Language and Culture Day Camps

The University of Southern Maine is collaborating with the Children’s Museum of Maine to conduct a Language and Culture Day Camp for 4th, 5th and 6th graders.

John LaBrie, director of USM’s Summer Session, says all three programs are up and running. “We have about 10 students in both our Spanish and French camps and nine in the Japanese camp.” He adds that French is a major language in Maine, Spanish a major language in the U.S., and USM has existing ESL (English-as-a-Second-Language) programs for Japanese.

The camps are conducted at the Children’s Museum. Language teachers are hired for the program who specialize in teaching these age groups.

Suzanne Olson, executive director of the Children’s Museum, says, “Portland has such rich ethnic diversity that we all hope this is only a first phase in increasing diversity in our region, and providing a bridge among these communities.”

For more information on these camps, contact USM Summer Session at 780-5422 or on the USM web site at www.usm.maine.edu/SummerSession.