Were you happy with your child's foreign language acquisition at Big 3 in elementary?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, my point is that the average DC parent who can afford to shell out 45-50K a year for their child's education is likely expecting a very rigorous and well rounded education is all areas: writing ( expository, creative and research ), history ( 9 years of full year course work from 4th grade to include: European, ME, African, Meso- American, Asian, the last 4 years of it all AP/ Honors), high level math and science with strong programs beginning in KDG, computer science, ethics, classics and foreign language.

And, if after 14 years of that, their DC's grammar in French isn't equal to a Po applicant from Paris, then well use a computer program to proof read their written French applications or their Spanish

But I would think such parents who for some romantic reason want their child to read, write and speak as if they are a native speaker- so much so that they are willing to sacrifice much of the above education ( foreign immersion schools have much slimmer applicant pool and they have to get VISAS for them ) they should at least go into it knowing that the accent they are paying 500K over 14 years to obtain is probably going to result in their kid sounding like " the help" to a well educated Spaniard or French gate keeper at desired future employer

IF they even attain the fluency, which no one can predict in a 4 year old Pre-K applicant

But go right ahead, its your money and your kid's childhood

OMG, the pearl clutching! Immersion schools are also competent in areas of instruction other than just the language. It's not an either/or. The IB program is rigorous and produces highly qualified students. And, yes, if you put a 4 yo in an immersion program for 14 years, you can certainly predict that they will be fluent by the end of the process. You clearly know nothing about these schools, and seem highly insecure about your own personal choices. "Probably going to result in their kid sounding like "the help" - WTAF? If they are American and fluent in a language other than English, I bet the future employer would be impressed, regardless of accent --- based on the fact that Americans are well known monolinguists.

[Anonymous]

I have a number of friends whose kids attend the Argentine School on Saturdays. It is pretty rigorous. My kids have attended two private elementary schools and I have a number of friends with kids at different private schools. I can definitely say that private elementary schools generally don't do a good job with teaching Spanish with the exception of WIS or the like where language is the focus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, my point is that the average DC parent who can afford to shell out 45-50K a year for their child's education is likely expecting a very rigorous and well rounded education is all areas: writing ( expository, creative and research ), history ( 9 years of full year course work from 4th grade to include: European, ME, African, Meso- American, Asian, the last 4 years of it all AP/ Honors), high level math and science with strong programs beginning in KDG, computer science, ethics, classics and foreign language.

And, if after 14 years of that, their DC's grammar in French isn't equal to a Po applicant from Paris, then well use a computer program to proof read their written French applications or their Spanish

But I would think such parents who for some romantic reason want their child to read, write and speak as if they are a native speaker- so much so that they are willing to sacrifice much of the above education ( foreign immersion schools have much slimmer applicant pool and they have to get VISAS for them ) they should at least go into it knowing that the accent they are paying 500K over 14 years to obtain is probably going to result in their kid sounding like " the help" to a well educated Spaniard or French gate keeper at desired future employer

IF they even attain the fluency, which no one can predict in a 4 year old Pre-K applicant

But go right ahead, its your money and your kid's childhood

My kids are postgrad students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you expect your child to become fluent with 1-2 hours of language instruction?

My kids are trilingual and “learn” Spanish at school (at a big 3). They can say a few words and understand a lot in Spanish because their other languages are also Latin languages, but they are not fluent in Spanish at all.

On the other hand, they are 100% fluent in mom’s language and almost fluent in dad’s. I only speak in my native language to them and they speak to grandparents in tht language too. My older girls often speak my native language among themselves too (maybe 50% of the time English and 50% of the time my native language). They never went to school to learn it and never took classes. We spend a lot of time in my home country and that helps

The issue becomes whether or not they are literate in the other languages. My nephew grew up in a Spain with German speaking parents. Naturally he speaks German well. However, my husband says that when the nephew writes to him in German, the nephew's grammar and spelling is awful. I struck the same thing learning French at university. The kids with French parents had great listening comprehension but the professor was aghast that they didn't know the difference between aller, allais, allait, allaient, and allé, which all sound much the same but have very different uses in written passages.

Think, the average 4 year old American kid can speak English very well. They can't read or write in English without instruction though.

First of all, being able to write is not as important as being able to read/speak/understand. My kids are in elementary school (2nd and K). The 2nd grader is above grade level (and above all her classmates) in both reading and math. I am sure she can learn how to write in another language that she speaks perfectly just as I can write in English… it’s not hard once you start reading…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They learn very little. Three families we know with native speakers sent the kids to the Argentine school.

Now, Argentinian Spanish, there's a fine accent. It's much more respected among the upper classes in Europe. And this is an enrichment program on the weekend that is far cheaper than 40 K a year for elementary.

Where?? Everyone knows that Argentines speak awful Spanish. They even say so themselves.