Schools

MelanieJane

Member

Member since 20 July 2013

London

MelanieJane

20 July 2013 20:24:37

MelanieJane

20 July 2013 20:24:37

London

Hi guys
I'm moving to Catalunya in October with my partner and 10 year old daughter. I had intended to send her to a Spanish school as I want her to integrate with the local Spanish children but now realise the lessons are in Catalan. My Spanish isn't bad so I thought I'd be able to help her but it seems not. We could put her in international school and really stretch our budget but it's not what I want particularly. From what I've read online, once you're over 7 years it's quite tricky to pick up languages. Has anybody moved with a child 10 plus and put them in Spanish school? would appreciate any comments, thanks, Melanie.

Karen60

Member

Member since 28 April 2017

Karen60

28 April 2017 16:24:01

Karen60

28 April 2017 16:24:01

Hi! I personally recommend Hamelin-Laie International School in Montgat, Barcelona. We have relocated there 5 months ago. The location is increible and the beaches are great. Hamelin-Laie is a very good school, for students from 0 to 18 years old, and offer National Baccalaureate and International Baccalaureate. My concern was that my daughter doesn't speak Spanish, but the school has also a Language School and they offer extra spanish lessons, and also for parents! The school has a really international feel, there is more than a half of international students for sure. Good luck!

STEFFIFI

ViP

Member since 26 February 2015

Amsterdam, North Holland

STEFFIFI

29 April 2017 19:58:52

11022

STEFFIFI

29 April 2017 19:58:52

11022

Amsterdam, North Holland

Actually, lessons are in Catalan but they study Spanish too. After a public Spanish language school in Catalunya, it is very rare. Catalans are very "nationalisits" and their official and "regional" language is Catalan, even if Spanish is understood and spoken everywhere, but at school, it is Catalan (even in University).

Entity

Contributor

Member since 02 June 2012

Kerekegyháza, Bács-Kiskun

Entity

20 June 2017 21:19:40

118

Entity

20 June 2017 21:19:40

118

Kerekegyháza, Bács-Kiskun

Karen60 wrote:
Hi! I personally recommend Hamelin-Laie International School in Montgat, Barcelona.

Hi Karen,
What is the approx tuition fee per child?
Thanks,
Andras

MarniLynne

Active member

Member since 05 February 2017

Tarragona, Catalonia

MarniLynne

16 July 2017 10:41:29

MarniLynne

16 July 2017 10:41:29

Tarragona, Catalonia

Hi Melanie,

While it is true that the critical period for language development is between birth and 7 years, a 10-year old will still pick up the language much faster than an adult. Many of the subjects will be teaching similar curriculum (i.e. math and science), so she wouldn't have any issues in those classes. She would be delayed in a regular school for about 3 - 6 months and then should be able to understand the basics to integrate in the language courses. After about 2 years, she should be completely up to speed.

I don't have children, but I have a Master of Science in Linguistics with specialization in Child Language and I'm working on my doctorate in second language acquisition right now. Also, I was both an exchange student to France and then to Germany. I only had 1 year of German studies before attending a German High School. My experience was that Math was very easy to understand (English even easier, but I had to translate some of the work into German). The most challenging subject for me was French, because I couldn't directly translate from French to German (or vice versa). I would have to go from French > English > German and then German > English > French. After about 3 months, I could understand the teachers and the assignments with no issues.

Hope that helps.

Marni

Find more topics on the Catalunya forum

Articles to help you in your expat project in Catalunya