My family will be moving to Italy this summer and my 9 and 10 year old will be in an int'l school for the first 2 years. As of now they know no italian. My concern is will the children, by the end of 2 years in that school, be prepared enough to speak/understand italian for the transition to an italian school? Any opinions or experiences would be appreciated.

Personally, I think you should make sure they have Italian lessons outside of what the school will be providing, otherwise the age they will be when they go to Italian school I think they will find it tough.

My son is nearly 12, so roughly the age you will be talking about. He isn't doing any schooling here but while my nearly 3 year old isn't either she is picking up the language and using it already in a way he isn't. He knows some but is too self conscious to use it. This is a confident boy I am talking about, so I know alot is hormones etc. as we have definitely hit adolescence, without going into how I know ! You will also be hitting this age with your kids when they go to Italian school so my advice is make sure they know Italian well, get them going to activities in the community outside the Int. School with Italian speakers, basically make sure they are prepared language wise and don't think you should have a problem. If they can speak and understand the language hopefully they will treat the transition the same way any kid moving to senior school at roughly this age would. HTH

Why not just send them straight to Italian school? Then they will pick up Italian when it is easier (ie at a younger age). This is what a lot of people on the board have done and they seem happy with their decision.

I think it would be really hard to go from an international school, where they don't speak much Italian, straight into an Italian liceo.

Unless there is a definite reason to send them to Int'l school I would probably go along with Ramona. Start them on Italian now anyway and over the summer so they have some grounding. The BBC has an excellent free Italian programme on the internet for the basics if you don't want formal lessons.

Also depending on which Int'l school you are looking at some are better than others. Whereas most people on here seem very happy with the Italian system!

The school we are probably going to send the kids to is the American School of Milan, which from my understanding, the kids will receive language instruction in addition to regular studies. The 2 years are part of the relocation pkg and the hope is to find an italian school with some english speaking teachers. Does anyone know of any schools like that in the Milan area with some sort of english supplement? Thanks again.

From what everyone else has said on these boards - kids that age pick up foreign languages in a flash so they will have no need for English speaking teachers.

It seems a shame to send them to the American school where they probably won't learn as much Italian as they would in a normal Italian school. From what others have said, their kids were fluent in a matter of months at normal Italian schools.

quote:

Originally posted by Carol S.:The 2 years are part of the relocation pkg and the hope is to find an italian school with some english speaking teachers. Does anyone know of any schools like that in the Milan area with some sort of english supplement? Thanks again.

If you search this site I remember someone saying that it is obligatory for extra help to be given to non-Italian speaking children in the state schools anyway, so it shouldn't be a problem. The best thing is to do what you would do anywhere and visit as many schools as possible in the area you will be living until you find one you like. Also by the time you are ready to send them you will hopefully know people who will have recommended schools to you - we have been here nearly 3 months and already have several recommendations for our daughter. As the school is part of the package I can understand why you are sending them. Having spoken to people who speak English as a second language tho' it is because the school they attended taught English every day, so I would seriously consider extra lessons and definitely extra-curricular activities with Italian kids - my son is going on a rowing course in February if we can sort out a medical certificate and/or insurance ! HTH

Wow, I am a little suprised at the responses which indicate that it would be better to send them directly to italian school.
The idea behind this is that they would have one-two years to become acclimated and then go into the italian school. I/we are afraid that their studies would suffer some during the first year and with the BIG change for them would be an additional negative.

Can anyone give an example of directly doing this way (sending directly into italian school without language prior)?

I understand and have also heard of this extra help but is not so easy to understand how formal this is and as you all know.... things don't always work so synchronized in italy.
(really!!)

Please keep the insights coming. We would not like to be geographically tied to a school anyway.

Grazie,
ciao

Check out http://janeandken.blogspot.com/ and then their grandson Casey's blog. It not only can be done, but can really pay off in social ways as well.

I hate to throw a wrench into the conversation but I feel compelled to share my story. We moved to Italy a year ago in Feb 2006 and we put our boys in public school to expose them to the language and the culture. Long story short...neither are fluent..most of their friends speak English to them because they want to learn English...one is doing ok..getting some satisfactory marks, the other has pretty much flunked out of liceo- unable to understand and this has caused him alot of damage in self esteem..he was an honor student in the states...we're back to sending him for intensive Italian lessons and then we'll try it again. I feel like they are getting behind other kids their age...Still with all this, I do believe they are gaining knowledge by living in a foreign culture, and I am hopeful they will catch up sometime soon. If not, I'll be looking for "Plan C". Good luck, however, to you.

Buonissimo,
Thank you SO much for sharing your real story. What you described is EXACTLY our fear and the reason behind the decision to do a couple years of international school with language training before putting them in italian school. Perhaps for kids in the 5-7 range ok but once they really start with tougher subjects (8-liceo) I can't believe that dropping them in without strong language is going to be productive from an academic point of view.

Until I hear a real compelling reason to not go to american school at least for the first couple we will stick to the plan.

Thank you so much again for the real life example!!!

Tanti Saluti
Ciao

I don’t have direct experience with this, but I think it would depend a lot on the ages of the kids. The younger they are the easier they will integrate. If they are teenagers – which in itself can be a difficult time, it may prove more difficult for them to go straight in to Italian school if they don’t speak the language with some fluency.

My best friend from high school arrived in Australia from Vietnam at age 10 speaking not a single word of English. She was essentially dropped into an English speaking environment with English as a Second Language Classes once a week. Long story short by the time we became friends at age 14 she spoke perfect Australian English. Part of the reason for her success is that she was a big reader (as am I) and read at least 3 books a week (IMO this is the best way to learn a foreign language - are your children big readers?) She majored in English literature at university and went on to a great career. Her 5 brothers and sisters all speak perfect English too.

Not sure how old your kids are Italy or Bust, but maybe they are a bit older than this? I think 9 and 10 is a great age to learn a language but any older it gets more difficult. This is why so many of us advise the original poster to send her kids straight to Italian school. You don't learn a lot of Italian by doing classes but speaking English most of the time - the only way is to completely immerse yourself and make tons of mistakes (this applies also for adults! ).

Ramona - You're right...my guys are 14 and 15 years old. Plus, the older one has really had this mental block about living in Italy.

Look,I am a strong supporter of public schools..but I have to admit that if we could afford an American school, I'd probably move my guys to it because academically..in my heart, I know they'd be better off at this late stage in their lives. My 15 year old went from being a outgoing, affable, academically successful guy in the USA to wanting to be "invisible" in his classroom and not wanting to stray far from home. Yes, he has a friend or two but it's been hard for him. On the other hand, my 14 year old..changed from a shy, introverted guy into this playboy, Italian speaking dude! It's really cute. I guess my point is that all kids are different. Please don't base your decision on what I'm writing..take a close look at your kids and you'll know the right thing to do.

From now on when I run into your boys I am going to speak Italian with them. AAMOF, I will drop by the house and spout Italian at them!

quote:

...my son is going on a rowing course in February if we can sort out a medical certificate and/or insurance ! HTH

First, this is an aside, but Alyson can you give me any info about the rowing course? I would love my kids to have a chance to do that - being an old rower myself... Thanks

quote:

Can anyone give an example of directly doing this way (sending directly into italian school without language prior)?

I would think the age and personalities of the kids should be a big consideration for everyone... That being said, our family is a "direct" example of kids knowing no italian and starting right into italian schools. It was a no-brainer for our littler daughter who was only going into kindergarten. For our older daughter who is now 9 - she started second grade at age 7 (almost 8) here in Florence at a public italian school. She has never had a bad day at this school and loves every minute of it. The language change never was an issue for her - even at the beginning when she had no idea what was going on around her at school. She did have about 3 kids who speak some english to help her when she's stuck - although I think most major cities will have at least a few english speakers around. I think this might get harder and harder to do (Socially, esp.) as the kids approach the "teen" years - I would recommend sooner instead of later! I think I also have a bunch of other posts on here about my kids education here - so you can try a search for more info... Good luck to everyone, It's a hard decision...

quote:

Originally posted by efe:

quote:

...my son is going on a rowing course in February if we can sort out a medical certificate and/or insurance ! HTH

First, this is an aside, but Alyson can you give me any info about the rowing course? I would love my kids to have a chance to do that - being an old rower myself... Thanks

Hi efe,

It is at the Canotterie di Firenze (hope this is right!) underneath the Uffizi - the one with the five-a-side pitch on the Arno? If you go ask for Alberto as he is the course instructor. It is 180euros for a 2hrs a week twice a week from about 4.00 p.m. for 4 months starting in February. The one bit we weren't sure about was whether he needed a medical certificate or medical insurance, so if you go could you let me know!! We are deferring until the summer when a) it will be warmer, b) we will speak better Italian (!) and c) he can do the full course - at the moment he has to return to the UK to school in April so he would only do half. Let me know if your daughter is going to do it - it would be great for my son to know another English speaker was going to be on his course depending on when/if you decide to do it.

Keep in mind that once in the international school for two years it may be very, very difficult to get them to change over to the Italian liceo. So be prepared for the possibility of sticking it out (and paying) for the international school once you start. The Italian liceo is not just about the language. It is a very different system and you (and they) have to be ready to accept that too. My kids went to nursery through middle school at an international school and then went to the Italian liceo classico (and they are mother tongue italian). The first two years were very tough, but now they love it and don't even mind the extra year. I have a friend from the US that spent a year in Verona and put her 14 year old son in the Italian liceo linguistico. Let's say he had the hardest and ultimately best year of his life.

Sorry - this is yet aother aside, not about schooling, but about rowing:

Hi Alyson - Thanks for the info about kids rowing! I had always been told that that was a private rowing club that costs a fortune to join (and you have to be invited by a member to join anyway). I guess for kids it's different..??

I think February is way too cold to start rowing! maybe not for die-hard rowers, but certainly for kids who are just starting and want to have fun doing it! Also my daughter is doing dance right now, and I don't want to over-book her afternoons.

If your son will be taking the course in the spring or summer, let me know and maybe we can get them together? My daughter is 9 (and the other one 6) - so she's actually somewhat younger than your son but maybe they will hit it off (or at least your son could practice italian with her...she's semi-fluent by now). my email is ellen@caribline.com

PS - this week's The Florentine newspaper has an article about another rowing club up the river some. I may look into that one too.

Hi Ellen, I will e-mail you !

Ciao Tutti,
I would like to thank you again for responding to the original question or request for experiences.
At first, I thought those who responded that maybe international school was not a good idea and they could go directly into italian school were a little well.. not right.
In the end we think we found what for us will be the best solution.
Private school (catolica). In this/our case the school cleary invests all money in the quality of the school and the attention to the kids. I consider this sort of a balance between the two in that it is italian school.
Benefits:
1. Wont have to change school in couple years. We can get them all the way through high school here
2. The school is very well equiped (better than international schools)
3. They will learn italian MUCH faster and have to adapt.

If any one would like to know more... let me know.

Anyway. Even though we were not directly influenced by the posts it did open our minds to other possibilities and although we have not started.. need to say that the forum for us was a great thing. Thanks again for your inputs (all of you).
Siete Meravigiliosi

Ciao

From what I have seen here in Italy tho, the private schools (I dont mean the international schools) are not as good as the public ones. In some private schools you pay for them to pass, not to learn - I know of some people who were not going to pass and so paid the school and the school passed them.