ENGLISH SUMMER CAMPS

Each summer, Bell organises hundreds of EFL Summer Camps for Italian children (ages 4 – 14) in Italian schools nationwide. Each camp is overseen by an Italian Camp Director and camp activities are facilitated by our English speaking Tutors. Our Summer Camps are usually 1-3 weeks long and take place throughout the whole Summer, June to September, in schools all across Italy.

Our camps offer a unique experience for Italian children as they do not adhere to traditional teaching methods:  instead we use Edutainment, games, storytelling and performance to inspire our students and make English learning fun! Interaction is at the core of our teaching method and, every year, we develop a detailed teaching programme that our Tutors follow throughout Summer Camp.

Our Tutors are recruited from all across the world to participate in our TEFL Gamers Programme. All Tutors attend a mandatory Training, online and in person, prior to being sent out to our camps.

Our TEFL Gamers Programme is divided in 3 main steps:

Step 1 – Mandatory  Online Training (20 hours).

The first part of Bell’s mandatory Training will be online. Our Training Team, a group of experts with several years of experience, who specialise in Edutainment, will go through some of the fundamental aspects of the programme: Classroom Management, Lesson Planning, Games and Interactive Storytelling. All Tutors will be required to complete different assignments and practical workshops, as well as acquiring the theory necessary to progress in the programme. The Online Training usually takes place across 5 days.

Step 2 – Mandatory  In Person Training (20 hours).

After completing Step 1, it is time for Tutors to join us in beautiful Italy! The in person part of training will take place in one of our 2  Training Centers located in Cesenatico and Florence, where our Training Team will help Tutors to further refine their skills by simulating real life teaching situations. This part of training is almost completely practical, Tutors will play the games, sing the songs and tell the stories Bell style! It is mandatory for all Tutors to successfully complete both the Online and In Person Training before they can progress to Step 3.

Step 3 – Summer Camp experience (80 hours minimum).

All Tutors who participate in our programme are required to complete a minimum of 2 weeks in Bell Summer Camps  following their In Person Training. While at camp, Tutors will have the chance to put into practice what they’ve learnt during Steps 1 and 2: each Tutor will be leading a class of Italian students throughout Summer Camp, following the teaching programme provided. Tutors are supervised by their Camp Directors (who are almost always Italian ESL teachers working in the public education system) and by Bell’s on Trainers and Supervisors. Both are responsible for providing feedback on the Tutors during the camp weeks and following the completion of the camp. The Summer Camp experience has a minimum length of 2 weeks but can be extended depending on the Tutor’s availability and the number of available spots in the programme.

Study grants, benefits and certificate.

All Tutors who participate on our programme receive a study grant for their time at Summer Camp, as well as full board and accommodation from the In Person Training up to completion of the TEFL Gamers Programme.

Upon completion of the programme all Tutors will earn a TEFL Gamers Programme Certificate. Earning the certificate through such an “in field experience” oriented programme definitely has a positive impact on the Tutors’ ability to find TEFL work going forward.

Upcoming TEFL Gamers Programme start dates:

• Aug, 2024 (Online Training).