Summer English Immersion Programs For K-12 Catholic Schools
How do Vulgate Programs work?
Vulgate partners with K-12 Catholic schools to offer short summer programs that focus on English language immersion and a deepening of the students’ Catholic awareness at no cost to the school. The programs are designed to help your students grow in confidence with their English skills while deepening their Catholic Faith — all in an engaging, interactive summer experience led by native English-speaking college students from faithful Catholic universities in the U.S.
Vulgate Connects Instructor Candidates to Catholic Schools for Summer English Programs
Vulgate: Helps Instructors and Schools Be Successful
Provides the top instructor candidate profiles to K-12 Catholic schools for selection.
Provides onboarding advice to schools for welcoming instructors to their campus in Southern Europe.
Provides a basic curriculum to instructors, including a simple lesson plan and set of excellent Catholic materials, and basic onboarding assistance.
Provides funding for instructors’ travel & living expenses (see details below) and the program itself at no cost to the schools.
Schools: Select Candidates and Host Programs
K-12 schools abroad with a strong Catholic identity select instructors from among the candidates provided to them by Vulgate.
Host the summer programs at their campus in Southern Europe.
Promote programs and manage student enrollment, including collection and retention of any fees the school wishes to charge their students for use of their facilities.
Responsible for all program logistics (including classroom, wifi, and screen access) and onboarding of instructors.
Instructors: Lead Programs at Catholic Schools in Europe
College students or recent graduate from the U.S. (18 years+) in any major or area of study.
Excited to share their Catholic Faith with young people.
Volunteer to teach English at a Catholic school for 4 weeks in the summer, with travel & living expenses covered by Vulgate.
Interested in getting out of their comfort zone and traveling to Europe for the transferable skills, regardless of intended post-graduate profession.
By Partnering with Vulgate for English Immersion Programs, Schools Benefit in 3 Key Ways:
1. Financial Support: Vulgate provides programs at no cost to schools and provides funding to cover predetermined instructor expenses, ensuring that schools incur no costs for program instruction. Additionally, schools may choose to charge enrolled students a fee for facility use or other expenses at their discretion, with full responsibility for managing those logistics.
2. Innovative Educational Offering: Schools can enhance their curriculum by providing students with a high-quality English immersion program, equipping them with the valuable and globally relevant skill of English language in an engaging and dynamic way.
3. Mission-Driven Impact: By hosting a program, schools actively contribute to the evangelization of young people, fostering faith formation in a fresh and impactful way that aligns with their educational and spiritual mission.
Note: Vulgate does not collect any fees or profit from placements; rather, it operates as a fully charitable and evangelical initiative.
Curriculum
The curriculum emphasizes full English language immersion using outstanding Catholic educational resources. Students engage with scripture-based lessons, faith-inspired stories, and conversation activities designed to strengthen both language proficiency and their understanding of the Catholic faith.
Total English Immersion – Students will spend up to 40 hours engaging exclusively in English while exploring rich Catholic resources, strengthening both their language skills and their understanding of the Faith.
Engaging, Discussion-Based Learning – The curriculum is built around reading, watching, and discussing, ensuring an immersive and interactive experience that strengthens English skills and offers exposure to excellent Catholic resources.
High-Quality Catholic Content – All materials used by instructors are faithful to Church teaching and carefully selected to be engaging, accessible, and spiritually enriching. Students will engage with:
Videos – Talks from Bishop Robert Barron, Fr. Mike Schmitz, and other trusted Catholic voices.
Readings – Scripture, the Catechism, and writings from modern and historical Catholic thinkers, such as:
Excerpts from the Church Fathers & Doctors of the Church
Simple selections from St. Augustine & St. Thomas Aquinas
Stories from the lives of the Saints and their writings
Easy-to-read spiritual poetry
Articles on current events in the Church
Works by C.S. Lewis and other faith-inspired authors
Certificate of Completion – Students who attend every session and arrive on time will receive a certificate of completion. The program is not graded, encouraging full participation without academic pressure.
A Transformational Experience – Our goal is that students come for the English, but leave inspired by the Faith. We hope that at least a percentage of students walk away saying, “This was a life-changing experience for me from a Faith perspective.”
Program Structure
Course Duration: Students enroll for 1-week courses, available each week for 4 weeks between the program dates offered each summer. In 2025, programs are offered for 4 weeks between June 28 - July 26, 2025.
Instruction Schedule: Instructors and students spend 8 hours per day in the classroom, split into two sessions:
Morning session: 4 hours
Break: 1 hour
Afternoon session: 4 hours
Schools can choose the exact timing of this schedule, as long as each pupil has 40 hours of instruction, since the curriculum is designed for that, and as long as there is a midday 1 hour break for lunch.
Class Size: We leave the ideal class size up to the school, but we recommend groups of 12-20 students per week-long course, resulting in a minimum of 48 students enrolled over the 4 weeks of the program.
Age Levels: The curriculum is designed for two age levels: Year 6-9 and Year 10-12. Schools may select to offer one or both age levels.
Gender-Specific Groups: For various reasons, we work with single-gender groups of students. If a school enrolls both male and female students, they may choose to run two classes simultaneously with different instructors (one male and one female). The curriculum is slightly tailored for all-male and all-female classes.
Religious Education: By virtue of the Vulgate curriculum and mission, programs are naturally evangelical in nature. Students who enroll should already be receiving religious education, and this program is meant to be in addition to that. Our hope is that students enroll for the English Immersion component, but leave the program enriched and more excited about their Catholic Faith.
Who are the Vulgate instructors?
Vulgate instructors have the following qualities:
Current U.S. college student or recent college graduate (18+ years old).
Strong interpersonal skills, able to engage and inspire students.
Love their Catholic Faith and are excited to share it with young people.
Resilient and ready to embrace new challenges.
Eager to travel and teach in Europe for a month.
What are schools responsible for?
Select instructors from among the candidates provided to them by Vulgate.
Host the summer programs at their campus and appoint a primary contact person at the school to the instructor(s) welcomed to their institution.
Promote programs and manage student enrollment, including collection and retention of any fees the school wishes to charge their students for use of their facilities, which is encouraged.
Responsible for all program logistics (including classroom, wifi, and screen access) and onboarding of instructors.
Summer 2025 Programs
Dates
Programs are offered weekly for 4 weeks from June 28 - July 26, 2025.
Locations
Multiple locations in Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal.
Curriculum
English language immersion using excellent Catholic resources.
School FAQs
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Vulgate summer programs offer impactful, short-term English language immersion experiences combined with Catholic faith formation for K-12 students. Vulgate partners with K-12 Catholic schools abroad to provide a rich, educational experience that enhances language skills while deepening students' awareness of the Catholic faith.
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By Partnering with Vulgate for English Immersion Programs, Schools Benefit in 3 Key Ways:
1. Financially Supported: Vulgate provides funding to cover predetermined instructor expenses, ensuring that schools incur no costs for program instruction. Additionally, schools are encouraged to charge enrolled students a fee for facility use or other expenses at their discretion, with full responsibility for managing those logistics.
2. Innovative Educational Offering: Schools can enhance their curriculum by providing students with a high-quality English immersion program, equipping them with the valuable and globally relevant skill of English language in an engaging and dynamic way.
3. Mission-Driven Impact: By hosting a program, schools actively contribute to the evangelization of young people, fostering faith formation in a fresh and impactful way that aligns with their educational and spiritual mission.
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Programs run for 4 weeks, split into 4 one-week sessions, from June 28 - July 26, 2025.
In future years, specific start and end dates may be tailored to the school's summer schedule for maximum flexibility.
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The program dates listed on our website are the only dates available.
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For Summer 2025, Vulgate will offer programs in multiple locations across Southern Europe, with a focus on Spain and Portugal. We are open to expanding to other areas based on interest and alignment with our mission.
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The curriculum emphasizes full English language immersion using outstanding Catholic educational resources. Students engage with scripture-based lessons, faith-inspired stories, and conversation activities designed to strengthen both language proficiency and their understanding of the Catholic faith.
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Vulgate instructors are native English speakers from the U.S., carefully selected for their abilities and strong Catholic faith. They are prepared to provide both English language instruction and high quality Catholic resources to ensure a high-quality experience for students.
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No; instructors volunteer their time, so this is not required.
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None; there is no English proficiency level required for participating students.
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Vulgate provides funding for predetermined instructors’ travel and living expenses.
Schools are encouraged to charge their students who enroll in the English immersion program(s) a fee for use of their facilities etc., but the school would be fully responsible for that decision and all logistics.
Vulgate does not take in any fees and does not benefit financially by providing teacher candidates to schools; instead, Vulgate offers it’s services as a fully charitable and evangelical venture.
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Schools are responsible for selecting instructor candidates and hosting programs. This includes:
K-12 schools abroad with a strong Catholic identity select instructors from among the candidates provided to them by Vulgate.
Host the summer programs at their campus in Southern Europe.
Promote programs and manage student enrollment, including collection and retention of any fees the school wishes to charge their students for use of their facilities.
Responsible for all program logistics and onboarding of instructors.
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Schools can express their interest by contacting Vulgate directly through our website. We will schedule a meeting to discuss your school's needs and explore how Vulgate can create a meaningful partnership for Summer 2025.
Want to learn how your school can host a Vulgate Program?
Vulgate’s name originates from St. Jerome’s Latin translation of the Bible and he has been adopted as patron of it’s programs. St. Jerome, pray for us!
St. Jerome, Patron Saint of Translators