Schools- English or Spanish speaking?

[Bostonfam]

Hi,
Just wanted to get some advice on how people have dealt with the language barrier. I speak Spanish fairly well, so I'm not worried about myself, but if we move to BA, I'd want my kids to be able to pick up the language and speak fluently within year or two (my kids are ages 1.5 and 3), but I'm worried about sending my oldest to a fully Spanish-speaking preschool when he has no knowledge of the language. I'd love some advice or to hear abour your personal experiences with this. Thanks!

 

[fifs2]

Hi,
Just wanted to get some advice on how people have dealt with the language barrier. I speak Spanish fairly well, so I'm not worried about myself, but if we move to BA, I'd want my kids to be able to pick up the language and speak fluently within year or two (my kids are ages 1.5 and 3), but I'm worried about sending my oldest to a fully Spanish-speaking preschool when he has no knowledge of the language. I'd love some advice or to hear abour your personal experiences with this. Thanks!

Oh please don't worry about this as we deliberately chose a Spanish only pre-school environment for our boys and they thrived. We are English and Swedish speaking parents but wanted full immersion from an early age and it has sooooo benefited the boys. The eldest is 8 and is on an academic par with his Spanish school friends whilst being far ahead in English. We never regretted our choice. The children are so loved and well treated in pre-school in Bsas and they will be fluent in less than a year I promise you, especially the older one!

 

[BAny2010]

Hi,
Just wanted to get some advice on how people have dealt with the language barrier. I speak Spanish fairly well, so I'm not worried about myself, but if we move to BA, I'd want my kids to be able to pick up the language and speak fluently within year or two (my kids are ages 1.5 and 3), but I'm worried about sending my oldest to a fully Spanish-speaking preschool when he has no knowledge of the language. I'd love some advice or to hear abour your personal experiences with this. Thanks!

We chose bilingual schools for our daughters and it's worked out great. My older daughter was 3 when we arrived (and had no Spanish) so it allowed her some level of comfort as she acclimated. She quickly picked up Spanish simply from playing with her classmates and from her extracurricular classes (ballet, swim) which were in Spanish. She's now fluent (1.5 years later) but we still have her in a bilingual school as it is important for us that both languages are taught and developed.

 

[Bostonfam]

Thanks for your responses! BAny2010, what schools did/do your daughters attend? And, what area of BA do you live in? We have the opportunity to move there and I just want to get a feel for what neighborhoods and schools are best for families. Thanks!

 

[cbonanni]

All of my wife's friends who have children in school attend bilingual schools. Many of them at young ages speak english quite well. There is even a very good french school here. From my perspective a bi lingual school should work out just fine for you and the kids. Or as fifs says above an all spanish school. I am sure they will pick up spanish very quickly.

Good Luck !!

 

[Vagrant Violet]

Hi! I don't have any children yet (well... one on the way!), but I have worked with diverse second language learning populations with a huge range of ages (and in some cases, special needs). Right now, I am employed with an international bilingual school (both English and Spanish are equally emphasized), but there are also several other nationalities and languages represented (Taiwan, Brazil, South Korea, Israel, and Switzerland just to name a few).

Some of the students come into this school system with little or no knowledge of either language, but because the school's environment is so "safe" (in the sense that they take a strong stance on bullying and emphasize the kids' taking pride in all their abilities, academic or otherwise), I've seen students come out soon after with 3+ languages as a result. Keeping in mind that the group of kids that I work with in particular are between 11-14 years old, I know it's not an exact comparison, I can still say that the younger a child is introduced to a target language, the better, but it is never too late to get anyone started on a second language! Honestly, I started learning Spanish as my second language a little later (13 years old) in a really superficial, non-authentic way, and although I've always loved it, I really lament that I never had exposure to it at a young age.

Especially if you are dealing with very small kids like yours (around 1.5 - 3 years as you mentioned), if a language or any new material is introduced in a fun way (in which they feel more like they are playing and laughing and enjoying themselves), this is really a great time in their lives to acquire (not "learn") the language naturally. Totally invaluable!

Since Spanish is probably not spoken in your home, I would strongly recommend a full-immersion situation in Spanish. The most important thing to look for (in my opinion) is that the staff at the school is kind, nurturing, and fun. If you and the kids are comfortable, it's a strong recipe for linguistic success.

Best of luck!!!

 

[bettyr]

I will be moving to Buenos Aires and am looking for a school for my 11 year old. Can you tell me the name of the school where you work? Sounds great. Thanks