Introducing computer programming to your kids can be a challenge, especially for those who aren’t familiar with the nuances of code. Fortunately, in the last few years, a number of apps, software, and guides have been produced that make the often-complex subject of computer coding easy to grasp for young learners. So where to begin? These are a few resources that parents can share with their kids to help them start learning about programming. [Read More]

Is your child a future Bill Gates? Author Matt Davis shares online resources and tips for parents who want to get their kids started on learning computer programming.

Introducing computer programming to your kids can be a challenge, especially for those who aren’t familiar with the nuances of code. Fortunately, in the last few years, a number of apps, software, and guides have been produced that make the often-complex subject of computer coding easy to grasp for young learners. So where to begin? These are a few resources that parents can share with their kids to help them start learning about programming. [Read More]

Statistics support their suspicions about us Americans. According to a 2008 report, “Go Out and Play: Participation in Team or Organized Sports” created by the Women’s Sports Foundation, 69 percent of U.S. girls and 75 percent of U.S. boys participate in organized sports. According to a 2013 report, this means that roughly 35,000,000 U.S. children between the ages of 5 and 18 choose to play some organized sports. Which sports are the most popular? For children under 9, soccer and baseball seem to dominate, but by the age of 9, basketball is the sport of choice for many U.S. boys and girls. Other sports, like Martial Arts, are gaining popularity in the U.S., as a result of youth involvement. Clearly, these numbers support the theory that Americans love to see their kids involved in sports. But why, many foreign friends wonder.

Well, wondering the same thing, I took to the (suburban) American streets to find out. I wasn’t expecting anyone to admit that they force their kids into sports to build their college resumes or that they are really hoping that their 11 year old will one day receive an athletic scholarship to college (which is, by the way, incredibly rare: the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association cites a statistic of about 2 percent of high school athletes being awarded some sort of athletic scholarship to compete in college). Of course, there are those parents who do covet those scholarships for their kids and yes, those parents who somehow need their kids to live out their own fallen hopes of athletic glory do exist, but beyond these unavoidable realities, the responses were remarkably well thought out and more varied than I ever imagined.

Some U.S. parents emphasize how sports are able to teach their children commitment, integrity, and responsibility. According to the Kids Play USA Foundation, children who play youth sports are less likely to skip class, join a gang or abuse drugs. This may have to do with the mental and physical commitment children have to make to their teams. As children get older, sports become more competitive. As a result, athletes must commit huge amounts of time and energy to their teams. As they learn to work with one another and improve their athletic skills, many students develop deep relationships and ultimately rely on each other. The result can be lasting friendships among the players as well as an expectation that everyone take responsibility for him or herself for the sake of the team. For example, Jenny’s* 12-year old son Andrew had serious issues waking up at 7:00 a.m. She would practically need a bullhorn to get him up for school in the morning. When he joined a travel baseball team, she sat down with him to talk about how he would need to get up at 5:30 in the morning for some of his weekend games. The coach had a zero lateness policy, which meant that if you were late for the game, you sat out for the game. The morning of the first Saturday morning game, Jenny found Andrew fully dressed, eating breakfast in the kitchen at 5:30 am. He said that if he didn’t show up on time for his game, his teammates were going to “kick his butt.” He woke himself on time for every Saturday game during the season. Jenny thought a miracle had occurred. To Jenny, sports gave Andrew the motivation to take responsibility for his own actions – something that his parents couldn’t do for him.

Perhaps not surprisingly, some American parents begin preparing their children for athletics at an incredibly early age. Gina has very young children, ages 4 and 2. Her 4 year old has already started hockey, tennis and tae kwon do, as well as taken toddler multi-sports classes. She is anxious to get her boys involved in sports and has given a lot of thought to the benefits of athletic involvement. Her reasons are threefold: First, in Gina’s opinion, athletic kids are generally “the cool kids.” For her, athletic prowess will not only give her children an elevated social status that could be essential in an increasingly complicated teen social culture, but also help prevent them from being bullied. Second, Gina feels that this higher social status associated with being a talented athlete carries over into adulthood. This realization struck her at her golf club where she noticed that the best golfers were the most sought after for rounds of golf by other members of the club. To her, childhood athletics can pave the way for important social connections in the future, which can prove valuable socially as well as professionally. Finally, having seen her nephew’s commitment to swimming and the arduous hours he devotes to it, Gina sees how a sport can demonstrate the value of hard work: “I had always thought sports came easily to athletic kids. And while that may be true somewhat, I now realize the amount of passion, dedication and grit that are needed to be at the top.”

While the American commitment to youth athletics is certainly cultural, this enthusiasm can be quite contagious, quickly acquired by parents who come to call the U.S. home as adults. When Lynn immigrated to the U.S. with her husband, she was shocked to see how intense the parental interest was in all things athletics. Having young kids, she couldn’t imagine what all the fuss was about. As her children became grade school age, though, she began to see advantages to involving her kids in sports programs. She recognized sports as a way for her kids to incorporate exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. Having three very different children, she also realized that sports were not a one size fits all activity, so that each of her kids could find a sport that was right for them. Her more reserved daughter thrived in her martial arts class (ultimately progressing to black belt), while her more overtly active boys were drawn to soccer and tennis respectively. Athletics had a way of bringing out the best in her children, and Lynn and her husband became fans of sports being integral to their family life.

Finally, U.S. parents can start their kids off in sports for one reason and then find that there are entirely different benefits to these activities. Michelle had this very experience with her high school aged twins. Originally, she thought that high-energy sports like swimming, soccer and gymnastics would be healthy outlets for her girls’ seemingly endless amounts of energy. Although the sports didn’t seem to tire the girls out, they enjoyed participating and found close friends on their teams. What Michelle did discover was that as the girls began to compete seriously in their sports, the team commitment provided a necessary structure around which the girls could organize their studies. When the girls had practice or a swim meet or game, they knew they only had a certain amount of time to finish up their homework obligations. Without any sort of mandated schedule from sports, the girls would dawdle with their work, and it never really got completed as well as when there was a time deadline because of practice or a competition. For Michelle’s kids, sports had inadvertently added an organizational structure to their daily activities, helping to create better-organized kids.

After listening to other Americans’ reasons for encouraging their kids to participate in sports, even if that means waking up at 5:00 in the morning, every morning, to drive their kids to ice hockey, gymnastics or swimming, I began to reflect on my reasons for wanting my children to start their own sports experiences. The answer, I realized, had a lot to do with my upbringing. My parents always emphasized academic success and never encouraged us to engage in any sort of athletic competition. As a child, seeing other kids completely invested in their teams made me feel slightly alienated, as though I was missing some part of my childhood. Fast forward a few decades, and you have me – a novice golfer and an amateur tennis player who winces at the thought of anyone actually watching me engage in an athletic activity. I can’t help but feel that participating in childhood sports may have helped me with my athletic misgivings. The result – I want my own kids to enjoy sports when they are young. I think it will help them gain a certain confidence, so that they can feel comfortable, no matter what their skill level, whether playing a round of golf or skiing a black diamond without cringing at every mistake they make. If they decide sports aren’t for them (definitely not the direction in which they seem to be headed), then that’s okay, but in the mean time I will relish every moment on the sideline. As my husband put it best while we watched our son rallying with a friend in tennis: “I would rather watch this than the U.S. Open any day.”

So what do you think? Does it still seem strange that Americans sacrifice so much for their child athletes? Would you give it a try?Skiing, Tennis, Golf, Tae Kwon Do, Swimming – I am not starting a list of all the sports I can think of in a minute. It’s actually sort of a confession. These are the sports in which my son is currently participating (not including the pick-up basketball and football games at school, Ping Pong and of course the non-athletic activities of chess and Spanish). He is eight years old. Please don’t think we are forcing our child to engage in any of these activities. We’re not. In fact, we’ve told him that at some point we need to narrow down this list to make room for his increasing homework load, but for now he loves them all. I realize that in other countries, this is not the norm. First and second graders are not throwing themselves into a packed calendar of structured sports, and, even more curious to our foreign friends, parents are not spending large portions of their own lives developing the sports’ careers of their children from the age of 3 (and younger).

Statistics support their suspicions about us Americans. According to a 2008 report, “Go Out and Play: Participation in Team or Organized Sports” created by the Women’s Sports Foundation, 69 percent of U.S. girls and 75 percent of U.S. boys participate in organized sports. According to a 2013 report, this means that roughly 35,000,000 U.S. children between the ages of 5 and 18 choose to play some organized sports. Which sports are the most popular? For children under 9, soccer and baseball seem to dominate, but by the age of 9, basketball is the sport of choice for many U.S. boys and girls. Other sports, like Martial Arts, are gaining popularity in the U.S., as a result of youth involvement. Clearly, these numbers support the theory that Americans love to see their kids involved in sports. But why, many foreign friends wonder.

Well, wondering the same thing, I took to the (suburban) American streets to find out. I wasn’t expecting anyone to admit that they force their kids into sports to build their college resumes or that they are really hoping that their 11 year old will one day receive an athletic scholarship to college (which is, by the way, incredibly rare: the U.S. National Collegiate Athletic Association cites a statistic of about 2 percent of high school athletes being awarded some sort of athletic scholarship to compete in college). Of course, there are those parents who do covet those scholarships for their kids and yes, those parents who somehow need their kids to live out their own fallen hopes of athletic glory do exist, but beyond these unavoidable realities, the responses were remarkably well thought out and more varied than I ever imagined.

Some U.S. parents emphasize how sports are able to teach their children commitment, integrity, and responsibility. According to the Kids Play USA Foundation, children who play youth sports are less likely to skip class, join a gang or abuse drugs. This may have to do with the mental and physical commitment children have to make to their teams. As children get older, sports become more competitive. As a result, athletes must commit huge amounts of time and energy to their teams. As they learn to work with one another and improve their athletic skills, many students develop deep relationships and ultimately rely on each other. The result can be lasting friendships among the players as well as an expectation that everyone take responsibility for him or herself for the sake of the team. For example, Jenny’s* 12-year old son Andrew had serious issues waking up at 7:00 a.m. She would practically need a bullhorn to get him up for school in the morning. When he joined a travel baseball team, she sat down with him to talk about how he would need to get up at 5:30 in the morning for some of his weekend games. The coach had a zero lateness policy, which meant that if you were late for the game, you sat out for the game. The morning of the first Saturday morning game, Jenny found Andrew fully dressed, eating breakfast in the kitchen at 5:30 am. He said that if he didn’t show up on time for his game, his teammates were going to “kick his butt.” He woke himself on time for every Saturday game during the season. Jenny thought a miracle had occurred. To Jenny, sports gave Andrew the motivation to take responsibility for his own actions – something that his parents couldn’t do for him.

Perhaps not surprisingly, some American parents begin preparing their children for athletics at an incredibly early age. Gina has very young children, ages 4 and 2. Her 4 year old has already started hockey, tennis and tae kwon do, as well as taken toddler multi-sports classes. She is anxious to get her boys involved in sports and has given a lot of thought to the benefits of athletic involvement. Her reasons are threefold: First, in Gina’s opinion, athletic kids are generally “the cool kids.” For her, athletic prowess will not only give her children an elevated social status that could be essential in an increasingly complicated teen social culture, but also help prevent them from being bullied. Second, Gina feels that this higher social status associated with being a talented athlete carries over into adulthood. This realization struck her at her golf club where she noticed that the best golfers were the most sought after for rounds of golf by other members of the club. To her, childhood athletics can pave the way for important social connections in the future, which can prove valuable socially as well as professionally. Finally, having seen her nephew’s commitment to swimming and the arduous hours he devotes to it, Gina sees how a sport can demonstrate the value of hard work: “I had always thought sports came easily to athletic kids. And while that may be true somewhat, I now realize the amount of passion, dedication and grit that are needed to be at the top.”

While the American commitment to youth athletics is certainly cultural, this enthusiasm can be quite contagious, quickly acquired by parents who come to call the U.S. home as adults. When Lynn immigrated to the U.S. with her husband, she was shocked to see how intense the parental interest was in all things athletics. Having young kids, she couldn’t imagine what all the fuss was about. As her children became grade school age, though, she began to see advantages to involving her kids in sports programs. She recognized sports as a way for her kids to incorporate exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle. Having three very different children, she also realized that sports were not a one size fits all activity, so that each of her kids could find a sport that was right for them. Her more reserved daughter thrived in her martial arts class (ultimately progressing to black belt), while her more overtly active boys were drawn to soccer and tennis respectively. Athletics had a way of bringing out the best in her children, and Lynn and her husband became fans of sports being integral to their family life.

Finally, U.S. parents can start their kids off in sports for one reason and then find that there are entirely different benefits to these activities. Michelle had this very experience with her high school aged twins. Originally, she thought that high-energy sports like swimming, soccer and gymnastics would be healthy outlets for her girls’ seemingly endless amounts of energy. Although the sports didn’t seem to tire the girls out, they enjoyed participating and found close friends on their teams. What Michelle did discover was that as the girls began to compete seriously in their sports, the team commitment provided a necessary structure around which the girls could organize their studies. When the girls had practice or a swim meet or game, they knew they only had a certain amount of time to finish up their homework obligations. Without any sort of mandated schedule from sports, the girls would dawdle with their work, and it never really got completed as well as when there was a time deadline because of practice or a competition. For Michelle’s kids, sports had inadvertently added an organizational structure to their daily activities, helping to create better-organized kids.

After listening to other Americans’ reasons for encouraging their kids to participate in sports, even if that means waking up at 5:00 in the morning, every morning, to drive their kids to ice hockey, gymnastics or swimming, I began to reflect on my reasons for wanting my children to start their own sports experiences. The answer, I realized, had a lot to do with my upbringing. My parents always emphasized academic success and never encouraged us to engage in any sort of athletic competition. As a child, seeing other kids completely invested in their teams made me feel slightly alienated, as though I was missing some part of my childhood. Fast forward a few decades, and you have me – a novice golfer and an amateur tennis player who winces at the thought of anyone actually watching me engage in an athletic activity. I can’t help but feel that participating in childhood sports may have helped me with my athletic misgivings. The result – I want my own kids to enjoy sports when they are young. I think it will help them gain a certain confidence, so that they can feel comfortable, no matter what their skill level, whether playing a round of golf or skiing a black diamond without cringing at every mistake they make. If they decide sports aren’t for them (definitely not the direction in which they seem to be headed), then that’s okay, but in the mean time I will relish every moment on the sideline. As my husband put it best while we watched our son rallying with a friend in tennis: “I would rather watch this than the U.S. Open any day.”

So what do you think? Does it still seem strange that Americans sacrifice so much for their child athletes? Would you give it a try?

IDTech (multiple locations in the U.S.)

IDtech is the camp that my 10 year old nephew, born and raised in New Jersey, will attend this summer at Princeton University. It offers programming camps for children ages 6 – 12 and teens ages 13 – 18. The camp is offered in 29 states at various college campuses including: Harvard, MIT, Princeton, Columbia, Georgetown, Stanford, Rice, Northwestern, University of Michigan, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and UC Irvine. Some of these universities offer ID Tech Mini Camp for 6 – 9 year-old. These camps are offered from the middle of June to the beginning of August for 6 – 12 year-olds and the third week of June to the middle of August for teenagers; but students can pick the week(s) they want to attend. Prices vary depending on the location but a week-long camp for 6 – 12 year-olds is usually about $1,300 for day camp and $1800 with lodging. The camp for 13 – 18 year-olds is two weeks long and costs $4000, which includes lodging. Food is provided. Students can take classes like Adventures in Robotics, Adventures in Minecraft Design, Iphone/Ipad or Android App Development, Introduction to Programming with Scratch and Javascript, FPS Game Design, RPG Programming, Movie Making Class, Web Design Class, and Electrical Engineering.

Emagination Computer Camp (Massachusetts, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois and Pennsylvania)

Emagination Computer Camp is another camp that focuses on coding, 3D animation, and game design. The camp is offered from the end of June to the middle of August at these locations: Boston College in Chestnut Hill, MA; Newton Centre in Newton, MA; Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT; Mercer University in Atlanta, GA; Lake Forest College in Lake Forest, IL; Rosemont College in Rosemont, PA. The camp offers transportation to and from airports and railroad stations for $40 each way. The camp is divided into 2 week sessions as follows: Computer Camp for 8 – 17 year olds; Minecraft Coding Camp for 13 – 17 year olds and Game Design for 15 – 18 year olds. The price for a week session is about $1700 for day camp and $2800 with lodging. Some of the class descriptions are: 3D Character Animation, Webdesign, 3D RPG Game Design, Mobile App Design, Android App Design, Scratch, Coding Basics, Robotics, and Computer Aided Design. After classes, students play sports and games. Weekend activities include barbecue, sports battle between campers, and social gatherings.

i2Camp (Multiple locations in the U.S.)

i2Camp is a day camp designed to engage 5 – 8th grade students in STEM (an acronym for science, technology engineering and mathematics) and offers classes designed by Harvard, MIT and Stanford. Since it is a day camp, lodging is not provided. The camp is available in 9 states and is offered at exclusive private high schools in the US such as Marin Country Day in California, Roxbury Latin School in Massachusetts, Hackley in New York, and St. Albans in D.C. where Al Gore graduated. Dates vary depending on the school but most camps are offered at the end of June or the beginning of July to the end of July. Students may choose the week(s) they want to enroll and the price is $800 per week or $750 for multiple weeks. Lunch and snacks are included. Some of the course descriptions are: Engineering Design Workshop, Digital Game Design Workshop, Programming Mini Robots, Contagion – Pandemic Response, Spycraft – Reconnaissance and Code Breaking, and Surgical Technique.

Digipen Project Fun (Seattle)

For those of you who want to be near Seattle, Digipen Project Fun in Redmond, Washington is reputed to be another great program specializing in game design, video game programming, digital media arts, and engineering. The camp runs from the third week of June to the middle of August. You can register for this camp as follows: 1st – 3rd graders can enroll in game design, art and animation, and robotics classes weekdays from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm costing $650 a week; 4th – 6th graders can enroll in programming, game design, art, robotics, sound design classes weekdays from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm for 2 weeks for $1250; 8th – 12th graders can enroll in programming and fine arts classes weekdays from 9 am – 4 pm for 2 weeks for $1250. And lastly, 11th – 12th graders can take college level courses in programming, game design, art, sound design, and physics. The 4 week course for 11th – 12th graders runs weekdays from 9 am – 4:15 pm and costs $2699. The camp offers on-campus housing for $1500 for a 2 week session plus a $300 refundable deposit.

Digital Media Academy (Multiple locations in the U.S.)

Digital Media Academy is another camp that has numerous locations across the country including Harvard, Stanford, UCLA, University of Chicago, NYU and many more universities. It is offered in California, Washington, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, Illinois, Michigan, DC, and Colorado. The camp runs from middle of June to the middle of August and offers classes in 3D modeling and animation, filmmaking and visual effects, game design, music and audio production, photography/art/design, programming and app development, robotics and engineering, and sports and technology. The camp is offered to students 6 and over and even offers classes for adults. Daily class times run from 9 am – 5 pm and a week of camp is $945 plus $70/week for food. It also offers online classes for students registered to attend the camp. Housing is offered at the following locations for students ages 12 – 17 enrolled in teen camps: Stanford, UCLA, UC San Diego, University of Washington, The University of British Columbia (Canada), University of Toronto (Canada), University of Texas at Austin, Rice University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, George Washington University, Drexel, and Bryn Mawr. However, students must leave the dormitory on Friday at 5 pm and can return on Sunday afternoon. There is an extended stay option so that students can stay until 9 am Saturday but students must find a place to sleep Saturday night independently. The housing across all of the locations is typically dorm style with two students to a room. The students will enjoy their meals in the dining commons as if they were college students living on campus for the school year. The staff will eat dinner with the students, and everyone will participate in an organized campus activity each evening.

To learn more about these camps, please contact me at Helen@englishhound.com.

Please be sure to check out our website www.EnglishHound.com for other summer programs for students and language institutes for parents offered here in the US.“여름 방학 동안 마인크래프트 프로그래밍하면서 영어 배우기” 인터뷰에 이어서 주요 컴퓨터 프로그래밍 및 테크놀로지 캠프들을 소개합니다.

아이디테크(미국 내 여러 지역)

아이디테크(IDtech)는 뉴저지에서 나고 자란 제 10 살 조카가 이번 여름에 참여할 캠프로 프린스턴 대학교(Princeton University)에서 열립니다. 6-12 세 어린이 및 13-18 세의 청소년들에게 제공되는 프로그래밍 캠프입니다. 이 캠프는 하버드(Harvard), 매사추세츠공과대학교(MIT), 프린스턴(Princeton), 컬럼비아(Columbia), 조지타운(Georgetown), 스탠포드(Stanford), 라이스(Rice), 노스웨스턴(Northwestern), 미시간 대학교(University of Michigan), UC 버클리(UC Berkeley), UCLA, UC 어바인(UC Irvine) 등 29 개주의 다양한 대학교 캠퍼스에서 운영됩니다. 일부 대학들은 6-9 세를 위한 아이디테크 미니 캠프를 제공합니다. 이 캠프들은 6-12 세를 대상으로 6 월 중순부터 8 월 초까지 진행되고, 13-18 세를 대상으로는 6 월 셋째 주에서 8 월 중순까지 진행되는데, 이 중에서 참여를 원하는 3 주를 선택하여 참여할 수 있습니다. 비용은 지역에 따라 다른데 대략 6-12 세 대상은 1 주일에 통학형 1,300 달러, 기숙형 1,800 달러입니다. 13-18 세 대상은 2 주일 기숙형으로 4,000 달러입니다. 식사는 포함되어 있습니다. 학생들은 로봇 어드벤쳐, 마인크래프트 디자인 어드벤쳐, 아이폰/아이패드 또는 안드로이드 앱 개발, 스크래치와 자바스크립트 프로그래밍 기초, FPS 게임 디자인, RPG 프로그래밍, 영화 제작 수업, 웹 디자인 수업, 전자 공학 등 다양한 수업을 수강할 수 있습니다.

이매지네이션 컴퓨터 캠프(매사츄세츠, 코네티컷, 조지아, 일리노이, 펜실베이아)

이매지네이션 컴퓨터 캠프(Emagination Computer Camp)는 코딩, 3D 애니메이션, 게임 디자인에 중점을 두는 캠프입니다. 6 월말부터 8 월 중순까지 매사추세츠주 체스트넛 힐의 보스턴 컬리지(Boston College)와 뉴턴의 뉴턴 센터(Newton Centre), 코네티컷주 페어필드의 페어필드 대학교 (Fairfield University), 조지아주 아틀란타의 머서 대학교(Mercer University), 일리노이주 레이크 포레스트의 레이크 포레스트 컬리지(Lake Forest College), 펜실베니아주 로즈몬트의 로즈몬트 컬리지(Rosemont College) 등에서 열립니다. 이 캠프는 공항 및 기차역에서 캠프 사이에 편도 40 달러의 교통 서비스를 제공합니다. 이 캠프는 2 주로 구성된 8-17 세 대상 컴퓨터 캠프, 13-17 세 대상 마인크래프트 코딩 캠프, 15-18 세 대상 게임 디자인 등을 제공합니다. 1 주일에 통학형은 1,700 달러, 기숙형은 2,800 달러입니다. 제공되는 수업으로는 3D 캐릭터 애니메이션, 웹 디자인, 3D RPG 게임 디자인, 모바일 앱 디자인, 안드로이드 앱 디자인, 스크래치, 코딩 기초, 로보틱스, 캐드 등이있습니다. 수업 후, 학생들은 스포츠 및 게임을 즐깁니다. 주말에는 참여학생들이함께 바비큐, 스포츠 경기 및 친목 모임을 가집니다.

i2 캠프(미국 내 여러 지역)

i2 캠프(i2Camp)는 5-8 학년 과학, 테크놀로지, 엔지니어링, 수학 특화 스템(STEM: science, technology engineering and mathematics 의 두문자어) 학생들을 대상으로 고안된 통학형 캠프로 하버드(Harvard), 매사츄세츠 공과대학교(MIT), 스탠포드(Stanford)에 의해 고안된 수업들을 제공합니다. 통학형 캠프이니, 기숙사는 제공되지 않습니다. 9 개 주에서 제공되며 캘리포니아주 로스앤젤레스의 마린 컨트리 데이(Marin Country Day), 매사추세츠주 록스버리 라틴 스쿨(Roxbury Latin School), 뉴욕주 해클리(Hackley), 워싱턴 D.C.의 엘 고어가 졸업한 세인트 알반스(St. Albans) 등 특별 사립 고등학교 등에서 제공됩니다. 학교에 따라 일정은 다양하지만 대략 6 월 말에서 7 월 초에 시작해서 7 월말까지 진행됩니다. 학생들은 등록하기를 원하는 주를 선택할 수 있으며 비용은 1 주일에 800 달러이고 2 주 이상 등록할 경우 750 달러 입니다. 점심과 간식이 포함되어 있습니다. 엔지니어링 디자인 워크숍, 디지털 게임 디자인 워크숍, 프로그래밍 미니 로봇, 컨테이젼(Contagion) – 판데믹 대응(Pandemic Response), 스파이크래프트(Spycraft) – 정찰(Reconnaissance) 및 코드 브레이킹(Code Breaking), 외과 기술(Surgical Technique) 등의 코스가 제공됩니다.

디지펜 프로젝트 펀(시애틀)

시애틀 근교의 캠프 프로그램을 찾는다면, 게임 디자인, 비디오 게임 프로그래밍, 디지털 미디어 아트, 엔지니어링에 특화된 워싱턴주 레드몬드의 디지펜 프로젝트펀(Digipen Project Fun)을 추천합니다. 6 월 셋째 주부터 8 월 중순까지 진행되는 캠프입니다. 1-3 학년은 주중 오전 8 시 30 분에서 오후 3 시 30 분까지 진행되는 게임 디자인, 아트와 애니메이션, 로보틱스 수업을 1 주에 650 달러에 등록할 수 있습니다. 4-6 학년은 주중 오전 8 시 30 분에서 오후 3 시 30 분까지 진행되는 프로그래밍, 게임 디자인, 아트, 로보틱스, 사운드 디자인 수업을 2 주에 1,250 달러에 등록할 수 있습니다. 8-12 학년은 주중 오전 9 시에서 오후 4 시까지 진행되는 프로그래밍 및 파인 아트 수업을 2 주에 1,250 달러에 등록할 수 있습니다. 마지막으로 11 – 12 학년은 주중 오전 9 시에서 오후 4 시 15 분까지 진행되는 대학 수준의 프로그래밍, 게임 디자인, 아트, 사운드 디자인, 물리학 수업을 4 주에 2,699 달러에 등록할 수 있습니다. 캠퍼스 내 숙소를 2 주에 1,500 달러 (300 달러 환급 가능 보증금 별도)에 제공합니다.

디지털 미디어 아카데미(미국 내 여러 곳)

디지털 미디어 아카데미(Digital Media Academy)는 하버드(Harvard), 스탠포드(Stanford), UCLA, 시카고대학교(University of Chicago), 뉴욕대학교(NYU) 외 미국 전역의 많은 대학교에서 열리는 또 다른 캠프 중 하나입니다. 캘리포니아, 워싱턴, 텍사스, 펜실베니아, 뉴욕, 일리노이, 미시간, 워싱턴 D.C., 콜로라도 등에서 진행됩니다. 6 월 중순부터 8 월 중순까지 3D 모델링과 애니메이션, 영화제작과 비쥬얼 이펙트, 게임 디자인, 음악과 오디오 프로덕션, 사진/아트/디자인, 프로그래밍과 앱 개발, 로보틱스와 엔지니어링, 스포츠와 테크놀로지 등의 수업이 제공됩니다. 이 캠프는 6 세 이상의 학생들을 대상으로 하며 성인 대상 수업도 있습니다. 매일 오전 9 시에서 오후 5 시까지 수업이 진행되며 1 주일에 945 달러의 수업료와 70 달러의 식사비가 있습니다. 온라인 수업으로 캠프에 참여할 수도 있습니다. 스탠포드(Stanford), UCLA, UC 샌디에고(UC San Diego), 워싱턴대학교(University of Washington), 캐나다 브리티시 컬럼비아 대학교(The University of British Columbia), 캐나다 토론토 대학교(University of Toronto), 오스틴 텍사스대학교(University of Texas), 라이스 대학교(Rice University), 시카고대학교(University of Chicago), 미시간 대학교(University of Michigan), 조지 워싱턴대학교(George Washington University), 드렉셀(Drexel), 브린모어(Bryn Mawr) 등의 경우에는 12-17 세의 청소년 캠프 참가자들에게 숙소를 제공하고 있습니다. 단, 금요일 5 시에 기숙사를 나가야 하며 일요일 오후에 돌아올 수 있습니다. 토요일 오전 9 시까지 기숙사에 있을 수 있도록 선택할 수도 있으나, 토요일 밤은 반드시 개인적으로 숙소를 해결해야 합니다. 이들 지역에서 제공되는 숙소는 전형적인 2 인 1 실 기숙사 형입니다. 학생들은 마치 캠퍼스에서 사는 대학생들처럼 교내 식당에서 식사를 즐길 수 있습니다. 스태프들도 학생들과 함께 저녁식사를 하며 학생들은 매일 저녁 캠퍼스 내에서 진행되는 특별활동에 참여합니다. 보다 자세한 사항이 궁금하다면, Helen@englishhound.com 으로 연락하시기 바랍니다. 미국 내 다른 학생 대상 썸머 프로그램 및 학부모 대상 어학원에 대한 자세한 정보는 잉글리쉬 하운드 웹사이트 www.EnglishHound.com 를 참조하여 주시기 바랍니다.

Haewon Helen Whang (formerly Chung), is the founder and CEO of English Hound. Helen is also a litigation attorney and she lives in New York with her husband and two sons. She graduated from Cornell University and Boston University School of Law. We asked her what her views are on learning English in the U.S. during summer vacations.

Namee: Thank you Helen for making the time to sit down with me today.

Helen: Thanks Namee, I am glad to be here.

Namee: Summer is quickly approaching and many parents are making summer plans for their children. What are your thoughts about the best way to learn English during summer vacations, particularly for those parents who live in Asia and want to focus on English in the U.S. this summer?

Helen: That is a question I get asked often. And surprisingly, the answer is probably not what you would expect. Most people in Asia would be inclined to send their kids to an English language program for the summer. But my view is that those programs, while educational, are not the best way for your kids to learn English during summer vacations.

Namee: Wow, that is definitely not the answer I would have expected. Why have you reached that conclusion?

Helen: These English language programs are attended by students whose primary languages are not English but another primary language. Let’s face it — why else would these kids need to be there to learn English? So what happens is that the students make friends with other students who are not native English speakers but speak another primary language. Often, the kids will gravitate toward other students who speak the same primary language, which is quite normal. It is normal to want to socialize with other kids who speak the same language as you. But the net effect is that they then spend the whole summer speaking not English, but their primary language, with their friends and English gets spoken in a very limited way only in the classroom.

Namee: Ok, then if not English language programs, what do you recommend for learning English in the U.S. during summer vacations?

Helen: If I lived in Korea for instance and had to pick a program to send my sons to the U.S. to learn English, I would send them to a computer programming camp or a sports camp. These camps offer a truly immersive environment where your child will be surrounded by native English speaking teachers and students. Computer programmer camps in particular will teach your child technical skills and open up a whole world of possibilities for an interesting career in science and technology while making life-long friendships with American kids. These are the camps that many intelligent, affluent American parents send their children.

Namee: That is a great point. Learn computer programming and English at the same time! Are there some good computer programming camps that you are aware of?

Helen: Sure, there is a list on our website, www.EnglishHound.com of computer programming camps that get good reviews and are highly recommended by other parents.

Namee: What wonderful resource. Thank you so much for your time today. It was a pleasure to speak with you.

Helen: It was my pleasure.

혜원 헬렌 황은 뉴욕의 영어 쓰기/읽기, 창조성, 자기 표현력을 장려하는 온라인 영어 교육 회사 잉글리쉬 하운드(www.EnglishHound.com)의 설립자이자 대표입니다. 그녀는 변호사로 활동하며 뉴욕에서 그녀의 남편과 두 아들과 함께 살고 있습니다. 그녀는 아이비 리그 명문인 코넬 대학교(Cornell University)와 보스턴 대학교 법대(Boston University School of Law)를 졸업했습니다. 여름방학 동안 미국에서 영어를 배우는 것에 대한 그녀의 견해를 물어보았습니다.

나미: 먼저 오늘 인터뷰를 위해 시간 내어 주셔서 감사 드립니다.

헬렌: 감사합니다. 저 역시 이런 기회를 갖게 되어 기쁩니다.

나미: 이제 여름이 얼마 남지 않아서 많은 부모님들이 자녀들의 여름 방학을 계획하고 있고 있습니다. 여름 방학 동안 영어를 배울 수 있는 가장 효과적인 방법은 무엇이라고 생각하시나요? 특별히 아시아에 거주중인 부모님들 중 미국 캠프에 자녀들을 보내고자 하는 분들에게 추천을 해주신다면?

헬렌: 자주 듣는 질문입니다. 놀랍게도 제 답변은 예상 답변은 아닐 것입니다. 아시아 지역에 거주중인 부모들은 여름 방학 동안 자녀들을 영어 캠프에 보내는 경향이 있는데, 이러한 캠프들은 교육적이기는 하지만 영어를 배우기 위한 가장 효과적인 방법은 아닙니다.

나미: 역시 제가 예상했던 답변은 아니네요. 어떤 이유에서 그런 생각을 하게되셨나요?

헬렌: 대부분 이러한 영어 학습 프로그램들은 영어를 모국어로 사용하지 않는 외국 학생들이 참여합니다. 그렇지 않다면 왜 영어를 배우고자 하겠습니까? 따라서, 원어민이 아닌 영어를 모국어로 사용하지 않는 외국 학생들이 서로 친구가 됩니다. 또한, 종종 같은 언어를 사용하는 친구들과 자연스럽게 먼저 친구가 됩니다. 이렇게 되면 그들은 여름 내내 영어가 아닌 모국어를 쓰면서 보내게 됩니다. 영어는 수업 시간에만 한정적으로 쓰게 됩니다.

나미: 그렇다면 영어 캠프가 아니라면 미국에서 여름 방학 동안 영어를 배우기 위해 어떤 프로그램을 추천하시나요?

헬렌: 제가 만약 한국에 살고 있는데 제 아들들의 영어 학습을 위해 미국에 있는 프로그램을 선택해야 한다면, 컴퓨터 프로그래밍 캠프나 스포츠 캠프를 보내겠습니다. 이 캠프들은 원어민 영어 교사들과 학생들에게 둘러싸여 완전히 몰입적인 환경에서 영어를 배울 수 있습니다. 컴퓨터 프로그래밍 캠프는 특히 자녀들에게 유용한 기술을 가르침으로써 과학과 테크놀로지 관련 흥미로운 직업들을 위한 새로운 가능성을 열어줄 것입니다. 동시에 평생 동안 우정을 쌓을 수있는 미국 친구들을 만날 수도 있습니다. 지성과 경제력을 겸비한 많은 미국 부모들이 자녀들을 위해 이 캠프들을 선택합니다.

나미: 매우 좋은 제안이라고 생각합니다. 컴퓨터 프로그래밍과 영어를 동시에

배운다! 관심 있게 보고 있는 좋은 컴퓨터 프로그래밍 캠프를 추천해 주신다면?

헬렌: 잉글리쉬 하운드 웹사이트 www.EnglishHound.com 에 좋은 리뷰 및 다른 부모들의 강력한 추천을 받은 컴퓨터 프로그래밍 캠프들이 소개되어 있습니다.

나미: 정말 좋은 정보네요. 오늘 시간 내주셔서 감사 드리고, 유익한시간이었습니다.

헬렌: 저도 즐거웠습니다.