This
summer, I'm spending three weeks in France. One (and maybe two) and at a
French immersion school in the Loire Valley. I started learning French
last year, and am excited for the chance to use it in real life instead
of just a classroom.It was a logistical work of art to set the family stage for me to take this trip. As a working mom with three kids, escaping anywhere by myself is a treat, but three weeks in Europe is monumental. I'm not under any illusions that it will happen again soon.
Since I've always wished that someone had spoken a language besides English to me, I asked my French teacher how old French children are when they begin another language in school. She said, around 10, and that it was too late. They should start earlier.
So I did a little research and discovered that actually, 90% of children in Europe have taken another language by the time they are 10. The latest children begin a second language is 13, which is about the time American public schools begin to offer classes more than once a week. Over two-thirds of the European population can read, write, and speak functional English.
In Japan, English is required from sixth grade on, and in China, children are systematically introduced to English in third grade, about age 8 or 9. In most cases, this is not the twice a week elective offered to American students in middle or high school, but a daily class that's at least an hour long.
A second or third language really is a gift that can last a lifetime. What language do you want your child/children to learn? And if you're an au pair, when did you begin to learn another language?
Virginia, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Suffolk, Norfolk,
Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg, nanny, childcare,
babysitter, sitter, live-in, au pair, provider, AuPairCare, nannies, children,
child, kids, multiples, twins, triplets
