Koç University English Language Center (ELC) for Kids Summer Daycamp Program offers its participants between the ages of 6-12, an opportunity to practice English in an everyday setting with mentors. Through a yearly changing curriculum full of activities geared towards physical, cognitive and social development, our campers practice English enthusiastically without the added pressure of examinations, proficiency and other barriers.
While changing our range of activities considering repeat participants, we make sure to maintain a balance between activities that emphasize physical, social and artistic abilities. Our goal is to keep our campers happily distracted while they practice English. We try to keep away from common sports with which participants might have had previous knowledge to avoid any unnecessary competition. We believe that the process of learning a foreign language and socializing; especially for young learners, benefit greatly from a judgment and competition-free environment thus we strive to keep our camp as fun and peaceful as possible.
As one of the essential pillars of our Summer Daycamp Programs; our mentors are chosen by psychologists and teachers in charge of the program among native English speakers, university students, or graduate applicants who have previous experience with children and camp activities. Our mentors accompany the participants while on campus all through the day and help them reach new horizons.
Registrations for ELC for Kids 2023 have ended, thank you for your interest.
As of Summer 2022, Koç University ELC for Kids Daycamp Programs will not be accepting participants that are born after 31st December 2016.
The reasoning for this shift in policy is because we, with guidance from the new administrative staff, do not feel that the needs of these young of participants can adequately be addressed while they are enrolled in our camp. Overall, the 4 and 5-year-old students require extra attention, such as emotional care, nap time, and less intense activity within their daily schedules. While we have attempted in past years to provide these needs, with Turkish Shadow Mentors being a part of young age groups, providing shuttles between long distances to take them to their next activity, creating a tailor-made program keep them engaged in fun settings between the hours of 08:30 and 15:00, the difference in the need of care between these groups and the older participants has been quite observable. Thus, after careful consideration of our resources and the physical conditions on our campus, the re-organization of the ELC for Kids Daycamp Program does not allow for such young ages to take part within our 2020 program, and these participants who are not between the ages 6 and 12 will not be allowed to enroll.
Our participants follow a different Schedule everyday with their groups determined by their age. The differences between the English levels within the groups help participants to support one another’s and create a valuable experience for both parties. Our mentors accompany the participants through all of the activities and encourage them to practice their English.
We pay particular attention to the activities that we put in our schedules so that they are a well-balanced combination of physical, social, and artistic activities. During our annual schedule formation process, the management team selects the activities that are not commonly known or used in schools and other educational institutions. Amongst the activities that we have picked for our participants you may find Drama, Coding, Capoeira, Funball, and Photography as examples. Our staff and facilities offer ELC for Kids Summer Daycamp Program participants comfort, convenience and care, helping them make the most of their educational opportunity. The reason of selecting these activities, which currently underused or unused in Turkey, is simply because we do not want our participants to have the pressure of competition, and we want to create an environment for everyone to practice their English and have a chance to improve their social skills without feeling afraid of being judged. You may look at our sample schedule above for further information.
We offer a shuttle service option which picks up and drops off our participants from and to their residences. To ensure a safe and comfortable ride, each shuttle has a hostess whom we train beforehand. Each bus is also equipped with GPS system from which you can track the whereabouts of your child. Three point seatbelts and insurance are also standard in each shuttle.
Our participants eat their breakfasts at home before coming to camp. Our first snack is served at 09:45 after our first activity, lunch is at 11:30 and the second snack is served before our participants leave the campus at 14:55. We do our best to create a healthy and balanced menu with the restaurants located in the campus.
ELC for Kids participants have Accidental Health Insurance by Allianz Sigorta for their time at Koç University. This type of insurance covers injuries and situations as cuts and wounds. For situations as stomach ache, nausea, headache and so on the Accidental Health Insurance cannot be used. After a visit to Koç University Health Center, we share the opinions of our doctors and help parents coordinate their own choice of treatment with their own health insurance.