By Tim Robinson, Summer English Camp teacher at Caxton College in Valencia

There's a persistent idea from decades ago, that language learning is mostly about memorising the kinds of vocabulary lists, grammar charts, and irregular verb tables that could give a grown adult an existential crisis. But when we read the research around how people actually acquire language, it's clear that what matters most is using the language.

That is why our language classes start with getting students to talk, followed by getting them to talk more, and finishing with them talking. This might sound obvious (after all, talking is ultimately what language is for), and it may sound a little simple. However, in practice it can feel a bit like encouraging a cat to take a bath: requiring persistence, cooperation, and the occasional surprised yelp. Still, class after class our students rise to the challenge.

We begin with projects and speaking tasks such as interviewing your partner, introducing them to the class, and building something together without using your first language, with only half the instructions because that is how life is. Lessons might look chaotic, even suspiciously fun. That is deliberate. Language lives in doing, not in dusty corners of forgotten worksheets.

Mistakes are vital and definitely encouraged. Every error means a student has tried something new instead of staying silent. We let them finish, reflect, and then talk about it quietly and kindly after everyone has had a chance.

The goal is not perfect grammar or an encyclopaedic vocabulary, though we will take either if they come. The goal is for students to leave class thinking, I can say something. I can make myself understood. I can speak this strange language and people will actually get it.

Once they believe that, they keep going. Pretty soon, belief is not needed anymore; it becomes fact. And when students truly know they can communicate, that is where real learning begins and the wide world of English opens up.

For more information about the full range of summer camps offered in July 2026, click here.