Is it worth sending my child abroad for a year? Vale la pena enviar a mi hijo al extranjero por un año?

Muchos padres se preguntan si vale la pena el coste de un año académico en el extranjero para mejorar su inglés u otro idioma extranjero.
A continuación os explico las ventajas e inconvenientes justo en el momento cuando mi hijo va a pasar un año académico en Inglaterra.

Many parents wonder if it's worth the cost to send their children abroad for a year to improve their language level. In this posst, I'll explain the pros and cons to help you make up your mind.

For children who are already bilingual English speakers with a native-speaker parent. 
In Marc's case, he's already a bilingual native English- Catalan speaker, and the aim is three-fold:
1) Consolidate his English knowledge and push it even further by studying all the subjects in English in an English school.
2) Get a deeper knowledge of his father's culture and that of his relatives in England.
3) Get a feeling of independence and  experience living in another country and meeting people from different countries. He'll also get to spend time with his grandmother and his cousins' family.

There is often a difference in the level obtained by children being raised in English or other languages by a minority language parent. If the child hasn't obtained a mastery of the language, then point 1 above is going to be just as important as point 2, and could be a turning-point in  the child's language mastery.

For children of non-native parents

The main objective is going to be point 1 above, and there is no better substitute to living and studying abroad to greatly improve a child's language level.
It should be taken into account that a minimum level is required to avoid frustration, and that should be  First Certificate B2.2. Anything above this level is much better for the experience to be more enjoyable and satisfactory.

Getting the child to a C1 Advanced level before sending them abroad should be a motivator for both the child and the parents.

The other points will also apply. Experiencing a new culture first-hand and becoming independent for a year are priceless and will have a lasting effect on them.

I'd defintely recommend the full year so that the child can get the feeling of becoming part of the school community and the language development is obviously going to be greater.

 If you're not sure if your child would do a full year, a single term might be a change to try it out, and is better than nothing.

En resumen, un año fuera no tiene precio a la hora de mejorar su nivel de inglés, pero, es siempre mejor tener un nivel C1 Advanced ó más antes de irse para poder aprovechar de la experiencia y así evitar frustraciones. Sin recomendaría un año escolar por encima de un trimestre para que se note mejor la diferencia de nivel. Además, el niño tiene la oportunidad de sentirse parte de la comunidad de la escuela. Un trimestre podría ser como una prueba. Si va bien, pues, la próxima vez podría hacer todo el año. Aunque, si el niño realmente no quiere pasar tanto tiempo fuera, es mejor no obligarle.

So, the million dollar question is; is it worth the cost? We''re talking about a boarding school in the UK here. If you can afford it, it's really a no-brainer. Hopefully, the child will also agree!!

There are cheaper options, which I'll discuss in a future blog.

(12 years old) August 2019. Does your child use these phrases?

Marc was 12 back in May and his language becomes more adult-like all the time with extremely native phrases. Many of these sources are from youtubers and gamers, and Star Wars probably! I don't remember  using a lot of these. So, make sure their input is rich and varied.
There is a massive difference between the language of a native and a non-native speaker child.

There's no way I could've passed on these type of phrases to my son if I'd tried to do this in Spanish.

Has your bilingual child used any of these phrases?


he gets really cranky!   
What a conundrum, 
I'm in a bit of pickle .... bamboozled (he liked this new phrase)
 This chicken isn't as good, not by a long shot 
Gave her a run for her money. 
Stop rubbing it in my face 
Growley (our cat) is smelling the bag like there's no tomorrow.

Bet "U dude perfect" (a youtuber) has made a video with those ... 
I cant wait to sink my teeth into this chicken. 

heed my warning 
I'm over the moon  

touch wood this place won't go on fire.  
regarding your high heels,  you are too tall for your midget body 
I'm just double checking. 
ok, kill 2 birds with one stone 
I'm in a real pickle  
I gobbled up my sandwich  
He got screen captures of the wins 
I slept in till 10 
I had like a Red tinge in my eye.  
A piece of cake 
You are all old and cranky (talking about myself and his mum)

You can still get earth Vader and stuff 
Search up on Internet  (an American preposition in this case)
General Grievous is incredibly buggy 
Guess I'm pretty good at my job, huh? 
If you tikle me I'm going to shriek and probably break a window  
The rollercoasters really take it out of you 
Ouch. I stubbed my foot  
A wee bit (of food) 

Joke

Mum,  why did u buy me 2 left shoes? Because you've got 2 left feet 

What's the secret?

You can only start using these phrases if you're getting rich input. That means feeding in words and phrases yourself when they occur to you and then repeating them. Also, get them to watch English-language films and programmes as much as possible and youtubers in English as well.