Language

[Nesime]

Hi,

My daughter will start primary state school (She will be 6 by August). But as we live abroad, she knows some english words but can't speak or understand english. We will be in UK in June and I plan to send her to some language school or something like this until the school starts. Do you think that it would work?

Thanks..

so she will be going in to Yr2 if she is 6 in August.

I don't know that there are any language schools really for that age, perhaps in London or some of the big cities.

Where will you be moving to? You could try contacting the local library and ask for advice, they might be able to help.

Could you start speaking to her in English now? The thing I have noticed most in my daughters school about the children for whom English is a second language is that the ones whose parents speak it some of the time at home are much more fluent than those who solely speak their parents native language. So if you could start immersing her in the language at home now, before you move then she will find it much easier to settle.

Children pick up a language they are immersed in very quickly.

I would leave it to be honest, let her have a holiday - the school will have systems in place to support her, and at her age she will learn really quickly.
i have some experience of language schools and there are none set up for that age group.
what about some kind of summer play activity where she could just mix with English speaking children?

they do pick it up pretty quickly yes but in my daughter's class out of the EAL children there are some still seriously struggling to talk to the other kids and staff so whilst they probably now understand a lot (from what the parents have said I think they all went to preschool so have been immersed in the language out of the house for over a year) they can't play in it and it does limit friendships and settling in is that much harder for them - my reason for suggesting they start speaking some at home now is that it will mean she will be a bit less scared when she starts school here, a bit quicker and easier for her to make friends and play with other children. It doesn't have to be much but it would probably really help. Just basic conversation stuff. Making sure she is confident at understanding/asking where toilets are, my name is... what is your name, I like..., I don't understand, could you say it more slowly please, I feel unwell. those kind of things.

Also it might be worth looking at putting her name down for a social activity such as Rainbows that she can go to once a week (it is only about £1 a week) and mix with other children and make some friends there.

I wouldn't speak in English to her, my DD is bi-lingual, we are a German household, English is a strict outside language apart from TV. It is more important to get her to hear English outside the home. As far as I know all theories and recommendations about bi-lingual living is "Parents speak the mothertongue and not the outside language".

Yes, they need to hear the language but it should be done by mother tone speaker. I would just teach my child lots of silly grammar mistakes I still have, even after living in the UK for 14 years now.

Are there maybe any pre-school English classes were you are? Or could you imagine getting an Au pair for a couple of months or an English student as a babysitter a couple of times a week?

Thank you all :) I am so lucky to find this site :)