2005 annuaL rePort - Concordia Language Villages

sailing into swedish
the excitement of the swedish midnight sun, summer cabins and
sailing on blue waters came to the swedish Language Village,
Sjölunden, in summer 2005 with seglingsskola, or sailing school.
thirty villagers learned the parts of the boat, how the wind patterns
affect the sails, how to steer and how to get a capsized boat up-right—
all in swedish.
With thousands of lakes in sweden and a majority of
swedes owning summer residences near water, sailing
takes center stage in their lifestyle. it is also common
for swedish young people to attend summer sailing
camps.
“We are interested in expanding the cultural and
linguistic impact of our Village by offering diverse authentic activities,”
says Village dean allison Magda spenader. “the language of sailing is
also the language of respect for nature and gives us a chance to raise
environmental awareness.”
sailing school villagers need to have a basic knowledge of swedish
(at least one prior Village session), and they must be physically strong
enough to work with the boats. early lessons include floating wooden
model boats in a kiddie pool. then, villagers pair with sailing instructors,
and by the end of the week, they are able to go out and sail on their own
in groups of two. some boats are named after norse gods such as Loki
or odin and others carry family names related to donors.
sailing instruction runs from three to four hours each day and villagers
are allowed to sail as a “free-time” activity. summer 2006 also featured
a master sailing class for those who had completed the basic course or
who may have had sailing training elsewhere. Villagers received special
seglingsskola patches when they completed the program.
“Sjölunden is committed to teaching swedish, both to help villagers
maintain heritage connections and also to connect villagers with modern
sweden,” says Magda. “offering sailing challenges older villagers with
something new and prepares them for their own trips to sweden in the
future.”
left: The sailing program at sjölunden teaches villagers about a favorite
Swedish passtime.
inset: Allison Magda Spenader, dean of the Swedish Language Village
ConCordia Language ViLLages