Waldsee is unlike any other place where you can learn and use German!
THE ENVIRONMENT: The first thing you notice when you arrive at Waldsee is that you’re in a real village – not on a college campus, in a summer camp or in a school building. You’re surrounded by traditional and modern European architecture and culturally authentic details like yellow German mailboxes and European street signs that make you feel as if you’re in a small town in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. You use German to withdraw Euros at the bank, buy European snacks at the store, enjoy freshly baked Kuchen and Torten at a café near the central market square, and do science experiments in our super environmentally-friendly Passiv-Haus.
THE PEOPLE: The next thing you notice is the flurry of activity happening all around the village. Everywhere you look you see small groups of people playing soccer, fencing, riding horseback, painting, creating pottery, baking, canoeing, swimming, playing in a rock band – almost anything you can think of! With approximately 170 other students and 60 German-speaking counselors and teachers, you have nearly limitless opportunities to try out your German in activities of your own choosing. It’s almost like Europe with one important exception: all the people you meet around the village have one major goal in mind – to help you have fun while you’re learning and using the most German you can!
OUR PHILOSOPHY: A vital invisible force driving how the village looks, what activities are offered, and how counselors and teachers act with you is Waldsee’s firm commitment to building a caring, creative, intellectually engaging, and fun community where people like you can learn by doing and are supported by a “can-do” attitude, both to explore your interests and to venture into new areas. When asked to identify what they like best about Waldsee, most villagers first say how fun Waldsee is and how much they enjoy the people they meet. Focusing then on language, they go on to highlight the courage they’ve gained in speaking the language and the many and varied opportunities they have to speak and listen to the language.
OUR CURRICULUM: Equally invisible is the way we teach language at Waldsee. Your main language learning group is called a Familie and is made up of your teacher and 3-5 other learners who are at your same language level. Three times a day, you meet with your Familie to learn and practice German by playing games, singing, and telling stories. When you leave your language group and go to an activity, like soccer, painting or canoeing, you’ll be surprised how many times you’ll be able to use what you’ve just learned. We even have some fun programs, like Sprachmeister, Geheimbetreuer, Waldsee-Mensch and ‘Nur deutsch’ Tische that encourage you to keep speaking as much German as you can during the day. You might even win a pack of Gummibärchen or a Waldsee t-shirt for doing what you want to do anyway!
