Learning English through arts-based pedagogies in informal contexts: The case of Immersion Camps in Argentina

CARLA MARLETTA; MELINA PORTO

Salta

Conferencia; 44th FAAPI Conference; 2019

FAAPI

Nowadays people learn in varied contexts from a multiplicity of situations and in fluid formats.In this paper we show how adolescents experienced English and put it to use in an immersioncamp in which learning took place outside the school and the classroom and in cooperationwith peers and native speakers of English. We begin by describing the theoretical frameworkof a camp experience as well as a typical immersion camp project. We then present a casestudy of a camp which took place in early 2019 with 24 adolescents aged 14-17, with a level ofEnglish ranging from A2-B2 according to the Common European Framework of Reference forLanguages. An analysis of questionnaires, student outputs and recorded conversations of theirinteractions shows that the arts-based and content-based element of this camp experiencewas emotionally engaging for students and became a motivational driving force in their use ofEnglish in this informal learning context.