Meet the animateurs & language instructors

When planning a school trip abroad, the responsibility for the safety and well-being of your group can be overwhelming, and ensuring that your students have a meaningful learning experience adds to the challenge.

This is precisely why Voyager School Travel’s language residentials are the perfect solution.

The language and activity instructors are at the heart of our residential programmes. Native-speaking, enthusiastic and experienced, they create an environment where students can relax, join in and use their language skills naturally – while discovering the culture and everyday life of the country they are visiting.

They don't just support students – they support teachers too. They take the lead on activities and help manage the programme throughout the day, giving teachers the chance to step back from teaching and enjoy seeing their students learn in a completely different environment.

The French animateurs

Our French programmes are delivered by native French-speaking animateurs based at our exclusive school-only centres in France. They lead activities and help create the immersive environment that makes our residentials so effective.

They bring energy and enthusiasm to everything they do, whether leading a cultural visit, teaching children to build a raft, running a team challenge, or chatting with students over a meal.

They also help students experience France beyond the classroom, encouraging them to explore local places, try new experiences and interact with French people in authentic situations.

The benefits of an animateur-led French immersion programme:

- The French centres have more than 20 years' experience recruiting, training and developing the animateurs to get the most from your students
- The animateurs encourage learners to speak French at every opportunity, coaxing even the most reticent children to take part
- Voyager's French programmes have been co-designed by a former Headteacher and MFL Head so you can be confident they support the national curriculum for languages
- Voyager's approach has been featured in TeS and is shown to boost French learning and confidence with long-lasting benefits back in your classroom
- Time and again, teachers say that the animateur is like having another teacher on the trip

Check out Voyager's animateur-led French immersion trips in Paris, Normandy and the French Opal Coast.

Spanish and German instructors

Drawing on our considerable experience offering language immersion programmes in France, we have developed Spanish and German-language residentials that use native-speaking group leaders to create a first-class educational experience at our partner centres in Spain and Germany.

Cultural experiences are an important part of these programmes too. Students might learn to make paella or another local dish, visit local producers or markets, or take part in activities that introduce them to everyday life and traditions.

These experiences help students understand the culture behind the language while developing confidence and practical communication skills.

Why choose an immersive Spanish and German residential with Voyager?

The immersive programmes are specially designed to provide plenty of opportunities for students to use the language they are studying
Specially trained activity leaders - called Monitores in Spanish and Betreuers in German - deliver all on-site activities, mealtimes and evening games in the target language
Every itinerary includes excursions and cultural activities, such as a town visit or regional cooking lesson, to expose learners to authentic local culture
Teachers can relax and enjoy the experience knowing that the instructors are there to lead the group

Spanish teachers can read more about Voyager's choice of centre-based Spanish language programmes.

Voyager is the only school travel provider to offer a truly immersive German residential.

The result?

Our programmes combine language with adventure, teamwork and cultural experiences, giving learners plenty of reasons to communicate. Making mistakes is part of the experience – and successfully getting their message across is a real confidence boost.

The result is language learning that feels purposeful, memorable and fun.

Students come home with greater confidence, improved language skills and a deeper understanding of another culture – and the experience of having successfully used another language in the real world.