The following market analysis is based on an annual survey administered by FDSV in spring 2025. The survey attracted 15 responses from members, representing roughly 28% of the total German market.

The survey findings indicate year-over-year growth of 15% in 2024, with the average language learning trip lasting 10 days at an average cost of €1,376. Germany’s outbound market is split evenly between adult and junior learners. “Overall, the need for language education remains unbroken,” says FDSV. “After the limitations of recent years, many people long to learn not only one language, but to experience it directly on the spot in their natural environment. This development underlines the importance of language travel as a valuable educational and cultural experience.”

Where do they go?

Most adult learners went abroad to study English (42%), with Spanish, which accounted for just over 27% of adult language travel, in second place. In comparison, virtually all junior outbound from Germany (92%) was focused on English study in 2024.

The UK remains the leading destination for German language learners, and was the destination of choice for 16.5% of adult learners and 73% of juniors. Other top destinations for German students include Ireland and Malta.

“A clearly recognisable trend shows that demand is increasingly focusing on European destinations,” adds FDSV. “In addition to shorter travel routes, which are often perceived as more comfortable, the topic of sustainability is also increasingly playing a role. More and more participants are placing emphasis on environmentally conscious travel, making nearby destinations more attractive. This deliberate shift towards more sustainable travel decisions could have an impact on the entire industry in the long run.”

FDSV’s outlook for 2025 highlights that security and economic concerns will continue to have a big impact on German language travel in the year ahead, particularly the war in Ukraine, global economic uncertainty, and the political climate in the United States. “The issue of security plays a central role, especially among young language travellers. Parents carefully consider whether the current security situation allows [the safe] journey of their child,” adds the association.

For additional background, please see:

• “German outbound language travel market recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2022“

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As we see in the chart below, enrolment in Spanish language schools grew by just under 40% between 2022 and 2024 to reach a record high of 153,285 students last year.

Even more strikingly, student-week volumes grew by more than 60% over that same period to reach nearly 710,000 weeks in total – a mark that is 36% above the pre-pandemic high point.

“All the effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic can be considered overcome,” notes the FEDELE report. “And record numbers are also achieved with an average of 1,394 students per [FEDELE member school].”

Who are you?

That 2024 enrolment base is divided roughly equally between individual students (48%) and those travelling as part of school groups (52%) – a proportion that aligns closely with pre-pandemic patterns. Most students are between 12 and 18 years old (31%), followed by the 19-to-25-year-old cohort (25%), and then the broader 26-to-45-year-old group (24%).

The largest proportion of students were enrolled in language courses combined with cultural activities in 2024 (36%), with the next most-popular option being programmers for juniors or summer camps (20%).

The major sending markets for Spain’s language sector in 2024 were:

• Germany
• Italy
• France
• United States
• United Kingdom
• Poland
• Netherlands
• Russia
• Austria
• Morocco

Overall for 2024, three in four students arrived from Europe, with another 10% coming from North America and 9% from Asia.

An expanding economic footprint but challenges remain

FEDELE estimates the direct economic impact of member schools at €520,120,185 for 2024, or an average of €4 million per school.

Even with that impressive growth and impact in 2024, the FEDELE report sounds a cautionary note as well, adding that: “Although the growth is notable and indicates that the sector is in good health, we believe that some issues, such as visa-related problems, have been a stumbling block for student entry. Furthermore, we are observing the return of digital nomads to their countries of origin and the stagnation of some European Union economies. The price of accommodation also appears to have had a negative influence on the number of students enrolled at our centres.”

For additional background, please see:

• “Foreign enrolment in Spanish higher education reached a record high in 2022/23“
• “New policies, Erasmus+, and booming tourism boost Spain’s international education sector“
• “Spain’s language teaching sector bounces back“

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English UK’s chief executive, Jodie Gray, believes this level of business may reflect new seasonal norms following the pandemic: “We are considering 2023/2024 as the new normal with figures unlikely to return to pre-pandemic highs or trends.” Ms Gray expects end-of-year 2024 numbers to be about the same as 2023.

Both Junior and Adult sub-sectors were down in summer 2024 versus summer 2023, by 10% and 9%, respectively. The Junior segment now makes up almost half of student weeks, which is the highest ratio – relative to Adult weeks – in the global ELT industry.

A smaller overall share of students means more competition

The context for English-language teaching has changed greatly since before the pandemic – and not only for the UK. International students have more access to English-language tutoring and online courses in their own countries, and it has become more difficult for many to travel abroad for education due to costs and visa restrictions in major destinations.

From a policy perspective, the UK is relatively more welcoming to international students in 2024 than competitor destinations Australia and Canada. Ms Gray plans to release a new economic impact assessment for an objective measure of how much the ELT sector contributes to the UK economy:

“We will launch this and our new position paper in Parliament at our 2025 Parliamentary Reception with government officials, media representatives and industry stakeholders. The government can make a huge difference to our success, as recent clampdowns in competitor markets have demonstrated.”

Ms Gray says a change in immigration settings could make a huge difference to the health of the sector, such as “a youth mobility scheme for the whole of the EU and other nations globally … [that] would be a game-changer.”

Top sending markets

Nearly a quarter of all student weeks are accounted for by the top 10 markets for UK ELT providers, and the top five sending countries are Saudi Arabia, China, Türkiye, and Brazil. Türkiye was up the most of all top sending countries over summer 2023, with 3,280 more weeks, while Italy contributed 7,610 fewer weeks.

For additional background, please see:

• “Report reveals continued recovery for ELT sector in 2023 but also policy headwinds in 2024”

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The positive trend is driving jobs in the sector, with 11.4% more staff employed in various roles than in 2022.

Student numbers and weeks post double-digit growth

Student numbers were up by 23% and weeks increased by 20% in 2023 compared with 2022. A total of 128,300 students were enrolled in MEI last year versus 104,265 in 2022. About 70% (89,200) of those students were from the EU/EEA, with the remainder from non-EU countries.

Student weeks jumped to 899,220 and about three-quarters of those weeks were accounted for by non-EU students on visas (e.g., Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and China) as well as non-EU students who do not require visas (e.g., Brazil, Mexico, South Korea).

Those numbers compare to the 118,320 students enrolled, and 770,760 weeks delivered, in 2019.

Lorcan O’Connor Lloyd, CEO of Marketing English in Ireland (MEI), commented:

“MEI is delighted to see such impressive growth in Ireland’s English Language Education sector, surpassing pre-pandemic figures and welcoming students from around the world. The increase in student numbers, across all programmes and a diverse network of source markets, demonstrates the sector’s resilience and appeal. We are committed to providing exceptional education experiences and look forward to continuing to contribute to the growth and success of Ireland’s international education sector.”

Non-EU students tend to stay for longer than European students (not least because their countries are farther away and flights more expensive), with an average of 16 weeks for students from visa-required markets and 17.3 for students from countries where visas are not required.

An increasingly important segment of the market is the “mini-stay” niche – aka “Stage” programmes – which are short-term closed group programmes that often offer learners exciting cultural, recreational, and social opportunities as well as English-language learning. These groups usually consist of students aged 12–16 who come to Ireland off-season. The number of learners in Stage programmes surged from 23,625 in 2022 to 39,845 in 2023 – a 69% increase.

Overall, the number of junior students in Junior, Stage or High School programmes jumped from 51,660 to 65,890, despite a slight decrease in the number of 12–17 years old staying one or two weeks. About 97% of the Junior, Stage, High School business is contributed by EU/EEA students.

The Adult sector now enrols over 62,000 students, about 10,000 more than in 2022, and the growth is being driven both by EU and non-EU students. About 4 in 10 adult learners come from within the EU/EEA region, 43% come from countries outside the EU/EEA where no visa is required, and 16% come from non-EU countries where a visa is required. The average stay for adult learners is 11.9 weeks. By far the most popular course is General English.

Top markets

The top markets in the EU/EEA for Irish English-language schools are:

• Italy (which together with Spain, accounts for 73% of all students from Europe)
• Spain
• France
• Austria
• Germany

The top markets in the non-EU/EEA segment where visa is not required are:

• Brazil (53% of all students in this segment)
• Mexico
• Japan
• Chile
• Argentina

And the top markets in the non-EU/EEA segment where a visa is required are:

• Turkey (32% of all students in this segment)
• Mongolia
• Bolivia
• China
• Ukraine

Significant increases in business came from East Asia, especially from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, and Mongolia. Mongolia accounted for 38,935 student weeks all on its own – up from 29,950 in 2022.

For additional background, please see:

• “Irish government launches quality assurance scheme for ELT and higher education sectors”
• “Strong recovery of Irish ELT in 2022 means that student weeks have now topped pre-pandemic volumes”

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The survey was conducted by the Tourism Alliance, English UK, UKinbound, and the British Educational Travel Association (BETA), and the agents surveyed are collectively responsible for a significant proportion of all students travelling to the UK as part of a group led by a teacher or supervisor.

The decline is being felt throughout the British economy. Emma English, BETA’s chief executive, estimates the overall pre-COVID value of the youth and student travel market in the UK at £22.6 billion. More than three-quarters of UK language schools are located outside of London, and many are in struggling coastal towns.

Passports are at the root of the problem

Agents said that the main reason for the drop in junior group bookings was the requirement for all students to have a passport – a rule that came into being after Brexit. Many EU students do not have a passport because they live in the Schengen zone (just 35% of students in the key Italian market do, for example); the UK’s requirement in this regard represents a hassle they don’t have to think of if they choose other destinations in the EU. The increased cost of travel to the UK was also an important barrier raised by agents.

Recovery is underway in other EU destinations

Agents reported smaller declines (-29%) in junior group bookings for Ireland and for other EU destinations (-32%), offering further proof that Brexit-related policies are hampering the ability of ELT providers in the UK to attract junior students and to recover from the business losses of the pandemic. These policies may also lead to the UK’s ELT sector losing share of the EU market through the next several years.
 
Huan Japes, acting joint chief executive of English UK, said that “Another complicating factor is the inclusivity requirement in many schools: if 10% of children cannot join a trip then it won’t go ahead. Putting all these things together, the impact is ‘let’s go elsewhere.’”

Richard Toomer, chief executive of the Tourism Alliance, said: “This is quite a simple policy matter… these are shocking findings we’re publishing today.”

Proposed: a new youth group travel scheme

To stop the downward trend, the Tourism Alliance and the Tourism Industry Council are urging the government to create a youth group travel scheme in which under-18s could enter the UK as part of a group led by a “passported leader.” This would be a “collective passport” for the group – an arrangement that would be very similar to how things operated before Brexit came to pass. Eligible students would be those who could prove they had a right to live in the EU (i.e., not just EU citizens).

The survey report authors had this to say about any potential risk to the UK that might be posed by such a scheme:

“There are no significant risks associated with developing a Youth Group Travel Scheme. Prior to the UK leaving the EU there was no evidence the List of Travellers Scheme was being abused as a route of entry into the UK. There is no evidence of school children ever being a security risk or leaving their school group to live and work in the UK.”

In 2019, just before the UK exited the EU, younger students made up more than half (54%) of the overall English-language training (ELT) market in the UK. The chart below, depicting 2022 data, shows how much this part of the business has shrunk: yellow reflects adults, while blue is juniors.

Massive economic impact

BETA’s Ms English said the drop in junior youth bookings equated to “£875m in revenue and a potential loss of 14,500 jobs.” The need for a policy intervention is underlined by the fact that just 13% of agents believe that the market will rebound in 2023. This is down from 23% of agents surveyed separately in June 2022. The report authors suggest that the increasing pessimism evident in the October survey may be linked to the cost-of-living crisis affecting many European countries as the war in Ukraine drags on.
 
Most agents responding to the October survey have finished their bookings for the summer of 2023, and unfortunately the near-term picture does not look excellent. Agents were asked how many students they will send to the UK and other destinations in 2023, and their responses are shown in the chart below. The report notes that these responses mean that, “in addition to the £875m loss in revenue to the UK economy this year, there will be a further £600m loss in revenue to the economy next year.”

Government says it is listening

Joss Croft, chief executive of UKInbound, who chairs the UK government’s tourism demand and competitiveness working group, said his group was “fully supportive” of the need for new policies to help struggling ELT providers, saying that the recovery of the ELT sector is in line with broader tourism recovery goals.

For additional background, please see:

• “Study recommends that the UK invest more in European student recruitment”
• “UK ELT shows real gains through second quarter of 2022”
• “UK ELT sector endured another tough year in 2021 but vows ‘fightback’ to recovery”
   

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In the UK, for example, junior language learners (18 years old or younger) now outnumber adults. And in Malta, juniors accounted for half of ELT commencements in 2016, while Ireland’s increase in junior bookings helped to push industry growth into the double digits last year.

Aside from its burgeoning demand, the junior segment has a couple of notable characteristics. First and foremost, juniors tend to stay for shorter periods, and enrolments tend to be heavily concentrated in short-term camp programmes during summer or winter breaks from school.

Second, young students’ decision to study a language overseas is often motivated by their desire to have unique cultural experiences or by a longer-term goal of studying abroad at the tertiary level.

And – perhaps most importantly for the future development of this key segment – increasing competition for junior bookings is helping to usher in a new field of more specialised programmes that offer new experiences, opportunities, and partnerships targeted to younger learners.

Better together

UK-based ELT provider The Language Gallery (TLG) is one example of a school that is building its junior programmes around key working relationships. Four years ago, TLG established a broad partnership with a professional football club. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football, and has the distinction of being one of the most highly valued football clubs in the world.

The resulting Residential Camps are the flagship programmes of TLG’s partnership. They combine English-language instruction with sports leadership and intensive football training with club coaching staff. The camps are connected with the club’s official player development academy
as well, and participants join in skills challenges and player development sessions in that famed training ground.

“The key to any such partnership is to keep the focus on education but then adding in value with something that the students are passionate about,” says Ross Metherell, TLG’s director of sports and corporate programmes. “Then when they go into the classroom they are extremely motivated.”

Broad collaborations such as this also open up new avenues for recruitment. “We recruit via key agents,” adds Mr Metherell, “but also through football organisations.” Space is limited in the residential camps and they are often fully booked. As of this writing, the 2017 schedule was completely sold out.

TLG’s newest junior programme partnership sees it moving off the football pitch and into the dance studio for a collaboration with London’s Pineapple Dance Studio. TLG and Pineapple will offer a new residential camp for the first time in 2017 that combines English instruction with dance. “We look for partnerships that allow us to offer something unique, something special,” says Mr Metherell, “but without going too niche.”

Building new skills

International House Dublin has expanded its junior residential programmes in recent years as well. Since 2012, IH Dublin has offered homestay and residential camps at University College Cork, just a few hours’ drive from Dublin.

Targeted to juniors between 9 and 16 years of age, the camps combine intensive English instruction with cultural activities and digital media training. The digital arts projects in Cork range from movie and animation production to podcasting to coding for video games and web publishing.

Meanwhile in the US, iD Tech Camps hosts roughly 50,000 students a year at programmes on college and university campuses throughout the country. This leading provider welcomes international students from dozens of countries every year, but all programmes are given in English and students are expected to function at a basic level of English without integrated language instruction. Campers attend for one or more weeks, and follow programmes in app development, game design, robotics, web design, film and video production, 3D modelling, coding, and engineering.

“The way students learn is changing,” says iD Tech CEO Pete Ingram-Cauchi. “We have to offer them the opportunity to experience subjects applicable to future careers, while providing tools to problem solve, create, work in teams, and use critical thinking skills.”

Earlier this year, iD Tech began an international expansion programme that will see it offering new offshore programmes in collaboration with the GEMS Nations Academy in Dubai and the University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong. “These new locations are just the first step in our international opportunities,” adds Mr Ingram-Cauchi. “We plan to grow our programme overseas to deliver our unique blend of essential STEM education and summer fun to additional campuses across the Middle East and Asia.”

Pathways to higher education

Academic preparation is another major stream in junior programmes, and there are many examples to be found of well-established summer programmes that help students prepare for university admission and sample university campuses and coursework. ILAC, a leading ELT provider in Canada, is ramping up its programmes in this area to keep pace with growing demand. In the process, it is stepping outside the boundaries of a traditional summer camp model.

“We used to operate junior programmes only in summer and winter,” says marketing director Jimmy Battaglia, “but now we see high demand for underage students throughout the year.” In response, ILAC is introducing a new academic pathway programme in 2017 targeted to 16–18-year-olds. Students can join the programme throughout the year with individual counselling, campus visits, and placement services included. “In June, July, and August, we also offer English classes combined with college-level seminars,” adds Mr Battaglia.

Whether taking a university class, building a new mobile app, or perfecting their skills in the studio or on the pitch, younger language learners have many choices for value-added summer programmes that correspond to just about any interest. As competition continues to increase in the junior segment, we can expect further specialisation and innovation in camp programmes going forward.

For additional background, please see:

• “Junior language travel market continues to develop”
• “UK ELT declines for third straight year”
• “Further growth for Irish ELT in 2016”
• “Malta ELT up slightly in 2016”

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Adult and junior student numbers for private-sector language centres in the UK, 2011–2015. Source: English UK

Just as the global English language training (ELT) market slowed last year, however, 2015 also witnessed a less buoyant junior market in some destinations. For example:

• In Canada, the number of junior students fell by 5.2% in 2015 compared with 2014;
• In the UK, the number of junior students in private English UK member schools decreased by 9%; average student weeks also fell;
• In Ireland, the junior market grew very modestly in 2015 – by 1%, compared with 19% in the adult segment;
• More than 200 language schools responding to a global ALTO survey reported a 3.8% decrease in junior student weeks in 2015, after a 9.1% increase in 2014.

As these developments illustrate, junior student flows are affected by some of the same pressures that influence the adult ELT market, such as economic downturns in source markets, increased language-learning options in these markets, and language-learning technologies that can dampen demand for language travel.

But although there was an easing off of junior student demand in some markets in 2015, the future looks bright. Language schools are reporting that students are travelling to learn a language at ever-younger ages. Parents who have grown up in the age of globalisation know how integral English proficiency is to securing a place at a good university and to improving career prospects, and they are looking for safe and exciting programmes for children as young as four. Schools participating in the 2015 ALTO/Deloitte Travel Industry Survey indicated that of their junior student enrolments (28% of total enrolments across the 228 schools represented), nearly half (12%) were students aged 16 and under (versus 16% for 16-18-year-olds).

Where are juniors going?

As of 2015, the top 10 junior student destinations in terms of student weeks booked (as reported in the 2015 ALTO/Deloitte Travel Industry Survey) are:

• UK: 20%
• US: 17%
• Canada: 14%
• Ireland: 9%
• France: 8%
• Malta: 5%
• Australia: 5%
• Germany: 5%
• Spain: 4%
• New Zealand: 3%

Where there’s a niche, there’s a way

The adult language-learning market has lately been characterised by increased demand for professionally or academically oriented English language programmes as well as for recreation-heavy offerings (e.g., English Plus Tennis, English Plus Art and Design). General English has become less of a source of growth, according to many schools and agents.

Similarly, more specialised programming is also a trend in the junior market. Speaking with , Thom Jones of Inspiring Learning – a British company that provides ski trips and adventure activities to enhance English-language learning – noted of the junior market that “… there has been excellent growth and real vigour, but the markets are changing too and demanding something new, both in terms of academic ‘currency’ and experiences.”

There is a lot “new” to choose from, especially in the form of English Plus programmes. Junior students today can pair English learning with sports, drama, design, computer programming, and countless other interests. But not all “plusses” are equal; some are special enough that they form the basis for premium pricing on top of the normal English Plus fees. For example, Alpadia Summer Camps – offered in Switzerland, France, Germany, and England – include numerous activities within their standard pricing, then charge a premium for extra activities, including creative arts, cooking, horseback riding, mountain hiking, and adventure sports.

Age matters

Another segment of the junior market some schools are catering to is families, with programmes in which whole families travel and study together (albeit with juniors and seniors in separate classes). This niche is especially important for schools with programming for the youngest students in the junior age range whose parents feel more comfortable being with their children as they travel to learn English.

At the older end of the segment, there is a growing supply of courses geared to preparing students for university and careers, whether through exam test preparation, internships, portfolio- or resume-building, or study skills workshops.

Across the junior age range, ELT providers are factoring in the various ways students like to learn, from one-to-one homestays with tutors, amidst luxury facilities and accommodations, in immersive language villages with no technology, or using sophisticated apps and technologies to extend what can be accomplished in a classroom.

Specialised programming in the junior ELT market reflects an intensified competitive landscape as well as increasing demand among students’ families for unique experiences. But at the end of the day, if a junior programme doesn’t produce notably better English proficiency for students, it will pay the price through bad word-of-mouth – magnified by the lens of social media. Also commenting to Study Travel Magazine, Remco Weeda of Ceran Lingua International in Belgium summed up the balance short-term junior programmes must strike: “Summer courses are short so utilisation of time is absolutely essential. Once students feel that their needs are met and that they are really learning, the value of the course is easily identified. The activities, programmes, excursions, and sports coaching then become a very welcome bonus.”

More demand, more competition

The junior segment has been a bright spot in a global language travel market that has seen more intense competition and slower growth in recent years. Looking ahead, we can no doubt expect more specialised programmes and greater competition for junior students as the market continues to grow and develop.

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The research shows that the ideal ‘summer as a break, a time where kids can abandon structure and engage in free play’ is often very different from the reality, as demonstrated by the facts on The National Summer Learning Association’s website. The Association quotes studies showing that kids are often under-stimulated and lack outlets for activity and exercise when they are left to their own devices in the summer.

One study found that most children – particularly children at a high risk of obesity – gain weight more rapidly when they are out of school during summer break. And parents report that summer is the season in which they find it most difficult to make sure their kids have productive things to do.

Then there’s the academic side of things. From the National Summer Learning Association’s site:

• All young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. Research spanning 100 years shows that students typically score lower on standardised tests at the end of summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of the summer (White, 1906; Heyns, 1978; Entwisle & Alexander 1992; Cooper, 1996; Downey et al, 2004).
• Most students lose about two months of grade level equivalency in mathematical computation skills over the summer months. Low-income students also lose more than two months in reading achievement, despite the fact that their middle-class peers make slight gains (Cooper, 1996).

So it seems evident that letting kids idle about in the summertime months is not in their best interests … but what about selling them on the idea of “summer school”? Ron Fairchild, an education consultant and former director of the Johns Hopkins University Center of Summer Learning (now known as the National Summer Learning Association), told US News’ Jason Koebler:

“Typically, I try to avoid the term ‘summer school.’ It has such a negative connotation; it invokes a horrible image. No parent will brag about their kid going to summer school. People think it’s overly punitive, remedially focused, and it conjures up the image of kids lined up in rows of desks learning material they didn’t cover during the school year.”

He continued, “Many districts are doing away with that old notion of summer school. Increasingly we’re seeing schools teaming with other organisations to create programmes parents and kids want. Summer is a season that’s celebrated unlike any other. In popular media, in advertising, [and] in music, it’s associated with freedom. So the last thing you want to do is construct a programme or strategy that takes that away. We don’t want to be seen as the Grinches [who] stole summer vacation; we want kids to get outdoors and see the connection between doing the things they love and learning about those things.”

Now that sounds like fun! When thinking of summer programmes for particular kids, the trick is to figure out what they love and need, for example…

For super-achievers:

These are candidates for high performance summer programmes that will allow the kids to excel even more, such as the Hattiesburg Public School District’s iChallenge Academy which targets third- through seventh-graders who scored proficient or advanced on math and reading skills.

For kids showing an interest in science, math, engineering, and technology:

There are now STEM summer programmes for kids, which Eric Darr, provost and executive vice president of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology in Pennsylvania says “get students out of their desks and into the action.”

Darr, whose university runs three summer camps for middle school and high school students, says: “These are not theoretical camps. These are get-your-hands-dirty camps.” Activities in STEM programmes include building video games or robots, developing mobile apps, creating artificial life forms, and using programming language to make music remixes.

For the adventurous:

There are international language camps (for example, the new and Junior Leadership Camps) for kids and teens to study foreign languages around the world while experiencing the culture of a different country.

For the locally curious:

Libraries, community centres, and other associations run camps all through the summer, and some offer need-based scholarships. provides examples of all the camps kids could go to in Brooklyn, New York – from dance and theatre to sports.

Putting kids first

Kids’ participation in summer programmes has also been shown to not only avoid the learning losses referred to at the start of this article but to increase their aptitude for learning during the regular school year.

focused on a group of eighth-, ninth-, and tenth-graders and found that their summer programmes instilled in them a “mastery orientation” that persisted after they returned to school in September. A mastery orientation is linked to high levels of motivation and engagement and to “learning for learning’s sake” as opposed to a “performance orientation” where kids learn for more external reasons (such as marks or to receive praise from others).

In whatever discussions agents have with parents and kids about summer programmes, any explorations of summer programme options are often best guided by the kids themselves. For as incredible as a good summer programme can be for instilling the love of learning in kids, a bad one – one that’s not run well or that is mismatched to the child or teen’s interests – can be off-putting.

If a child or teen is really not interested in a programme, you can do them and their parents a favour by to make their summer productive, fun, and helpful for their college or university futures. Volunteering or otherwise contributing to their communities and/or good causes is one idea, and committing to a reading programme or other goal is another.

Sources: Afterschoolalliance.org, , US News

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