My eldest was 2 when we arrived here, and he had some kind of English "teaching" from the age of 4 - I use the word loosely, as although he did have some lessons from different teachers, it was often just me (& I'm hardly patient!) Like lots of boys it was at times an uphill struggle to get him to read anything but the Beano, but he's now 11 and following the "KS" English workbooks for 11-14 yr olds, he's steaming through the 7th Harry Potter at the moment too. Much as I'm keen for him to carry on I'm well aware he probably won't have time when his workload increases as he starts college next year, so I think what he has learnt so far has been time well spent - his spelling is OK, grammar & punctuation good, and reading is great.
Youngest is 4 and much more keen to learn than his older brother ever was!
If they're interested and eager, why would you not encourage that?
As a mother and EFL teacher, I'd say go for it. Just remember to ensure that he understands what he's reading. I had a boy once whose mother said he was on Level 6 of the Oxford Reading Tree, and sure enough he was, for reading, but he wasn't understanding what he was reading, so he was put back to Level 2. It was obvious that he enjoyed this level much more as he was actually understanding what he was reading! And sure enough, he then went on in leaps and bounds! Good luck!
Trust me they sort it all out. Be sure to always speak English at home. Make it an English stronghold. They absorb the French so easily and most of the time my boys speak French between them.
Hi, I moved to Herault back in July last year and my eldest started CP in September and the youngest Moyenne Section. The eldest had already completed Reception year in England and was able to read at a good basic level before coming to France. It has certainly helped him transfer into reading French albeit he can sometimes get confused with sounds - but to be honest he had the same problem with phonetic and sight words in England. The youngest had no real interest in learning reading or writing in the UK but has progressed well at Moyenne Section and is able to recognise letters and numbers and write his name now. I have continued to get my eldest son to read in English and French at bedtime and the youngest is currently happy to listen to both languages. I have brought over all the old Phonics workbooks and flashcards but I wanted to give the youngest a bit of time to adjust before starting to go through them with him. I agree that it is important that they continue to be able to progress in reading and writing in both languages. After all one of my main reasons for coming here was for the boys to learn two languages. Although some of the english mothers have said it can wait until they are in secondary school, it seems a long time to hold them back if it is their first language. At the end of the day, everything they learn is a bonus. I will probably continue to worry about everything they do or dont learn but they seem happy and thats the main thing!!
My kids were both born here but I discussed this with the teacher in GS when they were in her class and here advice was to go for it then. Her opinion was that if it happens simultaneously in both languages then it is seen by the child as normal, if you wait till they are older then it becomes a chore for them and they are not so keen.
Our son Daniel was thrown in to the grade three equivalent, and the first year I was constantly worried how he would integrate, but like you I feel sink or swim is the way to go in France. It was tough, and three hours of homework each night was daunting but now Daniel reaches toward the top of the class with a B average just one year in. My daughter is straight A's although her grammar is questionable but still tests very well.
When I researched other families who moved to France, the common consensus was why move to France if you want to educate your kids in English. Take advantage of the free French education and if you speak English at home, they will continue learning from you. We discuss every French lesson in English, research on the internet to clarify a concept and Daniel naturally translates everything in his head. It really is remarkable how children learn.
The first year of school, both my children had tutors in class for a couple hours each day that was provided by the school but very quickly it was not necessary.
hi Corinne, my girls are learning to read in English, i'm using the oxford learning tree phonics system. Jasmine is 3 and a half and is picking up the phonics well. i've been reading to her in French and English but probably 90% English as the focus at school will be French. I'd say go for it, their capacity to learn is huge and Jasmine doesn't seem confused, she simply just absorbs it like a sponge as i'm sure your little lad will do too. Good luck and have fun. I'm the one who finds it tricky getting my j and g phonics right in both languages!
Wow, thank you so much for all your valuable feedback every one. You have reassured me to continue to do what I thought was the right thing. David, unfortunately there aren't any bi-lingual schools near us, that would have been ideal. I think you are right Michelle about setting the foundations for English reading at this stage, as he's ready for it, and once he starts CP and has French homework, there really won't be time for the work that needs to be done to learn to read in English. We've got 20 months now to get it to a good level before Christian starts his "Dagobert" (or whatever the book will be then). Hopefully, he will enjoy learning to read, and be able separate French and English as well as Hollie does.
Children are sponges, and whatever you throw at them, they will absorb it. Angelina was only 5 when we came here, had finished Kindergarten in Canada and had a basic understanding of reading in English. When we arrived in France her French was almost nil, but the class only starts to read in CP so along with her fellow students she learned. Now she reads fluently in both languages. She doesn't get confused. Somehow they can switch back and forth.
Studies show the later you teach them to read the better, but I could not do it. Both my kids wanted to figure out the words of the stories we read to them, early on. I say let the child lead. If he's ready, start teaching him. In many ways I am grateful the children have a basic understanding of English from Canada as currently I am helping them with their French homework after schools and have no time for extra English work.
My daughters came here aged 6 and 8. The older is Down Syndrome as well. They are used to have other languages around them, and having lived in Wales had been learning that anyway. Now both are bilingual, although the older has equal language difficulties in both languages. The younger read, because she wanted, before she was four. She came reading English, went into school and before the first year was over was reading and writing two languages more or less equally. The other with special needs is similarly capable in both.
The younger, now 9, is learning to read Italian and German because one is her mother's mother tongue and the other is my co-language. Writing will come later, harder and with school work perhaps asking too much. Spoken is being added as read progresses.
Like everybody else, I would encourage you to go for it now. The sooner and younger the better. It is a great experience for us as well as them, what those who have language skills are preparing for their future speaks for itself.
Go for it! My 5 daughters all learnt to read in English as soon as they were at all interested (very small as they have always seen me with my nose in a book) and used to go off to Moyenne Section with a book in their schoolbags for private reading. They were reading shop fronts etc out loud before that. I didn't teach themto read in both simultaneously but they didn't seem to have any trouble transferring their skills to French & went into GS reading in both languages. I did have to have a 'little chat' with the teacher of one of them who thought I was "turning them into circus animals" but once that was sorted (involved reading a hitherto unseen book - the teacher had claimed they couldn't read but memorised & recited!!) there was no problem at all. Now they all still read voraciously in both.
We have enrolled our children (6 and 4) in a bilingual school, and my eldest is starting to read. They are teaching the children to read in French, mostly I think because the majority of the students are French not from bilingual families. We have been encouraging her to read in French, and when she tries to read something in Enlish I take the opportunity to teach her some of the phonic differences....
I'm no expert, but I would imagine that much the same as learning to speak both languages doesn't confuse children most of the time, learning to read in both languages shouldn't be too tough either. For the most part though, we're trying to let her go at her own pace and giving her opportunities to read in both languages.