This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English EducationReport.

Millions of American children attend summer camp. Most summercamps teach swimming and sports. But some are designed to teachspecial skills.

One of these is Concordia Language Villages camp in the state ofMinnesota. Campers there learn to speak a foreign language withoutthe use of books or teachers. The counselors speak the language allthe time and show the campers what to do. The campers learn thelanguage by watching and hearing the words. One student at theGerman camp said she experienced what it would be like to be inGermany.

Colleges and universities organize other learning camps. SouthernIllinois University in Carbondale, Illinois offers a week longexperience called "Summer Wings Camp." The camp is held at theSouthern Illinois Airport. Campers learn about the history of flightand experience what an airplane pilot does.

At Gettysburg College in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, students cantake part in a two-week camp that teaches astronomy. They observesunspots, for example, and study the motion of planets and stars.

The Pennsylvania State University offers many summer programs.One camp this summer taught about what it is like to be a weatherexpert or meteorologist. Students at Weather Camp learned howtornadoes form. And they learned how to present weather informationon television.

Another Penn State summer program was Nursing Camp. Students inthis program took part in different emergency situations and learnedhow to treat injuries. The students carried out first aid skills onlife-like dolls in a laboratory. They also learned cardio pulmonaryresuscitation, how to start a heart that has stopped beating. Andthey learned how to help people in a medical emergency.

Another skills camp is organized by businesses. Camp CEO is aone-week program in the state of Arizona for fifty teen-age girls.At the camp, they link with successful businesswomen who are chiefexecutive officers in different industries. The girls build abusiness. They also take part in a special outdoor exercise todevelop communication and trust. Officials at Camp CEO say theexperience is unlike any other kind of camp operating today.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by NancySteinbach. This is Bob Doughty.