children in foreign language schools

[frazzlenz]

Hi there. I would like to hear from people who have gone through the language immersion process with children. We are coming to Brussels in June and my three children will be starting school in September. By that time they will be 4, 7 and 11. We are going to send them to local French speaking schools. The older 2 have just started French lessons and will be doing language/activities holidays programme for a few weeks over the summer holidays.

I'm not so worried about the 4 year old but I would like to hear from anyone who has put an older child into a foreign language school. So far most of the feedback I have had is along the lines that it won't work for the 11 year old and I am getting a bit anxious about what lies ahead. That said a couple of people have shared success stories, telling me that it will take him 6-12 months to start speaking and understanding French fluently. He is very academic and skipped a years school here in NZ so I am hopeful that will help. My 7 year old is doing well at school as well and is ahead in reading and maths.

Thanks

Following on from what Bonsoir says, I just met a friend for lunch whose three DSs go to the lycée français. There is more English in the lycée than in the Belgian schools and at a much earlier age (and there are different levels available too) and although they are fee-paying, they are only about a quarter of the price (at least for the final years) of the international schools. It is more difficult to get into if you're not French but maybe worth a go? It also seems a bit less well anal for want of a better word than DDs school (DD also had a friend who moved there last year and is finding it easier than she was at DDs school). They also move up a year earlier, so at 11, so this might suit your 11 year old better. Here's a link for you: lycée français.

Also, when is your 11 year old going to 12? If it is in this calendar year then he would be due to go up to secondary in September. If this is the case then you need to think about this quickly because there have been enormous problems with the inscription method in the French-speaking system. It used to be that the schools could choose who they took but that was deemed unfair. They therefore moved onto a queueing system as they have in the Flemish system. This led to people queueing outside the better schools for days (and nights) beforehand. It was decided therefore that this would be changed. They have faffed around so much that the inscriptions for next year are now to take place after Easter (they usually take place in November). If you don't get in with your inscription request when everyone else does that you might find it difficult to get a place in the school you want. If he's 12 next calendar year then it won't be a problem.

Sorry, me again. Another advantage of the lycée français is that you can do Dutch as a beginner in the first year of secondary rather than find your 11 year old having to cope with two new languages at a level beyond what he currently has. (Goes off to read more about the lycée...)

And in fact he wouldn't have to do Dutch at all. He could do beginners German or Spanish...

... but he might have to take a French test to get in though I'm not entirely sure.

Have just reread your posts and see that they are suggesting he go into 5th year primary. That's the year my DDs in now. If you can give me your e-mail address (though I appreciate you might not want to in this forum) or your name if you're on Facebook, I could scan some work in and send it to you so you can see what they are expected to do.

Also had another thought. Each school pretty much sets its own level of what is required from the pupils. There is an end of primary exam that everyone has to sit (it's been around for a while but it has only last year or the year before become compulsory for the schools to get the pupils to sit it) but this hasn't done much to change their approach. DD's school held out as long as possible before getting their pupils to sit the exam, preferring to continue with their own exams, but now they do, they haven't made the work any easier though in theory they could. There are no standard exams at the end of secondary and university entrance is, for most courses, available to anyone who's finished secondary school in any school (this is most probably why there is such a high failure rate in the first year of uni). Engineering courses do seem to have an entrance exam. Others may also but in the main they don't.