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foreign language tuition for an already bilingual child
Thread poster: frederique sannier-lowry
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:22
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Indeed! Apr 4, 2009

Berni Armstrong wrote:
My daughter also enjoys the games and songs etc, that make up a lot of the methodology of modern English teaching. Plus, it is a chance to slip the engine into neutral for 45 minutes, before having to slam the gearbox into first for Maths (which is not her best subject).


Indeed. I did not think about that. Yes, I think this is a good, positive approach to the matter. Maybe the topic starter should consider visiting the teacher and explaining things this way. Or simply let the child decide whether she enjoys being with her fellow pupils in class, singing, reading different things, hearing a different accent of English (which will only do good to her if she later decides to learn the ropes of translation/interpretation).


 
Elisabetta MULATERO PARLIER
Elisabetta MULATERO PARLIER
Local time: 13:22
Member
English to French
+ ...
Other language? Apr 4, 2009

Hello,

are you sure English is the only language taught in the school? Some teach German.

I would not be pessimistic on the fact she will get bored. If the teacher is smart enough he/she may ask your child to help others.

I also agree with AC a bilingual school would be great. My 3 boys have 6 hours italian every week with Italian teachers. At the end they wll pas the OIB (option internationale du bac) which opens many possibilities for studying abroad. I k
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Hello,

are you sure English is the only language taught in the school? Some teach German.

I would not be pessimistic on the fact she will get bored. If the teacher is smart enough he/she may ask your child to help others.

I also agree with AC a bilingual school would be great. My 3 boys have 6 hours italian every week with Italian teachers. At the end they wll pas the OIB (option internationale du bac) which opens many possibilities for studying abroad. I know you have time as she is very young but it may be worth exploring...

Kind regards

Elisabetta
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Alexandra Goldburt
Alexandra Goldburt
Local time: 05:22
English to Russian
+ ...
Solution to a problem in my case Apr 5, 2009

Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
The problem will be... what will the child do in that time? Where will she be? Will she be attended to, or abandoned in some empty room while her friends and fellow students are learning and doing things?


Since I asked for my daughter not to attend a Spanish class, she has been spending that time in the school office, sometimes reading, sometimes having an intelligent conversation with the principal and other teachers.

Of course, this would not be possible in almost any other school. This particular school (a Quaker school, by the way - and no, I'm not a Quaker) is very small and has a true sense of community, almost like a family. That's why I love it so much and don't want my daughter to be anywhere else.


 
frederique sannier-lowry
frederique sannier-lowry  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 13:22
English to French
TOPIC STARTER
Bilingual school a possibility Apr 6, 2009

First of all, thank all for your replies, I didn't expect so much enthusiasm!

Ironically, up until last year we lived about half a mile away from a reputable bilingual school... We're not that far away now but it would still involve quite a bit of travelling each day, and I'm not prepared for that at such a young age. I might reconsider it when she starts secondary school. The current plan is to teach her to read and write at home - hubby's Irish and we already do books and songs of
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First of all, thank all for your replies, I didn't expect so much enthusiasm!

Ironically, up until last year we lived about half a mile away from a reputable bilingual school... We're not that far away now but it would still involve quite a bit of travelling each day, and I'm not prepared for that at such a young age. I might reconsider it when she starts secondary school. The current plan is to teach her to read and write at home - hubby's Irish and we already do books and songs of course, and she watches Cbeebies. But could we stick to a discipline, I'm not sure.

Obviously I would ask for a dispensation only if the alternative was good enough, meaning if she wasn't left to her own devices while her fellow classmates are having their English lessons. I'd love her to learn a 3rd language but I very much doubt that this will be a possibility, not if I wait for the school to organise something. Anyway, I think it will very much depend on the teacher and how she/he will adapt to the circumstances.

Fred
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Poisson rouge
Poisson rouge
Germany
Local time: 13:22
German to French
+ ...
Why not? Apr 6, 2009

I can imagine it is a big decision for you, but if I were you, I would let her do it. As someone pointed out, school is about socialisation, not only about learning, especially at an early age. Having to do English when you are 15 and are bilingual is awful (been there!) but I think at that age, all they do is learn song and play games, which she would probably find great. Moreover, I think it would be 'weird' for her not to be there, knowing that all her mates are doing it. I know she is still ... See more
I can imagine it is a big decision for you, but if I were you, I would let her do it. As someone pointed out, school is about socialisation, not only about learning, especially at an early age. Having to do English when you are 15 and are bilingual is awful (been there!) but I think at that age, all they do is learn song and play games, which she would probably find great. Moreover, I think it would be 'weird' for her not to be there, knowing that all her mates are doing it. I know she is still young, but do you know what your daughter would like to do? And finally, I think every scrap of English is good for her - bilingualism is sometimes tough to achieve. You talk about it possibly 'damaging' her English. Why do you think this? By the way, who would be teaching the kids? A native speaker?Collapse


 
Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 12:22
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
Will she be truly bilingual? Apr 6, 2009

A while back, I prepared a 14-y-o girl for the IGCSE English First Language and her parents (French father, English mother) were very glad they'd taken that route. (Forgive me if you've already heard this story!)

We started lesson 1 with chat and, yes, she was truly at ease in English. Then I asked her to read and she managed a few words then stopped and said "what's N-I-G-H-T"? She was amazed that the word "night" lo
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A while back, I prepared a 14-y-o girl for the IGCSE English First Language and her parents (French father, English mother) were very glad they'd taken that route. (Forgive me if you've already heard this story!)

We started lesson 1 with chat and, yes, she was truly at ease in English. Then I asked her to read and she managed a few words then stopped and said "what's N-I-G-H-T"? She was amazed that the word "night" looked like that! As it was a written exam I nearly gave up but in fact she learned very fast and passed with flying colours.

This illustrates that, without formalised education, a child will have enormous gaps in their knowledge. It's something parents CAN give, but very often they DON'T give - after all, the child is in full-time education.

My son had some boring times in his English classes, and was sometimes frustrated when he knew better than the teacher, but he enjoyed the sense of superiority over his classmates and was often "used" to good effect by teachers. In collège (11-14) he was sometimes allowed to read English books, and he prepared for the IGCSE by correspondence (coaching my own son was NOT a success!). In lycée (15-18) there were a fair number of Anglophones, and an Australian assistant, so they were pulled out for discussions.

In short, I think it would be a shame not to provide formalised education in each language for your child. Although mainstream schools may not be the best, it's not necessarily wasted time. If nothing else, they learn all the tricks required for getting a really good mark in exams - and that helped pull up my son's overall mark to a Baccalaureate pass level.
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Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 13:22
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
My guess Apr 6, 2009

frederique sannier-lowry wrote:
I was wondering if this could do any 'damage' to her level of English, added to the fact that she will obviously be bored and will waste her time.


To her, English at school will be just another subject that she happens to be good at. It'll only damage her English if you stop using English at home. Eventually she may develop a school English (children downgrade themselves to fit in) and a home English, but if you keep speaking English at home, she probably won't lose it.


 
AnneMarieG
AnneMarieG  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 13:22
German to French
+ ...
I was such a child... Apr 9, 2009

French father, Austrian mother; French schooling and environment. University in Austria.
My German and my French went up and down during my young years; I think the bilingual state came progessively into being because
1. I had proper classes at school and learned writing / reading with all grammatical rules, even though the teacher didn't speak German properly
2. Later I studied in both cultures / languages
3. I worked later in both cultures /languages

I gue
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French father, Austrian mother; French schooling and environment. University in Austria.
My German and my French went up and down during my young years; I think the bilingual state came progessively into being because
1. I had proper classes at school and learned writing / reading with all grammatical rules, even though the teacher didn't speak German properly
2. Later I studied in both cultures / languages
3. I worked later in both cultures /languages

I guess what I mean to say is learning a language doesn't end with school. It evolves over time, and it depends whether yourself want to continue with both or not. E.g. My brother ended up clearly as a "French" native, my sister is definitely "Austrian", even though they both perfectly understand the other language; however they make (very funny because phonetic) errors when talking and writing...

I would say give her the best opportunities to build up her language skills, however tell her there are less stressful jobs than translating!!
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foreign language tuition for an already bilingual child






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