jdr

I used to mend them.

It`s cos this [/ was cut off the end quote box on his post.

montgomail

Apologies .... it wasnt you!

jdr

Wrong side of the mountain ?.

reggiedh

Agree 100% with your post. I just don't see how such can happen. While in Spain where did these children go to school? If to a Spanish school how did they only end up speaking in one tense? And if to an English school how can they have no writing skills? From the limited information in the post this really just has has to be put down to bad parenting.

JLFS

I dont know the particular details of this one case, but I can hazard a guess as to how this happens.

As far as I know they went to the local Spanish school, and there would be quite a lot of English kids there, (as well as other nationalities, dont forget) so as the children had friends they could speak to , they dont need to get to know the Spanish children at all, they congregate to what they know, it is much easier.

Also I am sure that as they were so many children from lots of different countries, that the teacher could not manage to "level out the ability of the whole class".

also it is worth remembering that these teachers are not "language" teachers, and they may not have the command of English to be able to explain themselves to the foreign children, even if they did have the time and the inclination.


So faced with that situation I suppose the teacher would look after the majority of the pupils and maybe not bother with the ones who could not understant the lesson.


It is very easy for lazy, disruptive or children that cannot keep up in class to fall by the wayside in the UK where children speak the language, so it is more likely to happen when the child does not understand the language very well.

Also the a lot of parents, dont or cant help their children as their knowledge is very limited, and they dont often sent thier child to a private tutor.

lynnxa

that's exactly what happens

I have even heard kids who have been in the system for some years not really even speak in one tense - yo tener - el hacer & so on

you would think that the system of holding kids back if they fail the year would ring alarm bells for the parents - if their kids are help back at every opportunity - clearly something is wrong

yet I have heard some parents say 'oh well - they always hold the foreign kids back, Sammy told me so - & I know little Sammy can speak perfect Spanish - I hear him every day in the shops '

of course if the parents are using 'little Sammy' to translate for them - as is so often the case - the parents have no idea what is going on

JLFS

We saw a ex colleague of my wife quite recently in the Corte Ingles.

We remember that they were planning to live in Spain about 9 or 10 years ago (they had a 13ish year old boy at the time).

The couple planned well for their move to Spain, and part of that was Spanish lessons, according to my wife they used to have little conversations in work when they bumped into eachother in the break etc.
She was really keen to get to grips with the lingo and OH said that she was doing very well.

My said that her level of Spanish had dropped, and apart from the hola, encantada, hasta luego and Kay tal, she could not say anything else, and found it difficult to understand us, when we spoke in Spanish

She invited us to "vamos a beber?"

She said that as she did not need to speak Spanish in here everyday life, she just "let it go", and as she knew her son would probably want to go back to the UK (which he did) she did not really push him.

So not only did this woman not progress with the language, she actually went backward, a typical case of from Guatamala to Guatapeor.

steviedeluxe

I suspect one of the reasons some Brits give up on their language progress, is that they have an air of superiority as regards music, films, tv programmes, and never indulge in listening/watching stuff made in another language. Conversely this may be why others pick up English (loads of exceptions, I'm sure) as they listen to music or watch Eastenders or James Bond or whatever.

reggiedh

We lived in a French speaking country for a few years and one of the first things we did was French lessons. Although the kids went to an American International school they hung out with French speakers after school. In no time they were fairly fluent. I just cannot for the life of me see how people who intend moving permanently to a foreign country with young children would not encourage them more? My limited time spent in Spain tells me that one would to speak Spanish as many people don't speak English.
My OH and I lived in Israel for a few years and we also learned the language. It just makes living and integrating so much easier and if one speaks with with the local people then one also learns what makes the country what it is.

MargaretAnn

I think it is more to do with laziness and the opinion that everyone else speaks English, so why should I bother.

Ya No Estoy Alli

Is there an option for Ex-Expat?

licinius

It depends where you live. I lived in Tenerife for two years where you really do not need to learn the language, even the Canarians there have to speak English to survive.

Now in Andalucia however its a very different matter & learning Spanish is my top priority. It has to be said though that it's easier to pick words up in a Spanish area where you are totally emerged in the language, than an area like Tenerife where the Brits have all but taken over.