European schools' foreign language schedule

[klmama]

At what ages do European schools introduce foreign languages? First foreign language at age___. Second language at age ___. Third language at age ___. Also, is there something they are leaving out (that is usually taught in the US) in order to teach multiple languages? Thanks for any info you may have!

[Whereneverever]

:bigear:

[phathui5]

I want to know too!

[Faithr]

We had an Austrian student stay with us this summer. He said they started learning English when he was 10 years old. Not sure what 'grade' that is, since they call things by different names over there!

[trying my best]

in Russia we have only 1 foregn language to learn

If its a normal scholl then its 5th grade.

If its a special school where they focus on languages then they have 2 languages to learn. 1st FL starts at 1st grade and second DL at 3rd grade.

 

I was in normal school. My niece is in a special school and has been learning English since 1st grade and Hindu (india) since 3rd

[MorganClassicalPrep]

I frequent another message board, for foreign language learners. We actually had a long thread recently about when different countries teach foreign languages. And the answer is... it depends. In other countries you seem to have much more standardization across the country (as compared to the US, where states determine education matters), but different countries don't necessarily learn the same languages at the same time.

 

But, to make (wide, sweeping, over-) generalizations, they start one language when a kid enters school (other than the community language), by 10-11 add another, and by high school add another.

[blessedmom3]

In Romania we had 1st language(English) at 7 yo (second gr) and the second language at 9 yo (French) Continued with these until college. One year of Latin in 8th grade. These were obligatory for every school in Romania. Other foreign language option were : German and Russian.

 

In France 1st language usually at 7 , second at 12 a.

[blessedmom3]

 

 

I don't think they left anything out, but they had more hours of study comparatively to US . Even Saturdays. Now they don't do school on Sat. anymore so I don't know how it works (left Romania 15 yrs ago).

[Susie in CA]

In Austria they start English in 1st grade, add a 2nd language (usually) French in 5th grade, and add a 3rd in 9th grade.

 

Overall they don't leave things out. They do school longer hours. I also think that their is less repetition of material. Most importantly, though, many kids go to specialized schools by the time they get to highschool. At this point some schools have more business math while others concentrate on 'higher' math etc. Many students also get an apprentice job coupled with a school program to finish their education. There a many different tracks to be on. Do they leave anything out? I don't think so. It is just different.

 

Susie

[Faithr]

Here's a quote from an Austrian student I found.

 

What languages do you speak and what is your "mother tongue"?

 

In Austria we speak German. In my primary-school we started to learn English in Grade 3, but at that age we were only taught a few words, maybe very short sentences, but no grammar at all. At that time this school was one of the few schools which conducted the experiment of teaching English at an "early age". I was very proud of every single word that I was able to understand and speak and loved being able to recognize some words in English songs. It was not very difficult for us kids, because the standards were not very high since this was only a test-phase at that time. In High School all children started to learn English in Grade 5, Latin in Grade 7 and French in Grade 9. These were real "lessons" including vocabulary and grammar-tests etc and from this time on it became more difficult for us kids..

I think this might be more along the lines of what our Austrian student experienced. So maybe Austria is not as uniform as one would think when it comes to grades that children learn other languages.

[Faithr]

Here's a quote from an Austrian student I found.

 

What languages do you speak and what is your "mother tongue"?

 

In Austria we speak German. In my primary-school we started to learn English in Grade 3, but at that age we were only taught a few words, maybe very short sentences, but no grammar at all. At that time this school was one of the few schools which conducted the experiment of teaching English at an "early age". I was very proud of every single word that I was able to understand and speak and loved being able to recognize some words in English songs. It was not very difficult for us kids, because the standards were not very high since this was only a test-phase at that time. In High School all children started to learn English in Grade 5, Latin in Grade 7 and French in Grade 9. These were real "lessons" including vocabulary and grammar-tests etc and from this time on it became more difficult for us kids..

I think this might be more along the lines of what our Austrian student experienced. So maybe Austria is not as uniform as one would think when it comes to grades that children learn other languages.

[mazakaal]

I'm pretty sure they start a foreign language (usually French, but sometimes Spanish or German) in year 7 here, which is an American 6th grade. They continue for 3 years and can then elect to continue or not. My ds says that most kids do not take more than one foreign language at his school.

[RainbowSprinkles]

When I went to school in Germany, we started to learn British English in 5th grade. Depending on what kind of school you attend you may learn Latin or/and French starting in about 7th grade.

 

A friend of mine who still lives I Germany has a dd my dd's age and she says they are now starting to teach Britain English in Pre-K/K.

[Shifra]

I grew up here in the USA, as did my parents, so I cannot comment on when they teach foreign languages in other countries. But I can point out that in many other countries, there are foreign language broadcasts. So, let's say in Germany, you can watch the news in English every day on Deutche Welle. That's in addition to any American movies which are shown on television in English with the local language subtitled. For a student who is learning English in school, there's reinforcement for the English you are learning in school. For the most part here in the USA, we do not have reinforcement for the foreign language we are learning outside of school. Of course, now with cable and satellite television available in foreign languages, it's better now than it used to be, but in most areas of the USA today, the only source of foreign language input is from the teacher you are learning it from. And that is not enough to become fluent or even close to it.

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

I think that many of the Scandinavian countries begin with a foreign language in 2nd grade. My understanding is that it is usually English or German.

[regentrude]

Germany: a little variation depending on state.

first foreign language (usually English, but in regions close to France, French) in 3rd grade

in my home state: second foreign language: 6th grade

3rd foreign language: only for kids who want to go to college and finish the college entrance highschool track: 8th or 9th grade

 

This is for normal schools not specialized in languages.

In secondary schools with language profile, 2nd foreign language begins in 5th grade, there will be some bilingual classes in other subjects as well; 3rd language begins earlier, and a 4th is offered - but I don't know details.

[Laura Corin]

I'm pretty sure they start a foreign language (usually French, but sometimes Spanish or German) in year 7 here, which is an American 6th grade. They continue for 3 years and can then elect to continue or not. My ds says that most kids do not take more than one foreign language at his school.

 

However schools are meant to introduce a language in primary school in a fun way too.

 

My boys' private school introduces French from about age five, then Spanish at about age nine, Latin at ten, then tasters of German, after which the pupils choose one or two languages to continue with from about age fourteen. I will say that not much is actually learned in the early years: Calvin had 18 months of French at home and walked into the French class with fourteen year olds with no problem at all.

 

Laura

[anabelneri]

:lurk5:

[TeacherZee]

In Sweden students start English in 3rd grade (9yo) or 4th grade (10yo) grade but if I read the new national curriculum correctly students will start learning English as early as 1st grade (7yo).

 

A second foreign language is added in 6th grade (12yo). Usually this is French, German or Spanish. German was the most popular for many years but I think it has been overtaken by Spanish in the last 10 years. A third foreign language can be added in 10th grade or you can switch your 2nd foreign language to a different one.

 

Not all students add the second foreign language in 6th grade. Those students are often students who struggle with English and/or Swedish and are often offered extra support in those languages.

 

English is a compulsory subject in both elementary school and for one course (over one or two years depending on the way the school schedules it). Depending on which program/track you are on you might have a second compulsory English course.

 

Depending on your track the second and even third foreign language is also compulsory. In the new humanities track in high school starting in August Latin will be a compulsory course and classic Greek will be offered as a choice.

 

Possibly more info than you wanted :001_smile:

[stripe]

I know an American who moved to the Netherlands and her kids (who grew up there) speak about 4 languages now. I am not sure quite how they did it, but it's impressive.

[Cleopatra]

I'm not sure when each are introduced but at the end of their schooling, they certainly seem to have studied a good number of languages!

 

Last year I spoke with French students who had attended a private school in France. They had studied English and Spanish as well as having had seven years of classical Greek and three years of Latin before they graduated. The girl knew also Japanese and the boy German and Dutch.

 

In another case, my friend in Switzerland knew English, German & French (of course) and Italian before she travelled here to attend school for grade 12. She had studied English only 2 years and could speak it almost as well as I! She was not very complimentary about the way we teach languages after she experienced a French 12 class in Canada. :w00t:

 

All this said, I think if a student in Europe is motivated and interested in languages, they can certainly be multi-lingual much easier than here in North America, but if they aren't, what they learn soon fades and they are only able to speak their native language. We ran into many, many people in France who had studied English in school but said they could no longer remember more than a few words.

[stripe]

We ran into many, many people in France who had studied English in school but said they could no longer remember more than a few words.

Yes, but I'll always treasure the memory of the homeless man in the Metro station who refused the attempted gift of a subway token and gave us a lengthy expostulation on his philosophical views on property. In English. That is my idea of that "je ne sais quoi" of France.