Anonymous wrote:I am looking at two possible language immersion schools for my children. I am concerned, however, that they are too old to start this program. They are 9 and 8. Will they be completely lost? Do you really need to start these programs out in the really early grades?

Do they speak a foreign language?

Anonymous wrote: "Children want to do it" should come first.

Agreed. 8 and 9 is old enough to express either a) anxieties about switching schools and taking on language or b) excitement about doing something perhaps their friends are doing. Switching schools can be either a good thing or a stressful thing depending on each of your children. It's not unusual for one child to do a lot better in immersion than another. At our school there are a couple of siblings a year who leave for English only schools while siblings who enjoy immersion stay. Sometimes this is due to stress from standardized testing. Some kids are more easily overwhelmed than others.

Be very, very cautious.

Anonymous wrote:How do they know what they want.

You are kidding, right ?

How do they know what they want.

Anonymous wrote:At ages 8 and 9 (that must be 2nd & 3rd or 3rd & 4th) I would only do this if:

A) the school could assure me that they have had students do this and everything was fine (by which I mean both academic and social considerations).

B) I could speak with one or more families who have actually entered at a later grade (and if they can't give out contact info, then they could give out my contact info and ask a couple of parents to call me and make themselves available).

C) I could spare the resources to hire a tutor for the first few months, if not the first whole year, in order to give my children extra support outside of school.

D) If it didn't work out, I had a way to get them into a good regular English-speaking/non-immersion school.

F) The children wanted to do it.

.

"Children want to do it" should come first.

At ages 8 and 9 (that must be 2nd & 3rd or 3rd & 4th) I would only do this if:

A) the school could assure me that they have had students do this and everything was fine (by which I mean both academic and social considerations).

B) I could speak with one or more families who have actually entered at a later grade (and if they can't give out contact info, then they could give out my contact info and ask a couple of parents to call me and make themselves available).

C) I could spare the resources to hire a tutor for the first few months, if not the first whole year, in order to give my children extra support outside of school.

D) If it didn't work out, I had a way to get them into a good regular English-speaking/non-immersion school.

F) The children wanted to do it.

That's just me, though, and I could be over-thinking it. I know children at that age still learn languages much more easily than adults. Children come here from overseas, and have to pick up the language through ESL, and still come out fine. You're asking questions in advance, so you're clearly not the type to let your children flounder and fail.

I second the advice to not do this and look for alternative ways to provide solid foreign language foundations. There are plenty of other proven models for second language acquisition. Immersion is just one of them. And most of these immersion schools are indeed premised on the idea that you co-acquire one or several other languages while the young brain is absorbing the first one. Your situation is that of a second language acquisition, which is also a great way to learn languages. especially that young.
Don't get me wrong, it's not like they won't learn it. Plenty of kids migrate to wholly different parts of the planet at that age and do just fine. But that's a different story. The counter-factual here is that if you do opt to mimic such a situation, you will need to be given the equivalent of language support an immigrant English Language Learner is provided with when entering a regular public school, and that's a lot.

Anonymous wrote:Don't do it unless your children, and you, are prodigies who pick up languages easily. They will be hugely behind other kids who started at age 5 or younger. The teachers in foreign language will not translate for them. They will assume the child already knows the basics of the target language and the extensive vocabulary that comes from speaking the language with other fluent speakers every day. They can't slow down for your kids. It takes at least 4-7 years of dual immersion, or 2-3 years of full immersion/no English, to gain effective fluency.

Any school that says your kids will be perfectly fine starting that late is being irresponsible. If they have a lot of monolingual kids starting from scratch that late, then it is questionable how effective the school is at producing bilingual and bi-literate students.

There are many ways to enrich your children with the benefits of learning a language like camps, tutors, and weekend classes. You don't need to throw them into the deep end.

HTH

I agree with this. If you children are truly dedicated and interested, they may do well. My son started in the 1st grade at age 6 and it was a challenge, particularly since his classmates had a least a full year of language immersion over him. He is in the 6th grade now and conversant but not fluent. We have had to supplement both his English and Spanish with tutors. I don't regret our decisions but if the option were to start him a year later in 2nd grade, I would not have done it.

9 years old is not too late to enter a bilingual program. I know several kids who enter bilingual programs that "late" or later and they are doing well. But it really depends on what the school has to offer them and the kid's motivation because they will have to work harder to catch up.

Don't do it unless your children, and you, are prodigies who pick up languages easily. They will be hugely behind other kids who started at age 5 or younger. The teachers in foreign language will not translate for them. They will assume the child already knows the basics of the target language and the extensive vocabulary that comes from speaking the language with other fluent speakers every day. They can't slow down for your kids. It takes at least 4-7 years of dual immersion, or 2-3 years of full immersion/no English, to gain effective fluency.

Any school that says your kids will be perfectly fine starting that late is being irresponsible. If they have a lot of monolingual kids starting from scratch that late, then it is questionable how effective the school is at producing bilingual and bi-literate students.

There are many ways to enrich your children with the benefits of learning a language like camps, tutors, and weekend classes. You don't need to throw them into the deep end.

HTH

Anonymous wrote:YY will not take anyone beyond 2nd grade. Forget this one.

Stop it, please. Yes, YY is a popular school, but that's not what the OP asked.

OP, I would talk with the schools you're interested in, and ask them about the success that other children have had entering in later grades. I'm guessing that you're talking about moving IB for Oyster, and wondering how well it will work out? Talk to the schools in each case, every one is different.

YY will not take anyone beyond 2nd grade. Forget this one.

What do each of the schools you're looking at say about pros and cons of entry in those grades? What do they each offer to support late starters? I don't think anyone can answer your question but you and the schools, given what you know about your kids and they know about their curriculum and how other kids entering at those grades do/how they're supported.

What do the school staff tell you?

I am looking at two possible language immersion schools for my children. I am concerned, however, that they are too old to start this program. They are 9 and 8. Will they be completely lost? Do you really need to start these programs out in the really early grades?