I have 2 small kids ( 2 and 3),they speak only Portuguese.

Generally speaking your kids should be admitted, and bigger pre-schools will have the resources to bring them up to par in English.
I know from experience that moving with pre-schoolers is a pain to decide on.

Hello faaugusto,

Welcome to Expat-Blog..

Kindly note that I have created a new discussion from your post on the Vienna Forum for better views and interaction.

Regards,
Yuveshen

Hello faaugusto,

As an educator with an English teaching career that has spanned over 28 years now, and as someone who learned Portuguese at the age of 52 before moving to Brazil I can tell you that your children are not going to have any problems in learning a new language if you place them into a good daycare.

Children (especially as young as yours) are like little sponges and they soak up everything they hear. Pre-schools use a methodology that involves play to teach the language. The children play with objects familiar to them and are told what they are in any foreign language being taught. They start building a vocabulary almost immediately since they remember what they have been told it is, and repeat the word several times. Teachers will begin asking them questions in the foreign langage very early on too. The children pick up the language very quickly this way and begin forming sentences of their own. For them it is painless and fun, unlike for us adults who often struggle.

The truth is that expat children often end up either teaching their parents the new language, or at the very minimum help them acquire and refine their language skills. Don't worry at all about putting them into daycare. At their ages they will end up speaking English or French like a native, and probably without a trace of a Brazilian Portuguese accent.

Cheers,
James  Expat-blog Experts Team

Very young children learn from a very young age, so picking up a new language will be no trouble for them, they will also learn German the mother language of Austria.

Hi,

It is actually (much) more difficult that you'd think! Language is obviously not a problem as your kids will master any language (including German) within a year or so. The problem are the kindergartens (KGs): there is a large number of them run by the city of Vienna, they cost only some 60-90€/month but there are not the best you can hope for (about one caregiver per 20 kids and the facilities are not great). Then there are the private ones, much better run, with 1-4 care givers per 15 kids. These cost between 150-300€./month plus about 300€ advance non-refundable registration fees. There are very few that are bilingual (German/English, German/French, German/Italian; I don't know any in Portuguese but it doesn't mean that there isn't one), and a few that are of a single non-German language (English or French). These however tend to be very expensive (600-1000€/month plus advance registration fees). The problem with all KGs is that it is VERY difficult to get a spot: they all have years of a waiting list (we for example were told that we should have preregistered our 1 and half year old 3 years ahead of time, so I guess prior to her conception)... Then siblings of enrolled kids have priority, which limits even further the number of available spots. My advice to you would be to secure spots for your kids prior to coming to Vienna. And one last thing, Most KGs will take kids only in September and so If for example you were to come in December, you'd in all likelihood have to pay starting of September. I hope this helps!

Best wishes,
i.

You can always get in contact with the Vienna Expat Centre, they will be able to give you great information.

And the Vienna Baby Club

http://www.expatcenter.at/http://www.viennababiesclub.com

http://www.expatcenter.at/http://www.viennababiesclub.com

Thanks you all, this was very helpfull

Cheers
Fabio

Contact C.I.G.wien.at this is an international church English/German, but connected to the church is a kindergarten with many nationalities children and teachers, Pastor Rob & Mary are the leaders and founders. Herr Asmann is the leading director along with his wife of the Kindergarten Arche Noah 1100 district Vienna.