To move my son to a bilingual nursery

[Aprenderespanol]

Please help us decide if this is a good or bad idea. My ds is 2 years 8 months and we are moving to an area that has a bilingual primary and bilingual nursery in the local area (both of them are Spanish/English)
We are thinking of putting him into the bilingual nursery but my DH is unsure which is making me unsure.
He was a late talker and has rapidly caught up and is now about average for his age and progressing well.
He thinks it will knock his confidence as the staff talk almost exclusively in Spanish (they will repeat in English if he's confused). I think it's a great opportunity especially seeing as we would like to send him to the bilingual school afterwards and that he's the perfect age to adapt. But I don't want to knock his confidence and maybe we should stick with a normal nursery/childminder and let him start Spanish when he goes to school and understands more what's going on.
Any thoughts?!

My Dh loves the hippy vibes of the childminders, he thinks he will be happier there and we can also send my baby from next summer and they can be together. I am soooo torn about this. Really appreciating all your input.

I completely agree with your DH. My children are trilingual so I know how much input and exposure you need to pick up a language at that age. It’s mostly a myth that younger children learn languages better (unless you are looking only at accent).

Brilliant opportunity!!!
I went to a French school when I was 4. I was also a late talker (due to hearing problems), but was speaking passable French within a term, and was fluent not long after. I did all my primary education on that school. I'm in my early 50s now, hardly use my French,but have instant recall when I need it.

I'd choose a bilingual nursery over a large group childminding arrangement, especially if the plan is to continue the primary education in the language. I have many bilingual friends, the ease of switching between languages is amazing. We really want that for DC, though our method is by living abroad. DH and I speak fluently but it's not the same as actually being bilingual. We speak English at home but DC speak the second language at school or with friends.

Hi OP
We're in an area with both and my dc attends the nursery. We hope to go to the primary after.

We aren't from a Spanish background but my husband spends time reading and chatting in Spanish with DC when playing (he has basic Spanish).

DC can now have conversations in Spanish and being there has not impacted on their language development. They started in the baby room a year ago and are now in the toddler room.
From experience of using a childminder before I'm so pleased we made the move. The staff are incredible and my DC is so excited to go in to nursery.

The way you describe the nursery space makes me think it's the same one so feel free to message me if you want to ask more questions.

Do you live in a Spanish speaking country?

That's not a childminder, that's a nursery in a converted residential property.

GCSE Spanish won't support bilingualism. He'll have, what, a couple of timetabled hours per week in a class where English will be used most of the time, and the Spanish won't be conversational or native level. GCSE level is a very long way from fluency.

He'd need to be using Spanish at home and ideally in other activities eg spanish-speaking clubs or activities outside school to achieve/maintain fluency. Language development comes from interaction not passive observation. Are there any groups like that near you that would enable him to keep using the language?

Nothing wrong with him having exposure to the language while young but if your hope /expectation is that it will set him up as fluent for life, that sounds unattainable based on what you've posted.

I think the regulated nursery sounds better than the nursery pretending to be a childminder, language aside.

@Aprenderespanol my two children went to a bilingual (English/Spanish) nursery. Son has just started Reception.

I'll message you.

@tickticksnooze what makes you prefer the idea of the regulated nursery to the childminder regardless of the language aspect? Just genuinely interested.

This is a great age to start a second language if you want him to speak with no accent and really be bilingual. I wouldn’t worry too much about the extra “burden” - where I live nearly all kids are bilingual (their home language is not the national language), my son that age knows who to speak which language to and sometimes “translates” people for me (I speak to him exclusively in English though I am completely fluent in the other language).

Just bear in mind as others said that bilingual primary school is not enough to retain bilingual language skills for life - you’ll need to make sure they keep doing activities in Spanish.

all the negative nellies saying once he leaves the school he'll only have a few hours a week to keep it up - meh. There have never been more opportunities to keep up a language, film screenings in the language, plays at universities and am dram groups, and the Internet.

But there are other reasons for a bilingual setting, there are studies and it doesn't take long to find them, about brain development etc. And that acquiring other languages is usually easier and so on.

Up to parents of course, but i would very reluctantly turn that opportunity down (looking at this from the other end with blingual adult children)

I might be able to offer another perspective. I'm in France and 7 years ago I joined a creche and set up the bilingual programme, I and a couple of other colleagues spoke exclusively in English and the others spoke French. The children picked up English incredibly quickly even if they couldn't reply to me, they understood me. In France the children would leave creche at around 3 - 3.5 years old. Some would come back on a Wednesday but not all.

Last year, I left the creche and began going around the local primary schools as a peripatetic English teacher and I have met loads of my old creche kids again. I cannot say that any of them are better at English than their classmates, some might have a little more confidence when speaking in English, but that also could be down to the fact that they remember me from their baby days. My advice would be unless you are planning on continuing with Spanish after nursery, I would go for the childminder with fewer children, more outside time and a more homely feel.

Bilingual nursery. This is the best time to start a new language - he will pick up the accent, language structure and child-friendly vocabulary flawlessly.

He will not automatically become fluent though. That will take work and effort.
You will need to reinforce at home with native language (radio shows in Spanish or children's tv or films) throughout his childhood, even if he is at a bilingual primary. You will need to work on his vocabulary and spoken Spanish - possibly with a tutor, just for conversational chit chat- as in any normal school setting, children do a lot of listening and much less speaking. If the language of the playground is English, even less so.

Do it, but really lean into it if you are after fluency.

By the time he starts secondary, he could expand to French as well if he finds he enjoys languages.

As a bilingual household, there are a lot of myths on this thread. You won't need to reinforce at home (although it will help), many children in the UK don't speak a word of English at home and they become fluent in English within a few years with the only exposure being at school.
It's also not a myth that children find it easier to acquire a language. Up until a certain age children can pick up to 7 languages effortlessly. Adults do not have this ability.

I'd ask what the purpose is in introducing now in such an invested format.

My nieces yr 9 cohort all just did their GCSE Spanish and she passed with flying colours having only started learning at yr 7. That's academic language of course, but Spanish isn't a difficult language to learn. It doesn't have complex structures.

If the child doesn't carry on in bilingual school to 18, and stops using it given your not bilingual at home - they could very quickly replace what they learnt with other subject knowledge in that time. GSCE Spanish would be a pointless subject if they can already speak fluently.

So what are you trying to achieve, and what might you be compromising to achieve it?

@YoBeaches a GCSE in a language is nowhere even close to fluency. You might be able to ask for help, use some basic statements etc but you wouldn't manage to have a decent, free flowing conversation in a social setting. The OP plans to send the ds to the primary school too. There is a lot of research on the benefits of bilingualism on the brain, immersion into a second language from such a young age will always be an advantage.

I’d do the bilingual nursery. The childminder is giving your child the chance to do thinking’s you have the ability to facilitate yourself at home- parks and farms at the weekend etc. You can’t help your child with another language, it’s a fantastic opportunity

Also a bilingual household here. And a language teacher. There is a difference and some confusion, on this thread about learning a language and acquiring one. Two different things, using two different bits of the brain.

The nursery sounds great and will help the child acquire the language. Don't sweat it if the child isn't completely bilingual. Very very few people are even if brought up in two language contexts. There will always be things that, by definition- simply because of the language the child "meets" these things, are communicated in one language over the other. (in our case- things to do with school. My daughter's never been to an English speaking school, so anything to do with school will be said in Italian. "we're getting our pagella tomorrow" etc.)

The mini nursery with hippy tendencies wouldn't be for me, simply by virtue of making itself out to be a childminder.

I was with bilingual friends the other day who were complaining their child never spoke Spanish back to them. Now their child is as school and learns in English 100% of the time, he never speaks Spanish. I would go for the nursery! And keep speaking it at home!

@teathyme I didn't say GCSE made you fluent. Perhaps read my post again in correlation to the OPs. She points out eventual GCSE which I say is pointless if the child is already fluent given academic Spanish can be learnt in 2years.

There are lots of different mechanisms for improving child development and learning outcomes, languages is just one of them.

It’s difficult without having seen the settings, but I agree with your DH. You say the nursery have small outside and “rarely go out”? That’s not good, not good at all.

His number one developmental need at this age is free play, he needs to be running around outside and getting messy, not stuck in the same crowded room every day because it gets him ahead academically. He’s 2!!

@ChocFrog I realised as soon as I posted about 'rarely going out' that it might not be clear what I meant. I mean they rarely leave the nursery setting to go to parks etc. There is free flow into the garden which is small but decent sized for the amount of children, and their focus is in play and have great reviews.
I like the fact that childminders take the children out and this particular one takes them out every day come rain or shine. But on the flipside I do worry a bit about them being kept safe, but I'm a natural worrier.

To those wondering about the main motivation behind it. Since having kids the furthest we have travelled is Cornwall but prior to that I really loved travelling. I travelled to South America for 7 months where I attempted to learn Spanish. I could have a decent conversation by the end and a fair bit of it has stuck but I was so envious of those that were fluent. Those that were fluent or nearly fluent got so much out of the experience being able to properly converse with the locals.
My kids may not be that bothered about traveling, or they might travel to countries that don't speak Spanish, I get that, but I can't help thinking it is an amazing skill to have. I also think once you learn Spanish it's also easier to learn other languages that are structured in a similar way.