Concordia Language Villages
Concordia Language Villages (CLV), previously the International Language Villages, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Moorhead, Minnesota which operates a language and cultural immersion program, sponsored by the Concordia College. Languages are taught in summer camps, called "villages". School-year weekend programs are also offered, mostly for Spanish, French, and German. Annually, the program is attended by over 13,000 young people, aged 7–18, from every state of the US, as well as Canada and 31 other countries. It was founded in 1961.
Waldsee Markplatz near Bemidji, Minnesota. The culturally-authentic Gasthof dining hall can be seen in the background.
Villagers performing skits
Immediately before the International Day festival closing program, in front of Waldsee's Bahnhof administrative building
First-half closing program performance of El Lago del Bosque, 2008
Language immersion, or simply immersion, is a technique used in bilingual language education in which two languages are used for instruction in a variety of topics, including math, science, or social studies. The languages used for instruction are referred to as the L1 and the L2 for each student, with L1 being the student's native language and L2 being the second language to be acquired through immersion programs and techniques. There are different types of language immersion that depend on the age of the students, the classtime spent in L2, the subjects that are taught, and the level of participation by the speakers of L1.
The Arabic Al-Waha at Vergas, Minnesota, and Japanese Mori no Ike at Dent, Minnesota camps of Concordia Language Villages perform a cultural exchange evening program, in which the Arabic villagers learn Japanese and a bit of calligraphy through Japanese-language immersion.