7 years old - After the summer ¿Vale la pena que pasan tiempo en Gran Bretaña? Septiembre 2014

Resumen
Marc pasó un total de  7 semanas en Inglaterra entre su abuela y sus primos. Estuvo el último mes del año escolar en el colegio de sus primos.
Comento a continuación los pros y las contras que he encontrado y de enviar un niño a un colegio  en el  extranjero.
Summary
Marc spend a total of 7 weeks in England between his grandmother and his cousins. He attended the last month of the school year in his cousins' primary school.
I'll discuss the pros and cons that I found and of sending a child to a school abroad in the summer

Marc completed a full month in a primary school in Parkstone, Dorset. If you live in Spain you can take advantage of the UK school year that finishes around the 24th July. Therefore they can attend school from the last week of June.
The advantages of this are the incredible opportunities for the child to get massive exposure by  learn subjects through English. His teachers were very pleased with his learning and commented on the fact that it must be difficult to learn in English if he normally goes to school in Catalan/ Spanish.
 Although it's certainly true that learning in more tan one language presents a challenge, it depends on how well you prepare your child for learning in British school. As he already does three subjects in English at his Catalan school, this is not new. Also, we read every day in English, try and do as much writing as possible and in general he gets 3 hours interactive speaking with me every day plus much more at the weekend.
The question that comes up is "Isn't it "cruel" for them to go back to school in the summer?"
It's a question of weighing up the pros and cons. If you want your child to reach a native level of English it's nearly essential. Also, school is till 3pm and the end of term in Britain is not as hard as the rest of the year with school trips and other less "academic" activities. And if you are both working parents then you need to send your child to some form of holiday club.
It depends on the parent's attitude to parenting and what they consider 'cruel' is.
In the end, I've realised that the vast majority of heritage language speaking parents are just not that interested in their children speaking their language or speaking it well. And I can't expect other parents to be as interested and 'fascinated' as I am. I just feel sorry for the kids who are missing out on a great opportunity.


The challenges for sending your child to your country are of course cost in the end. That includes having someone to do the childminding and take them to school. Getting into the school takes a bit of effort, but is 'merely' a bureaucratic process.
The child may also complain. But, as said above, most children need to receive some form of childcare. And if you add an incentive gift or holiday on completion of the schooling then that makes it easier to accept for them. Marc missed having his toys and things around him and the familar surroundings of home. We'll be thinking over what we did this year and seeing how we can 'improve' in any way the following summer. But, we are definitely planning on repeating the experience.
I made a lightening weekend trip back and surprised him by picking him and his cousins up from school. We also kept in touch by Skype and phone and his mother was in the UK with him for several weeks so, he didn't miss us too much.

Language Progress and lapses and why this is normal
Marc sounds English and again picked up many characteristics of the local children's speech during the stay as well as words and phrases that children use (not me!).
In general, I don't find that he has any problems expressing himself in English, and probably finds it easier to talk about certain subjects in English than in Catalan due to speaking to me. e.g. various sports and games.
Now and again he has certain lapses in both languages. Sometimes the easiest of words that just didn't come to him. He asked me "How do you say 'dessert' in Spanish? He talks to waiters in Spanish normally! And "How do you say 'green pen'?" Parents who are against bilingualism would use this as an argument, but are ignorant of the fact that this is normal even for monolinguals. A Word just doesn't come to your head. It's not because you don't know it. Just this week in a conversation I couldn't remember the work "acera" (pavement) in a conversation, even though I've used it hundreds of times.
He's used 'observe' instead of 'check this out' or 'look', which is the catalán or Spanish equivalent. In the end, it's a process and any small lapses along the way are more than justified to be bi or trilingual.

  The cultural part of a visit to a country shouldn't be ignored. We coincided with the 30th Annual Robin Hood Festival norht of Nottingham. He was fascinated with an old man pretending to be a wizard. He had plenty of conversations with people at the fair. It was worth the 'effort'.

 

 

7 years old - English School JULY 2014 in England / Julio 2014 Ir a una escuela en Inglaterra

Como asistir a una escuela pública en el Reino Unido  (English summary below)
Tal y como lo habíamos planificado, fui con Marc a Bournemouth el 23 de junio para organizar su estancia en la escuela pública donde van 2 primos suyos. Acaban el curso escolar el 23 o 24 de julio en RU. Por tanto los niños, en España por ejemplo, pueden asistir durante un mes.

Recuerda que los ciudadanos del EU pueden asistir a una escuela pública en el Reino Unido de forma gratuita. La pega más grande es el alojamiento cuando no tenemos familiares ni amigos que les cuide durante la estancia. Por lo tanto, necesitarás alojamiento y que un padre esté con el niño.  En nuestro caso tanto mi madre como mi hermana y familia están en la misma ciudad. Aún así, tanto mi mujer como yo estamos unas semanas durante su estancia para acompañarle en los primeros días y para los últimos días.
Hay algunos padres que dicen que no es 'justo' que el niño haga entre 3 ó 4 semanas adicionales en una escuela normal. En Inglaterra la jornada es de 9 - 15.15h aproximadamente. Y a partir de finales de junio las clases son más relajadas. Además hay excursiones unos días. Hacen también música, plástica y Educación física. A los padres que trabajan y les interesa que los niños aprendan un idioma, tendrán que asistir a un curso intensivo o a un Casal o a un campamento de verano. Aunque juguen más en un Casal, la verdad es que si quieres que aprendan inglés como nativos además de vivir otra cultura y que hagan amigos en otro país es la opción más viable y eficaz y de sobras compense el 'sacrificio'. Aunque Marc ya tiene un nivel nativo bilingüe, su inglés siempre mejora aún más durante la estancia y aprende temas en asignaturas que no hace en Ágora. Está muy contento y feliz durante su estancia.
Como hacerlo - Unas soluciones en verano si os interesa
Quería destacar las opciones que no sea la tradicional "curso de inglés en el extranjero" para niños a partir de las 11-12 años con un bajo nivel de inglés. Dependerá del nivel las opciones que hagan.  Si el niño tiene un nivel alto,sacará mucho partido en un curso en una escuela 'normal' para niños del país.
1) A partir de los 12 años hay empresas como NEW LINK que ofrecen una inmersión en Instituto en ciudades como Southampton donde asisten a clases con nativos (pregúntame si te interesa). Hay como mucho 3 españoles por clase y no se mezclan. La duración es de 3 semanas en julio. En Irlanda se puede hacer lo mismo, pero por el calendario escolar, tiene que ser a partir de la última semana de agosto. El coste es de 2500€ aprox.

2) Hasta los 11 años hay que acompañarles. Si hacéis 3 semanas de vacaciones en julio 'solo' hay que encontrar alojamiento. Hay empresas que organizan el intercambio de pisos / casas y te saldría gratis.
Si no sois nativos del inglés podrías aprovechar el tiempo asistiendo a cursos de inglés por la mañana! Y por la tarde hay tiempo para ir de compras, hacer turismo, etc...

3) La opción que probamos cuando tenía 5 años era el CASAL inglés o Holiday Club para los padres que trabajan. Es como en España pero a partir de la última semana de julio cuando el año académico acaba. No son gratis pero son privados y por tanto no hay que contactar con los ayuntamientos para pedir plaza.
Mirad las entradas en este Blog para julio/ verano 2012 y 2013 para más detalles.

La clase de Marc con sus profesores (está a la izquierda delante de la profesora). Marc's class with his teachers in the school (seated on the left in front of the teacher) 

Marc hizo una excursión a Swanage en un tren de vapor con su clase.
Marc on the school trip to Swanage, including a steam train, ice cream and Punch and Judy show.
July 2014 - School
Marc has gone back to his cousin's school again, but this year he's in a class for his age, whereas last year we felt that the children were a bit older. I've prepared him all year with reading and writing activities and some maths so that he'd fit in and would be able to keep up in class.
 The last few weeks of the year are more relaxed than the rest of the year but still include maths and English as well as art, music, PE and school trips.
People say it's hard or "unfair" on the child to continue school after they finish in Spain. However, most children do some sort of summer school or camp, and many do English courses. The school day ends at 3.15pm so there's a lot of time to play. And we shouldn't conceptualise 'school' as being boring or not fun. Learning is brilliant!   
If you really want your child to be a native bilingual, there is no better option than a long stay in the UK, Ireland, The States, etc. especially if they can attend a normal school, holiday club or summer camp with native speaker children only.  Many parents will avoid this due to the effort and organization involved and required.  Our personal experience is that the benefits for language proficiency and experiencing and learning about the culture first hand  far outweigh any disadvantages.  You've never had it easier. The blog contains all the inside information and everything you need to bring up bilingual / trilingual children. There may be a financial cost and time and effort required but giving them the gift of two languages and cultures is priceless. It's up to you.

UPDATE REPORT MAY 2014 - 6 years 11 months

Resumen. en este post actualizo el progreso de Marc desde principios de 2014 hasta su 7 cumpleaños en mayo 2014. Repaso las actividades pedagógicas y lúdicas que hace en inglés e incluyo comentarios sobre la visita de 2 sobrinos y mi madre en semana santa.
Recuerda que explico mi situación particular en inglés viviendo en Cataluña, pero podrías usar las técnicas e ideas para cualquier combinación de idiomas.
Summary. In this post I give an update on Marc's language progress from the beginning of 2014 until his 7th birthday in May 2014. I go over the teaching and fun activities I'm doing with him in English and talk about the visit from his grandmother and niece and nephew at Easter.

General overview
He seems extremely comfortable in English, speaking fluently and accurately with an English accent and also playing in English on his own. He prefers his favourite television programmes in English, and when we stayed in a hotel recently he asked to change the language to English on the Spanish channel Boing.  This is no accident of course, as I've insisted on all TV programmes and films he watches at home being shown in English, and I also imagine that he does this as he expects I want it like this. If we 'have to' watch a sports event with a Spanish or Catalan commentary we do our own commentary in English!

School
He'll be finishing year 1 primary in June. Agora International school is a useful supplement for the children of English speaking parents  as there are 3 subjects taught in English as well as English itself.  This year there's an American boy and two English girls with whom he speaks to in English.
Despite the cost, due to the English input and the high standards of its academic, sports and cultural syllabus as well as the importance given to good behaviour and moral ethics in society, we find the fees justifiable. Only Europa Sant Cugat comes close to being an 'effective' choice for English parents.

Creating a language island at home for the heritage language can't be overstressed. If you are serious about your child speaking another language, the home should be associated with the target language and should act as a linguistic trigger the moment the children (and the adults) walk in the door. It's an environment we can control and we should take advantage of this. Don't waste the opportunity, especially when they are young.

INPUT
TV and Films
Without overdoing it we let him watch children's TV everyday combining this with traditional games and toys. The one important change is his 'migration' and preference from BOOMERANG with Scooby Doo, Mr Bean and Tom & Jerry (not much talking) and Looney Tunes to CARTOON NETWORK (CN) which has programmes with a content for older children although there's some overlap. I've tried to get him interested in CN before but he wasn't that interested. In the end, the child chooses what he or she wants to watch but it's worth trying the other channels to give them a taste.

The programmes on CN have a higher linguistic input. Examples are Gumball, Uncle Grandpa, Ben 10 and Johny Test. They are all American with the occasional English carácter. Normnaly a baddie!
Don't underestimate the importance of these programmes as the passive input becomes active output if you give the child enough opportunities to talk to you.
We have a subscription with SKY to get more children's programmes.

Computer
It seems that all of a sudden he's computer savvy and very soon we're going to have to control his use of internet! He is able to look for programmes and songs he likes on YouTube.
He likes Minecraft and has become more efficient at using it with help from his 8 year old cousin.
The names of the materials appear when you hover the mouse over them and I get him to read them and also get him to tell me about what he's doing.

 Watch actively
If you watch the programmes and the computer games with them rather than using them as a 'babysitter' then you get more interaction and it all becomes less passive. Ask questions: " What's going to happen next?" "Why didn't they use that weapon?!"  "Do you think aliens really exist?!"

BOOKS and Writing
We've been following the Oxford Book tree series as before and have just started level 9. These are books he reads out loud. We often do the Reading outside the school in the car in the mornings I can take him and at the weekend.
 I realise that I'm finding it hard to get him to write. So, we're using Carol Vordermann's ENGLISH Key Stage 1 course for 6-7 year olds to get him used to writing and spelling. We do a page at a time and he gets a Star to stick on the exercises he's finished. We done about 8 pages so far. I try to make it as fun as possible as he's not enthusiastic about doing it!!
Thirdly, I'm Reading a Geronimo Stilton book to him which I do most nights. This is at a level above his own Reading ability, and also introduces new vocabulary and interesting facts.

Language Progress
In the beginning I was adding all the new language he was acquiring but now it's difficult as he has a consolidated language store equivalent to an average native speaker of his age. He's adding new phrases and words to his lexis all the time from the sources mentioned above. I sometimes add idioms or proverbs that come to my head: "Every cloud has a silver lining" (no hay mal que por bien no venga). And I repeat them a few times and we talk about what they mean. The 'errors' he makes are either typical for a monolingual native speaker , e.g irregular past tense verbs, superlative adjectives (I noticed this in his older cousin), or he sometimes translates phrases directly from Spanish or Catalan which I pick up on and unlike a year ago I now deal with them overtly and directly such as:
"in English we'd say xxxx ". Remember that due to lower input you need to give some feedback, but never do it in a negative way.

VISIT FROM FAMILY
His 8 year old and 11 year old cousins visited at Easter and he played with them a lot, everything from football, playground activities, toys, Minecraft, watching cartoons together, etc. the extra exposure from children really helps and probably contrast with my more adult imput. He asked me what 'instantly' meant, which his cousin had used. I was surprised as I thought we'd used it but maybe I never do! Thus, multiple inputs are important!

SUMMER
He'll be going to his cousins' primary school in England for the last 4 weeks of the term, which finishes on 23 or 24th July in England. EU children have the right to attend the state schools in the UK. The main handicap for parents is organising acommodation and care of course. the experience itself is unbeatable. Through my school www.advantagelanguages.com we can organise 3 weeks in an English secondary school with accommodation (from 12 years old).

If you have any questions please feel to let me know.

NEW TERM SEPTEMBER 2013 TO NEW YEAR 2014 - 6 years to 6 1/2

RESUMEN: Aquí hago un resumen de los progresos de Marc desde el inicio del nuevo año escolar, septiembre 2013 hasta el año nuevo 2014.  Sigue mejorando sus expresiones en inglés, cada vez más sofisticadas. Ha llegado al nivel 8 de la serie Oxford Reading Tree. Hablo de nuevo sobre la importancia de la lectura y de escribir.
Entre otras cosas, hablo también de como organizar tus horarios para poder pasar suficiente tiempo con el niño.
Y, hablo de unas personas no nativas españolas que están criando sus niños en inglés.

I've noticed a couple of things. First, Marc is thinking in a more mature way, although he's still in the fantasy world of Father Christmas, etc.... He's also become more independent. All signs that he's growing up!
I'm not writing down everything he's saying theses days, mainly because he talks too much! His language development in all 3 languages is normal for a trilingual given the different levels of exposure. He's improving in Spanish through playing with other children. Neither Catalan or Spanish are of concern as he lives in Catalonia! In terms of English he still plays and even counts in English out loud at home with the occasional exclamation in Catalan or sometimes Spanish!
The errors in all 3 languages are 'normal' for trilinguals with direct translations being the most common.
 In English he uses phrasal verbs perfectly and has incorporated idioms and sayings into his speech: "Daddy, I beat you by the skin of my teeth." (por los pelos). As mentioned in previous blogs he picks up phrases from the televisión. From "Miranda" on the BBC he Heard the phrase to "Let the cat out of the bag" (descubrir el pastel), and tonight he spontaneously used it, although not exactly right. So, what I do now is explain new words or phrases as any teacher or some parents would. Also, notice in the video below the way he says the Word "Wall" which reminds him of the idiom, "and the writing's on the wall for Daddy" (señal de advertencia).

We still try and watch TV only in English when he's at home. He still likes Boomerang, so I'm suffering Scare School, The Pink Panther and Tom and Jerry (not much speaking though), and Scooby Doo. We've tried other channels but he knows what he wants for his age!

I've been working through the Oxford Reading Tree series, and this week he completed the last book of Level 7, and has moved onto Level 8. It's interesting to compare Stage 1+ with Stage 8. They still have large pictures but now have more text and a smaller Font ( see below).

The important thing is to be consistent and to have a goal. In the end he's been reading a book every 2 weeks. I also read books to him: e.g The Mister Men and Geronimo Stilton. In these cases I try and get him to read a word or two per page.
I've had a very heavy work schedule so finding time to be with him has been hard. However, I always try to build in time with him at least once a day for several hours or more. And much more at the weekends. If you can find things that you both like doing together then it's easy: e.g. a sport or hobby.
It can be an effort sometimes but the rewards for your child are enormous. What doesn't work though is the absent parent or the silent one. Since they need language contact you have to speak!


I have received emails from parents, some of whom are not native speakers asking for advice. Please send me an email if you need help! This month I met a mother (R.P) who is Spanish with a post Proficiency level of English who has successfully brought up her daughter (4) speaking English. And in fact we had the opportunity to meet and for the children to play together, which they did 100% in English. The girl speaks fluently and with a Spanish accent. This is natural and in fact the vast  majority of children with a native speaking parent also speak with the dominant language accent. So, don't be put off by imperfections. See it as learning a foreign language and not as trying to imitate a native speaker.   It's an amazing gift that you are giving the child. I would recommend that parents have at least a proficiency level of English and to keep improving their English as much as possible!
I've spoken about the cultural references of the heritage language: English in this case, and the links to the 'mother' country. This is obvioulsy not the case if you are Spanish. However, since language often has cultural references it can be  useful to teach children something about the country: e.g. The UK, Ireland, the USA, etc...
For example, in Autumn children have fights using chestnuts on strings, called "conkers", so Conker fights. This is one way of passing on the associated vocabulary and customs of a country. Here's a video showing Marc beating me! He's also wearing an English rugby top, further reinforcing the connection with the language country. Even if you're Spanish you could try this!

 

 

Marc has been accepted at this cousin's school in England again for 4 weeks from the end of June. Find out how they can learn more natural English abroad in my next post.