The Original - English Immersion Camp at Tour de Buis

Ten hours of English per stay, taught by native or bilingual speakers in groups of about fifteen campers of similar level. The method comes from anglo-saxon classrooms and is built on play rather than lectures: mistakes are corrected constructively so that campers dare to speak. Outside the lessons the language carries on through the whole day, from meals to evening entertainment, and the programme is adapted to two age bands, eight to ten and eleven to fifteen.

The price covers the English lessons, the activities and entertainment on the programme, supervision throughout the stay by native or bilingual counsellors at a ratio of one counsellor to five campers, and full-board accommodation at the centre as described above. Travel from Paris, meals during the journey, personal spending, the insurance pack and the individual pre- and post-travel option are charged separately.

Campers sleep at the Tour de Buis centre in rooms of four to eight beds, with showers and washrooms on the landing. Like every American Village centre it is approved by the French Ministry of Education and Youth.

All meals are taken at the centre and cooked on site by the kitchen team from fresh produce. Menus are checked against French health-authority requirements for children's catering. Because tasting a culture is part of the immersion, campers also meet American classics such as the cheeseburger and a pancakes-with-bacon-and-eggs brunch.

Every day is built from sports, creative and cultural activities, all of them run in English by native or bilingual counsellors. The programme includes initiations to American sports such as baseball and cheerleading, themed big games set in the Far West, Hollywood or New York, creative workshops with music games, drama and oral expression, and an evening gathering every night. Four traditions run through each stay: Immigration on arrival, when every camper takes a new name and a camp passport and steps into English for good; the daily Congress, a short participatory show built on speaking; the Market, where the vocabulary learned is put to real use; and the closing BOOM dance followed by the Graduation ceremony.

The centre stands in quiet open countryside and has a basketball court, table-tennis tables, tipis with a campfire area and large green grounds.

A BAFD-qualified director leads the team at every camp, and the counsellors are recruited in part abroad: native English speakers and bilinguals chosen for their language, their experience and their fit with the organisation's values. One counsellor looks after five campers and every exchange happens in English from morning to night. Cour-et-Buis lies about an hour from Lyon, Grenoble, Valence and Saint-Etienne.