alicet

Hello people

Since no recent posts on education thought I'd start one.

Moved in the summer with 2 boys aged 7 and 10 having some major doubts in relation to education. The oldest fits the french norm for good student (hardworking, good at maths etc) and is picking up french fine with help of extra lessons both in school and home. I wouldn't exactly say he's happy with school though, he finds it "boring" - I think he means one dimensional - which is a worry because he loved school in England.

Small one is totally different ballgame, he has an Irlam's (sight Dyslexia) diagnosis in UK which no one seems to understand here, he may have other dyslexic tendencies (no concentration), but this has definitely materialised more since we got here and could be to do with too many hours spent sitting down and looking at words and/or bad lighting (one of the issues for Irlam's kids). He's a kid that learns by doing, which seems like a concept remote in the French education system. He loved school in England too, even though he had the same problems with the written word there, here he really does not love school and I worry that he is being turned off at such a young age.

Any way he's not really getting on very fast in French (he also has extra classes), can't remember stuff from one day to the next and not keen on talking. The orthophoniste appears to be the proposed solution for such issues here. I am wondering if anyone has tried to access an orthophoniste with a kid who hardly speaks French? seems a bit of a vicious circle - kid having difficulty learning french as a coincidence with dyslexia, needs to see orthophoniste but can't understand said orthophoniste.... don't want to send him into more de-motivating (for him) hours of sitting in a room looking at words if not helpful. Any experiences good, bad or indifferent of dealing with such type of kid in french system gratefully received.

Also info on the whole orthophoniste thing (what do they do exactly? and how do you choose a good one?).

dmu

Hi, I'm not clever at posting links to forum threads, so do a forum search for "orthophoniste", and the other two threads which come up will be of interest.
The shorter one has a post explaining how to get reimbursable sessions which I presume is still applicable. If the Specialist or no one at the school (other parents, teachers) can recommend one in your area, get a list from the Pages Jaunes and ask for a trial session with a couple of the nearest ones before you decide.
I would also consider changing to an Ecole Primaire Privée - the long hours in the classroom are the same, but the classes are smaller.
A more radical solution would be to return to the UK, but this depends of course on your professional circumstances.
Good luck!

melbatb

My two both went - and neither of them were good French speakers at the time! Between them they went for a total of 7 years and both loved it as there was a lot of learning through doing. Mine both went because they were late speakers.

Mine are also both at a local private Catholic school. They both love school but have never been to an English school to compare it to! The classes are not necessarily smaller (though this year my daughter is in a class of 20) but we like it.

Try the orthophoniste - all 3 my children have had have been great.

alicet

Thanks for help both, we are looking at private school for both kids next year and will try the orthophoniste as a trial and see how we go... I haven't ruled out the radical option of returning to UK either but would like to give it a bit longer and exhaust all other options here first.