It all started in 2023
On the 9th and 10th of December 2023, Madrid hosted the first edition of the English For Us Christmas Camp. It was the first time we had organised an international gathering of this kind: an experience designed for our students to meet in person, practise English and get closer to American culture in a completely different way.
And there was a very special surprise: for that first edition we were joined by our teachers from PennWest Clarion, United States, who travelled specifically to Madrid to share the experience with our students. After getting to know each other and working together through classes, they could finally meet outside the screen and outside the classroom.
Two days to learn, share and enjoy
More than 20 students, aged between 18 and 30, took part in that first edition. Over two days, Madrid became a huge space for learning: there were activities, games, workshops, meetups, conversations and different cultural outings around the city.
We walked through Madrid to discover its Christmas lights and ran activities in English at the National Museum of Decorative Arts. But behind every activity there was something more: English was present as a tool to take part, understand, communicate and share the experience with others.
When English steps outside the classroom
One of the ideas behind English For Us is that learning a language means much more than knowing vocabulary or grammar structures. A language is for communicating, for getting to know people, for discovering places, and for finding our way in new situations.
Christmas Camp let us bring all of that into a real context. Over those two days, our students could use part of what they'd learned in class while taking part in activities, connecting with other people and discovering different corners of Madrid. Learning stopped happening only inside a classroom: it was happening as we lived the experience.
Much more than practising English
That first edition also had another key goal: creating a space to meet. For many participants it was the first chance to meet in person classmates they had shared classes and learning experiences with, and to interact directly with their teachers from PennWest Clarion, who travelled from the United States to live this experience alongside them.
During the Camp, we also had support staff from Fundación Prodis, who accompanied our students through the different activities alongside the English For Us teaching team and the American teachers. Because creating a truly inclusive experience isn't only about designing accessible activities, it also means having the people, the support and the collaboration needed so every participant can live it and enjoy it.
That gathering made possible something that went far beyond practising vocabulary: it brought cultures closer, built relationships, shared experiences, built autonomy and started to build a community that doesn't end when a class does. For some of our students, that Christmas Camp was also their first experience of cultural exchange.
An experience we built together
The first edition of Christmas Camp was possible thanks to many people and institutions who chose to join us: the teachers from PennWest University Clarion, Fundación Prodis, the Madrid Chamber of Commerce, COCEMFE, the Instituto Franklin-UAH, the National Museum of Decorative Arts in Madrid, the Residencia Yugo Emilia Pardo Bazán, and several participating Spanish schools.
Professionals, institutions, teachers, students and families made it possible for that first idea to become a real experience. We didn't build Christmas Camp alone: we built it together with all the people and organisations who believe, as we do, that learning a language can also open new opportunities to communicate, connect, gain autonomy and become part of an increasingly global community. And to all of them, thank you for making it possible.
From the first edition to an English For Us tradition
2023 was the beginning: the first photograph, the first meetings, the first activities, the first Christmas Camp. Since then, every edition has let us keep building on that original idea: creating experiences where learning English, using it and sharing it can all be part of the same moment.
And this year we're doing it again. This Christmas, English For Us will hold the fourth edition of Christmas Camp: a new chance to meet, share, practise English and keep creating experiences together. Because some things are learned in class, and others need to step outside it to start making sense.