Holiday schools / activities in foreign language for primary-aged children

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

languagelover96 · 13/12/2021 15:29

Try a language class

viques · 13/12/2021 18:28

@Jamdown123

Dear All,

Hoping you are well and can help me.

I'm thinking ahead to future school holidays. I'm looking for some holiday activities where children can be immersed in a foreign language. The are 5 and 7. Ideally in London / West, North West, South West London, but I'd travel to counties around and other areas of London.

I'm flexible on which language. European, Asian languages, beyond.

Does anyone know of such a language school / activity?

Thanks in advance!!!

Why? Unless every single adult and child (apart from yours of course) is speaking the language to a native fluency standard it won’t be an immersive experience. Sounds very stressful for your children. Have you ever put yourself in a similar situation where you have no other cues apart from aural cues about what is happening - it is exhausting. Find them a holiday club where they can have fun, they can still learn things, but enjoy doing it.

Bunnycat101 · 14/12/2021 22:23

Like others, I think that would actually be incredibly stressful unless they’d been taught the language. Imagine just being chucked into an environment where you don’t know anyone and can’t communicate. I say this as someone who did languages, spent time abroad etc. I remember crying my eyes out when I was 16 on a foreign exchange and staying at a family’s house because my language skills were not really good enough to be living with strangers for a week.

That said, I would consider a language holiday for a teenager doing GCSEs/a-levels but it would be one based on intensive tuition but not total immersion even if it is a quicker way to learn.

DaddyPhD · 26/12/2021 22:27

Immersing kids in another language is hugely beneficial. The benefits of language learning for younger kids is immense and has knock on effects for brain development and academic performance.

I would simply look for the language your interested in and look up weekend schools ( my wife goes to one with our DD) she's 3 years old and she's learning French at her pre-Prep school. The fact top private schools place such importance on languages tells you all you need to know about advantages it gives.

The weekend schools exist for just about every language, aimed at kids of non UK ex pats or people like you who want to teach their kids another language. These weekend schools may be able to put you in touch with summer schools.

Looking at the other way around, for decades European kids have attended UK English learning 'immersive' summer schools, from ages of 6 to 18. My university runs a summer program for kids ( though post Brexit it looks like its died ).

ichundich · 26/12/2021 22:42

@DaddyPhD

Immersing kids in another language is hugely beneficial. The benefits of language learning for younger kids is immense and has knock on effects for brain development and academic performance.

I would simply look for the language your interested in and look up weekend schools ( my wife goes to one with our DD) she's 3 years old and she's learning French at her pre-Prep school. The fact top private schools place such importance on languages tells you all you need to know about advantages it gives.

The weekend schools exist for just about every language, aimed at kids of non UK ex pats or people like you who want to teach their kids another language. These weekend schools may be able to put you in touch with summer schools.

Looking at the other way around, for decades European kids have attended UK English learning 'immersive' summer schools, from ages of 6 to 18. My university runs a summer program for kids ( though post Brexit it looks like its died ).

Yes, Saturday schools are a good starting point (as an expat I'm not super keen on British tiger parents who put their non-bilingual kids into ours because most of the time their language skills are way behind the rest of the class). Some of our Saturday schools run summer camps and residential trips away; it's just like a holiday club really. My DD has attended 2 or 3 from age 5 and loved them every time. She has grown up speaking both languages though.

jclm · 26/12/2021 22:50

If you're interested in Welsh, there is the Urdd which provides usually free of cost activities in Welsh. All over Wales. It would be immersive and the children would mainly be speaking Welsh.

Original poster

Jamdown123 · 27/12/2021 09:33

Thank you all.

I will look up Weeknd schools. If anyone can steer me in the direction of French or Spanish in West, South, and North London (Just not anywhere with E in the postcode), Herts or Bucks, I'd grateful and I am literally about to start a cold google search!

We can support French and Spanish at home, though we are not fluent at all, we have the very basics covered!

I am currently in another country with my children now, they keep running to the little children here trying to learn the language, so while I appreciate it was a daunting thing for many of you, it seems my children love it.

Thanks!

OP posts:

Melassa · 27/12/2021 09:55

It’s not stressful at all for small kids, as a PP mentioned other countries have full immersion English language holiday clubs from 6, some have bilingual playschemes from 3, not to mention the long list of parents paying for bilingual nurseries. What a monolingual viewpoint that kids would be stressed by speaking “foreign”.

OP I’m not in the U.K. but my friend’s DC attended a French language holiday club in London a couple of years ago. I think it was this Not sure how much of an impact it had, they were tiny but already had some French from grandma. No doubt there is similar for other languages.

Bunnycat101 · 27/12/2021 10:07

Weekend school seems like a sensible way to do it if there is provision for non-native speakers. They’ll be getting instruction and continuity in one language but the harder bit will be keeping it going at home. Everyone I know that has used the weekend schools are native speakers wanting their children to pick up their language often with one parent speaking to the child exclusively in the language. You’d need to check how the courses are structured and whether it would be suitable for a non-native speaker. I imagine in early years the difference isn’t massive but one of my friends has an 8 year old and they are doing quite a lot of writing now in hers which would be hard if not at a good enough level to engage.

This one looks like it offers French as a foreign language so might be a way of narrowing down your search to look for classes for non-natives www.mapetiteecole.co.uk/classes

Original poster

Jamdown123 · 27/12/2021 10:13

That's exactly what I have been doing, thank you!

My children love languages as they speak a non-european language at home through their dad. So we want to increase their facility with language. We also used to. go on holiday and chuck them in the deep end (!) before covid struck, and we will be doing that again.

For me languages are important for expression, there are so many sentiments captured by other languages, it broadens the mind in a myriad of ways. I will always encourage it!

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ichundich · 27/12/2021 10:18

If you can afford it, a Spanish or French aupair might also be an option (although I think they are harder to come by now thanks to Brexit).

bailarbailar · 27/12/2021 10:18

Battersea Spanish did summer camps pre-covid I think, looks like the Saturday activity classes are still going though

Bunnycat101 · 27/12/2021 10:43

Would you think about looking for the camps in your DH’s language rather than French/Spanish? Your children will have a massive head start if they’re already bilingual but a weekend school in that language would possibly take them further/keep open options for higher education in that country etc.

One of my friends is amazing at languages- speaks at least 10 now fluently. She grew up in Germany before moving here as a child. She’s absolutely fluent in German and continued to speak exclusively to her dad in German but she found her written german was no-where near as good as her English as she wasn’t schooled in it in the same way.

Original poster

Jamdown123 · 27/12/2021 16:20

@ichundich

If you can afford it, a Spanish or French aupair might also be an option (although I think they are harder to come by now thanks to Brexit).

Very good idea....

OP posts:

Original poster

Jamdown123 · 27/12/2021 16:25

We have DH's language covered, but it is not a European language and that is what we are looking for now. I'm basic in German, and French, DH is in French and Spanish. We can support them early on, but anything around a high A level standard and we'll have no clue!

OP posts:

ichundich · 27/12/2021 17:47

@Jamdown123

We have DH's language covered, but it is not a European language and that is what we are looking for now. I'm basic in German, and French, DH is in French and Spanish. We can support them early on, but anything around a high A level standard and we'll have no clue!

There are plenty of German Saturday Schools in London; look up VDSS UK. Some of them have long waiting lists though. There also used to be a German playgroup in London Colney and there are two German primary schools in London, Judith Kerr and Richmond (Richmond goes up to secondary).