In translation

Four area students recently were awarded scholarships by the Cultural Exchange Network (CENET) to attend summer language study camps in Bemidji, Minnesota.

Maggie Shelton, 17, a senior at Jackson High School, attended Arabic- language camp for four weeks in July and August.

Jake Shelton, 12, a seventh-grader at Jackson Middle School, attended Portuguese-language camp for two weeks in July.

Mariena Collins, 11, a sixth-grader at Jackson Middle School, attended Chinese-language camp for one week in July, and Chance Earles of Carbondale, Illinois, attended Portuguese-language camp for two weeks in July.

All of the students studied at Concordia Language Villages, where they lived in a single foreign language village, attended classes and engaged in traditional camp activities, such as sports and crafts, all in the target language.

Maggie Shelton, 17, a senior at Jackson High School, attended Arabic-language camp for four weeks in July and August.Submitted photo

The food in each village is geared to the culinary traditions of each country, according to Leslie Corn, program director for CENET, a not-for-profit organization based in Cape Girardeau.

"We are thrilled for the first time to be able to offer these scholarships to students from our area," said Robyn Walker, executive director of CENET, in a news release. "One of our goals is to equip students in our region with the skills and knowledge to succeed in a world that is rapidly globalizing. Developing knowledge and enthusiasm about foreign languages is a critical part of that effort. We are grateful to Concordia Language Villages for their support of this initiative and are confident that our four students had a great educational experience, and a lot of fun."

No English is spoken during the language immersion camps.

"At the camp I attended, all they spoke was Chinese," Collins said. "But they would use things like hand gestures to help you."

The students who attended spoke highly of their experiences at Concordia Language Villages.

Jake Shelton, 12, a seventh-grader at Jackson Middle School, attended Portuguese language camp for two weeks in July. (submitted photo)

"This was a cool concept," Collins said.

"There was a little (store) at my camp, and you could buy things like candy, T-shirts and souvenirs, and you had to pay for it in Chinese money. We also did morning exercises every day, and they taught us the ways of kung fu. We did that right after we woke up every morning."

Dancing in that particular country's native style also was enjoyed by the students who attended.

"We did dancing in the discoteca, and that was really fun," said Jake Shelton. "We also made tiles and clay (items) in art and we got to go canoeing."

Maggie Shelton enjoyed a celebration called International Day the most.

Jake Shelton, 12, a seventh-grader at Jackson Middle School, attended Portuguese language camp for two weeks in July. (submitted photo)

"It was an event where all of the language villages that were in session met at the German camp. We got to see what all of the other camps were doing and taste their food. ... It made me interested in learning other languages as well."

The reasons the students chose to go to the language camps are varied.

"I felt like it was a good opportunity," Maggie said. "I think Arabic is a language that we are all going to need to know in the future."

Collins' sister, Kearsten, who attends Southeast Missouri State University and did a language study abroad earlier this year, motivated Mariena to attend the Chinese-language camp.

"My sister studied abroad in Taiwan," she said. "I thought it would be cool for us to be able to talk in the same foreign language, and no one would be able to understand what we are saying."

Jake Shelton, 12, a seventh-grader at Jackson Middle School, attended Portuguese language camp for two weeks in July. (submitted photo)

Both Maggie and Jake Shelton expressed an interest in using their new foreign language skills to do mission work.

"Someone from our church is going to Mozambique, and I am giving them my notes to help them speak the language there," Jake said.

The monthlong language study Maggie did also helped fulfill one of her high school credits.

"(Attending the language camp) counts for one full year of a foreign language at my high school," she said.

All the students who attended from this area received a scholarship from both CENET and the CLV to attend the camps.

Maggie Shelton, 17, a senior at Jackson High School, attended Arabic language camp for four weeks in July and August. (submitted photo)

"We applied at the camp and they paid half (of the camp fee) via a scholarship, and then the CENET scholarship paid for the other half," said Jackee Collins, Mariena Collins' mom. "Other than her travel expenses, the scholarships paid for everything else."

Walker explained how the relationship between the CLV and CENET occurred.

"Concordia Language Villages and CENET met while serving on the board of directors for the Alliance for International Exchange based in Washington, D.C.," she said. "When Concordia heard about the Culture in the Community work that CENET was doing here in Southeast Missouri, they offered to assist by providing cultural and language immersion scholarships to our area youth."

All of the students expressed an interest in going back to the language immersion camps.

"If you study a foreign language, it's easier to learn another foreign language," said Mariena Collins, who is enrolled in French class at Jackson Middle School.

Maggie Shelton, 17, a senior at Jackson High School, attended Arabic language camp for four weeks in July and August. (submitted photo)

Maggie hopes to return to the camp and study Japanese.

"My older brother lives in Japan, and he and his wife are expecting a baby," she said. "I'd love to be able to go there to visit and be able to speak the language!"

Maggie and Jake's mom, Toni Shelton, who teaches Spanish at St. Paul Lutheran School in Jackson, also plans to attend an upcoming language-immersion camp at CLV.

"It's an adult Spanish-immersion camp that will last for one week in September," she said.