving to Florida in 2012. Her passion for teaching led her to the Alliance Française where she taught various afterschool and summer camp classes to children. Then, as a school coordinator for a local French school, she trained teachers and developed bilingual programs and curriculum. She is now a graduate teaching assistant at FAU where she teaches French 1120 and French 1121 (beginners French 1 and 2 culture and language). She loves teaching at the college level, but is very eager to return to the elementary context where she can share her passion for languages and culture with little ones!

samia Ms. Samia Benyounes is originally from Paris, France and has been living in South Florida for the past 20 years, where she raised four children with whom she shared her love for the French language. She taught at a French private pre-school for several years. She is now working towards her MA degree in teaching French at Florida Atlantic University. She is currently teaching 2 sections of FRE 1120 (beginners French culture and language). She is very passionate about sharing her knowledge of French with learners. She loves teaching young children through storytelling and hands on projects. She strongly believes that student success is created through a caring and nurturing environment in the classroom, and that one of the most important things teacher can do is foster the joy of learning throughout life.

Assistants

The program will also have assistants and interns, all of whom are excellent French speakers, helping the instructors in the classes.

Tuition and Payment

Tuition for each session is $320 ($300 for early registration – before April 1st, FAU faculty & staff or siblings) (includes the $50.00 non-refundable deposit).

A $50.00 non-refundable deposit is due at the time of registration.

The balance of camp tuition must be paid no later than May 23th (for week 1), May 30 (for week 2), June 6th (for week 3), and June 13th (for week 4) - additional $25 late fee will be requested on the first day of camp if you have yet to pay. If any questions or concerns about payments, please contact Dr. Blattner at (561) 297-2679.

Partial payments toward your balance may be made at any time after you are registered.

Please make your money order or check payable to Florida Atlantic University and include the camper's name on the memo section. Cash is also accepted. No credit cards accepted at this time.

All weeks are full - registrations are no longer being accepted for Summer 2022.

Send payment and camp registration paperwork (all forms must be completed) to:

Geraldine Blattner
Owlets Camp Director
Florida Atlantic University
Languages, Linguistics and Comparative Lit. Dept.
777 Glades Road, CU 232
Boca Raton, FL 33431

If you have any questions, please e-mail gblattne@fau.edu.