3 Ways to Adapt Immersion Language Holidays for Beginners

Are Immersion Language Holidays a Good Way for Beginners to Learn?

English immersion holidays for beginners can be effective – when they are designed around language workshops supporting any experience-led immersion holiday activities.

This is because beginners need a different style of language tuition than any other level.

This blog explains what tuition styles beginners need, and gives 3 concrete examples of ways we convert our own unique English immersion holidays into a tailermade language learning holiday for beginners.

Why Immersion Needs to be Adapted

At Blue Noun Language Hub,  are specialists in bringing L1 & L2 (first-language and second-language) speakers together to socialise in holidays exploring Scotland.

However, at the beginner level, being surrounded by English is not the same as learning it. 

Spending half an hour with a local artist to visit their studio may feel like a lot of fun, but it is less linguistically useful to a beginner.

Language immersion holiday activities need to adapted to be useful for beginners. 

#01 Simplify Language without Compromise

When working with beginners, language needs to be simple.

The mistake language schools often make is to give beginners a dumbed-down experience (as if being a beginner in English is childlike).

Our clients are professionals learning English for powerful purposes.

Simplified does not mean dumbed down.

Instead, we immerse the learner in situations which are not overwhelming in language and in which their own words can be powerfully communicative.

Take, for example, this language excursion to visit Highland Pony trainer Jan and her ponies.

Jan uses very little spoken language to communicate poignantly and powerfully about love, trust and inter-species communication.

These rugged little ponies are perfectly suited to Scottish wildernesses, yet are incredibly empathetic creatures (they get used in therapy).

Discovering the culture around these ponies is a rich and wonderful way to learn many intimate parts of Scottish culture and landscape from within.

#02 Meeting Artists

A second example is how we adapt our trademark Meet the Makers concept for beginner-level English learners.

Instead of our usual more unstructured and spontaneous chat with artists, language beginners take part in craft workshops by artists in their studios.

Such workshops bring L2 English users together with local community in ways that encourage conversation with props. 

Art and craft workshops combine repetitive phrases and social language skills with helpfull visual elements, like this lampshade-making workshop with Lesley Mac.

#03 Visual Support

Everyone who knows Blue Noun Language Hub, knows we love a doodle.

Drawing is integrated into all our English language holidays – but even more so for beginners.

Sketching is used to illustrate concepts, to explain stories and to check comprehension.

Beginner English learners use drawing to personalise their language, make notes, express themselves and their English learning goals (we use a fish tank as a metaphor to illustrate this.

See our blog Goal setting: Why Draw Fish).

We use drawing as a ‘reset button’ when learners need to change focus and relax. 

Language Immersion Holidays for Beginners

Delivering English learning through a fun immersion holiday is a great way to ensure that language learning feels glorious –  and builds the foundations of a lifetime of skills.

Beginner learners must be supported with pedagogic, workshop-style English language learning opportunities, rather than being ‘immersed’ and expected to swim.

You can learn more about how we help beginner language learners here. 

Discover our beginner-level Dip into English immersion holiday booking page.

Learn how to identify a Good Immersion Course for Beginners. 

External links

Not sure if you are a beginner? Take a level test here.