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Kid's language + school transition

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jsrose
  1/5/2018 16:49 EST

Hi All--

We are preparing to move to Argentina in late summer/early fall. We have a 10-year-old and a 5-year-old. This question pertains more to the 10-year-old.

His mother (my wife) is Argentinian. As such, our son understands Spanish *pretty* well, but speaks not so well.

We're trying to figure out the transition. Put him into an Argentinian school right off the bat, and support him in that difficult transition as much as possible?

Or, have him do, say, a year of online classes through a U.S. school, while he also takes Spanish classes and gets stronger in the language, preparing him to transition to an Argentinian school maybe a year later?

Or, we could see if some school might accommodate us to manage some hybrid version (e.g. half-day at school, half-day at home).

Thoughts/experiences welcome!

Thanks!!

P.S. We'll be in the Patagonia, so no access to American schools such that BsAs might offer...

elhombresinnombre
  1/7/2018 22:17 EST

Which part of Patagonia? There's a lot of it about - it's much bigger than Texas! Many years ago and for a very, very brief time, I taught in a bilingual school in Rio Gallegos. The concept of the school was that, to comply with the laws that the Argentine curriculum should be taught in Spanish, they taught the Argentine curriculum in the mornings and the English curriculum in the afternoons. It made for a very long school day and the customers were as far as I could tell, Argentine parents who wanted their youngsters to grow up fluent in English but I can't see why that wouldn't work the other way around.

I'm not familiar with the laws about home schooling nor how English-speaking-only schools fit into the legal framework but as I understand it Spanish-speaking-only schools delivering the Argentine curriculum can be found in the public sector, which are free, as faith schools which tend to charge a moderate fee and private schools which charge what you would expect private schools to charge.

Enjoy Patagonia!

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jsrose
  1/7/2018 23:25 EST

Thanks hombre (sin nombre)!!

Nersi
  1/22/2018 10:42 EST

It is a lot simpler than that! Register your child in a bilingual school, which Argentina has plenty of (don't know where in ARG you are moving though), but your kid will need to listen and speak the language the minute he gets there, and he'll learn it even without understanding it. The ability of kids to pick up languages is unimaginable to us. I picked up English when my folks moved me and my brothers to South Africa. We had no previous training, and I was fluent with English in only 6 months. I was 18 at the time, and they did not send me to an English/Spanish school. The school was bilingual alright, but it was English/Afrikaans instead.
I was invaded by the language, first at school hearing all of my classmates trying desperately to communicate with me, as the only foreign in the classroom and the entire school. My desperation to respond back helped me to memorize and understand each word the second I hear them. Information was just entering my brain and staying there. Living in the country, English entered our brains by hearing it, watching it, listening it and smelling it. In the street, at school, in TV, in the radio, in the air. It just entered through our pores and even my mom learnt it without need to take lessons. Late in life, I moved to Austria where people spoke only German and they would not make the slightest effort to speak English for me. German is quite different from English and a a lot harder. I was speaking it already only a few months after I arrived. I also speak Portuguese, Italian and some French. Your kids will learn really fast on their own. Good luck!

jsrose
  1/22/2018 12:07 EST

This is so thoughtful and encouraging! Really appreciate you reaching out and sharing your experiences.

We will be in a small town--San Martin de los Andes--so there is no bilingual school.

We are leaning toward home schooling for the first six months or so, and then easing him into a local school once the Spanish has kicked in.

Thanks again for your thoughtful response!!

Nersi
  1/22/2018 14:14 EST

Dear jerome: My husband and I were in SMDLA a year ago. We absolutely loved it because we noticed that children live very happy there, and they are free and safe a birds. They play in parks on the grass, climbing trees and with their dogs, as we did in the old days. They're not stuck up in their bedrooms, isolating themselves from their parents and siblings with their smart phones. Children there live their lives very happy and that's the place where we would also choose to go'n live if we had kids. It is true, there are no bilingual schools there, but they'll learn it all alone just by playing with other kids. I guarantee you that! We wanted so badly to go to live there, but provinces outside Buenos Aires, have extremely poor internet service, and my husband and I both work from home and without good internet service, we can't work. The most people get there are 2 Mbs, and if anyone else wants 4 to 5 Mbs the local company charges up to U$D400. They are out of their minds. There's only one internet provider, and that's all you get. So, we have no other choice than to move to Buenos Aires.
I wish you, your husband and kids a lovely life. I now know you will all be happy there. You'll truly enjoy living a safe life, and make lots of good, honest friends, plus, eat the best meat in the world. Congratulations! And remember... let the children be free and play with the others. Don't worry about the language. Children have their own language. You remember, right?

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jsrose
  1/22/2018 14:40 EST

Check it out again! SMA is getting FIBER service very soon covering a big portion of downtown. We were there about a month ago, and even regular high speed internet wasn't bad, honest! My SMA mother-in-law doesn't pay nearly $400/mo!

I love the beautiful image you paint of the kids playing. This is our vision. This is the way my wife actually grew up there. When it was even wilder!!!

Nersi
  1/23/2018 18:55 EST

I sent you a private message last night. Did you get it?

SaintJohn
  1/24/2018 04:19 EST

Not received.

pampas
  1/27/2018 06:37 EST

yes, sorry what would you like me to reply? very interesting. I am bilingual.

pampas
  1/27/2018 06:37 EST

yes, sorry what would you like me to reply? very interesting. I am bilingual.

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