Retaining Spanish language in UK
We have an ongoing debate about moving back to the UK/not/etc., and one of the dealbreakers is always that our 11/12 year old's Spanish should be retained and continued at the age-appropriate level if we were to go back. The problem is finding out HOW. Has anyone any experience of schools with native Spanish-type language on the curriculum? I know he'd probably pass GCSE Spanish tomorrow judging from test questions on the web, so anywhere with just GCSE wouldn't be sufficient.
Or maybe we have to look to conversational groups or private tutors, or even (don't laugh) employing someone round the house who's a native Spanish speaker.............. Bearing in mind this is just a thinking process at the moment, there's no rush to decide - but I have nightmares that he would lose his fluency. So all and any suggestions, pointers, contacts., etc gratefully received. |
Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Originally Posted by fionamw
(Post 11112395)
We have an ongoing debate about moving back to the UK/not/etc., and one of the dealbreakers is always that our 11/12 year old's Spanish should be retained and continued at the age-appropriate level if we were to go back. The problem is finding out HOW. Has anyone any experience of schools with native Spanish-type language on the curriculum? I know he'd probably pass GCSE Spanish tomorrow judging from test questions on the web, so anywhere with just GCSE wouldn't be sufficient.
Or maybe we have to look to conversational groups or private tutors, or even (don't laugh) employing someone round the house who's a native Spanish speaker.............. Bearing in mind this is just a thinking process at the moment, there's no rush to decide - but I have nightmares that he would lose his fluency. So all and any suggestions, pointers, contacts., etc gratefully received. OH left Spain when he was about 7, of course he heard Spanish at home through the years, and with you , there is no reason why you all can't speak Spanish at home too. |
Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Perhaps there are Spanish international schools in the UK. A friend has a son who goes to one in Rome. Check with the Cervantes Institute.
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Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Originally Posted by me me
(Post 11112436)
from my experience of Spanish and Italians in the UK, I feel that if a good level of fluency has been reached, even at a younger age than your son, as long as they don't go out of their way to forget, they won't lose much fluency.
OH left Spain when he was about 7, of course he heard Spanish at home through the years, and with you , there is no reason why you all can't speak Spanish at home too.
Originally Posted by Lenox
(Post 11112461)
Perhaps there are Spanish international schools in the UK. A friend has a son who goes to one in Rome. Check with the Cervantes Institute.
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Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Originally Posted by fionamw
(Post 11112395)
We have an ongoing debate about moving back to the UK/not/etc., and one of the dealbreakers is always that our 11/12 year old's Spanish should be retained and continued at the age-appropriate level if we were to go back. The problem is finding out HOW. Has anyone any experience of schools with native Spanish-type language on the curriculum? I know he'd probably pass GCSE Spanish tomorrow judging from test questions on the web, so anywhere with just GCSE wouldn't be sufficient.
Or maybe we have to look to conversational groups or private tutors, or even (don't laugh) employing someone round the house who's a native Spanish speaker.............. Bearing in mind this is just a thinking process at the moment, there's no rush to decide - but I have nightmares that he would lose his fluency. So all and any suggestions, pointers, contacts., etc gratefully received. Is there yet a call for a bilingual Spanish-English school in the UK, the way there are so many in Spain? There must be a demand surely? |
Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
My BiL has a foreign wife. Her daughter is 14. She maintains and improves her spoken language proficiency through conversation with other native speakers but her ability to read the language is diminishing.
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Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
There is a Spanish school in London somewhere, but you might have to be Spanish to get into it. Brighton allegedly has the UK's first bi-lingual English-Spanish school, but I think it only goes up to primary.
Perhaps you can pay for someone to come round and spend a few hours each week speaking Spanish with him? A student maybe? We have a Chinese student who comes round and plays with our 3 year old in Chinese in the hope that he might learn some of the language. To be honest I wouldn't worry about it too much - your son will already have fluency and the correct pronunciation so even though his Spanish will fall behind, he'll be able to pick it up easily enough if necessary. |
Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Originally Posted by steviedeluxe
(Post 11112536)
I think this could be a real worry. It's a concern of many an English teacher here in Madrid that they start to lose vocabulary, forget the word or expression in English for certain circumstances. So it must be even easier to lose Spanish if moving to the UK, bearing in mind that all advertising, MTV etc will be in English.
Is there yet a call for a bilingual Spanish-English school in the UK, the way there are so many in Spain? There must be a demand surely? I recently met a guy who speaks reasonable English, his sentence construction is "the English way". I have had 3 conversations with him over house technical matters and his concern is that I am the only English speaker he has had contact with in over a year. He knows he is "losing it" but he now has to resort to translation via computer to remind himself. What makes matters worse for those who do have the English is they worry about it when they enter into a conversation, become embarrassed and actually pull away from entering into conversations because of it. This is a bit like it is for us with our Spanish, we are frightened of getting it wrong and making fools of ourselves. Fiona, I hope you can find a way of resolving this problem as it is good for your son to have the additional language(s) for the future, it is a big brave world out there and there are almost as many speaking Spanish as English. An expat I know is sending her daughter to Uni to learn Chinese as "the language of the future", but unless she manages to find ways of using it often she will lose it - but then she is looking at becoming an interpreter so it may not happen. |
Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Originally Posted by chopera
(Post 11112553)
To be honest I wouldn't worry about it too much - your son will already have fluency and the correct pronunciation so even though his Spanish will fall behind, he'll be able to pick it up easily enough if necessary. |
Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Many years ago (before Spain joined the EU), the Spanish Government paid an amount of money to set up groups in the UK for Spanish Nationals to mix with other Spanish Nationals and keep the Spanish traditions.
Most of the attendees at that time were within mixed marriages (Spanish and English) and the group spoke predominantely all the time in Spanish for the children to learn/maintain their Spanish. The group we were involved in organised a Fiesta for the 3 kings, and a Paella in the countryside in the summer, and included other activities for teenagers and adults. It may be that the funding for this type of groups has long been withdrawn, but it may be worth contacting the Spanish Embassy in the UK to see if these groups still exist. I remember, one of the donations from Spain to our group was a portrait of King Juan Carlos, that members of the group could volunteer to have 'in pride of place' in their living room for a year. OH always used to say to me 'dont you dare volunteer to have that picture for a year!!!' |
Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Whilst another language is useful I wouldn't spend too much time or money on it as a priority. Most with language degrees drift off into teaching/translating. My Daughter did French and Spanish to A'level and didn't take any further. She has a top job but they weren't interested in languages. The only advantage is if there are two equal candidates and one speaks a language.
one problem for your child is that when/if doing GCSE in the UK he will be very bored. Perhaps if you find a school with Spanish on the curriculum they may allow him to join an A level class. Although about half of that will concentrate on Spanish history, literature etc which may be too adult for him. |
Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Originally Posted by jackytoo
(Post 11112965)
Whilst another language is useful I wouldn't spend too much time or money on it as a priority. Most with language degrees drift off into teaching/translating. My Daughter did French and Spanish to A'level and didn't take any further. She has a top job but they weren't interested in languages. The only advantage is if there are two equal candidates and one speaks a language.
one problem for your child is that when/if doing GCSE in the UK he will be very bored. Perhaps if you find a school with Spanish on the curriculum they may allow him to join an A level class. Although about half of that will concentrate on Spanish history, literature etc which may be too adult for him. The biggest advantage to being fluent in Spanish is being able to experience and live in Spanish culture. It's a strange circumstance that the OP's son may find himself in. Being brought up in Spain but being British. I suggest you explore what that means and what losing the Spanish part of him (if there is one) may mean. If your son doesnt care less, then to be honest, he will lose his Spanish language anyway. If he is upset at the thought of no longer living in Spain and no longer doing Spanish things then it is important that you find a way for him to enjoy that side of his life still when he lives in the UK Language is a gateway to explore and experience a certain culture. By itself, learning a language (or having language skills) is pointless |
Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Agree:goodpost:
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Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
If you are based in the UK but speak fluent Spanish then there is always the chance of finding what many consider to be the "holy grail" of getting a job in the UK and then being transfered to Spain, while maintaining a relatively high salary. Once you have the foot in the door with an international company, there is usually a lot of scope for moving between countries, which also looks good on the CV.
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Re: Retaining Spanish language in UK
Originally Posted by jackytoo
(Post 11112965)
Whilst another language is useful I wouldn't spend too much time or money on it as a priority.
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