Second Language Schooling
By Suzanne Barron-Hauwaert

First day of school making you nervous?
Start off the year with confidence!

Bilingual families may decide to educate their child in a second language school, either to support one of the parental languages or to give the child a ‘immersion’ into another language. Other families may have no choice due to where they live and the lack of schools in the first language. Parents who are unfamiliar with the second-language school system often und up feeling confused or overwhelmed in the beginning.

In our English-speaking mother and French-speaking father family our two oldest children have been in a French language primary school for the last three years to support their French. As an English parent I was surprised to see how many differences there were and how frustrating it was to not understand teachers and other parents. With time most problems were resolved, with the help of a good dictionary and understanding teachers.

For those parents who are considering putting their children into a school which is run in your second language here are a few tips...

Settling In
Children will need at least 3 to 6 months to adapt to a new language environment.
If your child has come from a monolingual school or environment it might be a shock at first. If the child understands, but does not speak the language, he might appear rude or lazy until he begins to communicate. Children may become very quiet or use aggressive behaviour to get what they want, like grabbing, pushing or screaming for attention. They need gentle coaching on how to ask for things politely, how to ask to go the toilet or for a drink etc. The teacher might be tempted to use the ‘other’ language as a way to communicate, so either write or tell the teacher you want him/her to use only the school language.

Child’s Peer Group
Children like to fit in and lacking language skills can hamper the natural bonding process. A child who cannot express herself enough in the second language can be frustrated and even angry, especially if they like to talk at lot in the first language. Parents can help by inviting children round to play or organise an activity together, giving the children one to one time together. Parents need to explain that the child will find friends in time. When your child does find a friend usually the language use increases dramatically as they chat together.

Curriculum
Most likely the school curriculum will be unfamiliar. Each country has its own way of teaching reading and writing and education is often very different from country to country. Your child could start reading at age four, like in the UK, or it could be around age 6. There might be national testing at age 7 or 11 or not at all. Subjects like art, sports, after-school clubs and activities differ greatly too within national curriculum. Parents need to revise the curriculum and know what is expected of their child and when (most national school programs can be found online).

Homework
When your child is in primary school there will usually be some homework, either reading together or doing some maths, research or writing practice. Parents must decide who does the homework, and if the parent does not understand what the child should do or the homework itself he or she needs to ask for clarification either from another parent or through the teacher. Some parents find homework impossible and employ a student or teacher to coach their child either daily or a few times a week.

Teacher communication
Parents regularly meet with teachers and it is important to have an idea how your child is performing. The teacher will usually write a report beforehand, which parents should take the time to understand and translate if necessary. The teacher can explain more if you are not sure what is being measured. For meetings parents who are not confident speaking in the second language should try to find a translator or a friend who can ask questions on their behalf, and make sure both parties understand what is happening. Messages from the teachers regarding school trips/sport days etc need careful attention so your child does not miss or forget an item for school.

School community
Parents need to feel part of the school, not excluded. One way to be involved is to volunteer your time and help out. Depending on your language skills you might want to join the PTA or simply help out dressing kids for the school show. You can also offer to go on school trips or with sports such as swimming where an extra helper is greatly appreciated by teachers. It’s important to attend school shows too, even if you don’t always understand the songs or words, and tell your child you appreciate their effort to sing or speak in the other language.

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Suzanne Barron-Hauwaert is the author of Language Strategies for Bilingual Families. She is the mother of three English-French speaking children. Their two oldest children, Marc (9) and Nina (7) have spent 3 years in a French school in Malaysia. For more information check out her website: www.opol4us.com

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