age

Age

The younger a child is, the easier it will be for them to adapt to a different environment and pick up the language. However, at any age, a child can find being thrown into a classroom where he doesn't understand the language a disorientating experience. If your child has a tendency to be aggressive or introverted, these tendencies could initially be accentuated by the frustration or embarrassment of not being able to make him or herself understood, or not understanding what is expected of them. There is an adaptation period for all children, during which you should expect slow academic progress. This period may range from a few months to a year depending on the child, but obviously, the older the child, the longer this period is likely to be. However, this in itself should not be a deterrent to introducing children into a Spanish school at primary level, as there is ample time for them to adjust and adapt.

At secondary age the process is more difficult. Firstly your child is coping with the normal issues of adolescence, which may not be helped by such an upheaval. They may resent being taken away from the friends who provide their moral support at home. If this is the case, they are more likely to cling to other English children at school and less likely to integrate. Also in terms of education, they are being introduced into a fairly intensive academic system that is new to them in terms of its organisation as well as its language. Children will be expected to keep up with studies in a range of subjects with less support from teachers. Most children in this situation are placed in a year below that corresponding to their age for good academic reasons. Some English secondary children refuse to speak Spanish at school out of embarrassment or defiance, but their problems may well not be understood by school staff. As a general rule, it is very ill-advised to place an English teen into the Spanish system "cold". However, there are a number of ways around this problem if you are moving to Spain with secondary age children.

Firstly you should obtain a Spanish language tutor for your child in your home country for as long as possible before you intend to move. A year would be a minimum to give a child some grounding in the language. Your child should be taught not only the language itself, but should be introduced to subjects such as Science and Maths as they are taught in Spain , since many techniques and ways of calculating are very different. Also, the level of these subjects is often higher than the equivalent level in Britain , which is another reason why your child may be put down a year on arrival in Spain . After such a period of study, you would be well advised to obtain some sort of objective assessment from a Spanish national with a professional or academic background of your child's progress and likely ability to cope at the level which will be expected.

Another way around the problem, depending on your economic situation, is to place your teenage child in a private international or bilingual school for at least their first year in Spain to give them a kind of half-way house experience, before going totally into the Spanish system. There are many such schools in Spain , particularly along the Mediterranean coast, each with their own philosophy and educational methods. Again, you need to research these, visit them and judge for yourself their appropriateness for your own child. On an economic level, bear in mind that apart from tuition fees, you will also have to pay for school uniforms, text books, lunches, transport as well as extra-curricular activities, school trips and so on, so be absolutely sure what the full financial commitment is likely to be as you may not be given all these details immediately.

Many English-speaking parents rely on their children to learn Spanish without making the effort themselves. In fact parents need to learn Spanish in order to help with their children's homework as well as to communicate with the school.

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