how well do the children speak Spanish.....and English?

[Turtles]

Am I the only person here who knows British children who are growing up without being able to speak Spanish OR English properly? At school they just mix with each other. At weekends....they just mix with each other while their parents organise monoglot barbecues. In a few years they'll be unemployable in two countries. I observe that many parents who say their children are doing fine at Spanish schools can't speak Spanish themselves and are therefore in no position to judge. It is a matter of fact that Spain fares poorly in the PISA rankings and certain regions (Andalucia) fare very badly within Spain. Just remember that even the locals can't get jobs!
Coming to Spain has given me fantastic opportunities and a real boost in my standard of living without increasing my budget. Parents need to be aware that their gain could turn into their child's loss.

[jojo]

Originally Posted by Turtles

Am I the only person here who knows British children who are growing up without being able to speak Spanish OR English properly? At school they just mix with each other. At weekends....they just mix with each other while their parents organise monoglot barbecues. In a few years they'll be unemployable in two countries. I observe that many parents who say their children are doing fine at Spanish schools can't speak Spanish themselves and are therefore in no position to judge. It is a matter of fact that Spain fares poorly in the PISA rankings and certain regions (Andalucia) fare very badly within Spain. Just remember that even the locals can't get jobs!
Coming to Spain has given me fantastic opportunities and a real boost in my standard of living without increasing my budget. Parents need to be aware that their gain could turn into their child's loss.

I agree. The first state school that my daughter attended in Spain had a fair few British kids, who very often didnt turn up for school cos their parents were still in bed from a previous boozy night. It almost seemed to me like the school for those parents was no more than free babysitting! The Spanish children there, didnt like the British kids, so there was always a divide. My daughter got stuck in the middle. The British kids didnt like her cos they thought she was snobbish and the Spanish kids didnt cos she was just another Brit.

There are exceptions to the rule of course, and with the changing face of expats in Spain (gone are those days of making money by doing very little). Things are changing.

It does have to be pointed out tho, that if children attend a Spanish school then their British education stops. I have friends whose children cant spell or read English any better than when they last attended a British school. So its the parents responsibility to teach the English side of education and to do it well

Jo xxx

[Alcalaina]

There was a feature in the press about it recently, it is apparently quite common in the Brit-zones.

There are only three British children where I live and they are all bilingual. In fact they are trilingual, because they speak Alcalaino as well! It's quite entertaining hearing them switch mid-sentence.

[Alcalaina]

Found this from the TES, 2009:

Overseas education: British kids experience education problems in Spain - Analysis - TES

Foreigners who dominate certain schools, talk in their own language and isolate themselves from the native population … Not Muslim pupils in Britain, but British children in Spain.

They come here with this mentality … wanting to keep themselves to themselves and feel no obligation to integrate into our way of life.”

A British minister talking tough on citizenship? The BNP outlining new policy? No, this damning verdict is not aimed at ethnic minorities in schools in Britain but at the largest - and most problematic - minority group in schools on the Costa Blanca: the British.

They are, according to a new study, worse at learning the host language and integrating into school life than any other nationality in Spain’s state schools.

Teachers and students from more than 700 schools took part in the research by Spanish sociologists which found that British children - who make up 15 per cent of all pupils attending state schools in the Alicante region - “resist all opportunities of exchange with other nationalities and cultures”.

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by Turtles

Am I the only person here who knows British children who are growing up without being able to speak Spanish OR English properly? At school they just mix with each other. At weekends....they just mix with each other while their parents organise monoglot barbecues. In a few years they'll be unemployable in two countries. I observe that many parents who say their children are doing fine at Spanish schools can't speak Spanish themselves and are therefore in no position to judge. It is a matter of fact that Spain fares poorly in the PISA rankings and certain regions (Andalucia) fare very badly within Spain. Just remember that even the locals can't get jobs!
Coming to Spain has given me fantastic opportunities and a real boost in my standard of living without increasing my budget. Parents need to be aware that their gain could turn into their child's loss.

I've moved this to a thread of its own, since it has nothing to do with the thread you posted it on, but is interesting in it's own right

I do know children such as you describe

I know kids who have been telling their parents for years that when their report says 'suspendido' it means they don't have to study that subject...............

the parents (some of whom have been here longer than we have) never really learn the language but think that their kids are fluent speakers when they say things like yo vivir - & yes, the main reason for this is that they live in what my 16 year old calls a 'Brit bubble'.

they watch English TV, read English newspapers/magazines, only ever mix with other English speakers - they can in fact speak English well, but probably can't write it to a reasonable level - and refuse to speak Spanish outside the classroom unless forced to

they don't mix with Spanish kids at all - 2 English girls my dd invited to her birthday party (all the other guests were Spanish), didn't even mix at the party - even though they had all known each other for upwards of 4 years

they have nothing in common with them - they don't watch the same TV programmes (they have no idea who Trancas y Barrancas are & have never heard of Los Protegidos), read the same magazines or listen to a lot of the same music.....

[Alcalaina]

Perhaps they should be repatriated back to where they came from - they are obviously a drain on the system!

[Hepa]

We do not have that problem here, British children have not yet invaded our shores

I know of one boy who was born here of Germanic parentage, he cannot speak German and insists he is Herreño. His elder brother, born a German, schooled here, is bi lingual. I had to employ the services of the elder one, we conversed in Spanish.

[xabiachica]

Originally Posted by Hepa

We do not have that problem here, British children have not yet invaded our shores

I know of one boy who was born here of Germanic parentage, he cannot speak German and insists he is Herreño. His elder brother, born a German, schooled here, is bi lingual. I had to employ the services of the elder one, we conversed in Spanish.

I think it's quite sad that his parents didn't at least teach him to speak German, tbh

mine weren't born here, but for sure consider themselves more Spanish than English, & my younger dd was only 4 when we came so Spanish is really her first written language, since she hadn't long been learning to read & write in English when she started Spanish school - but taking her dyslexia into account, her written English & her reading are about where they should be for her age - & I believe she has a better vocabulary than English kids in the UK from what I've seen of her cousins of a similar age there.

[MaidenScotland]

My grandchildren are fluent in Spanish and use it to talk about their dad in front of him.. he does speak Spanish but of course the children can speak quickly and know all the street jargon.. he huffs and puffs when they all keep looking at him whilst chatting in Spanish lol. They of course also do it just to wind him up.

[leedsutdgem]

Originally Posted by Turtles

Am I the only person here who knows British children who are growing up without being able to speak Spanish OR English properly? At school they just mix with each other. At weekends....they just mix with each other while their parents organise monoglot barbecues. In a few years they'll be unemployable in two countries. I observe that many parents who say their children are doing fine at Spanish schools can't speak Spanish themselves and are therefore in no position to judge. It is a matter of fact that Spain fares poorly in the PISA rankings and certain regions (Andalucia) fare very badly within Spain. Just remember that even the locals can't get jobs!
Coming to Spain has given me fantastic opportunities and a real boost in my standard of living without increasing my budget. Parents need to be aware that their gain could turn into their child's loss.

This is something I was talking about with friends the other day actually. i would love to know how many children where both parent are british go on to further eduction in spain? Would be interesting to see the figures. Im irish and my husband is spanish, we are integrated more into the spanish way of life. My children are 5 and 3 and its gonna be up to me and me alone to teach them how to read and write in english. Their first language will always be spanish. I do however want my children to be able to cope in spain and in the uk should we have to go back there. Its something i think about a lot. I feel that its important to have a good balance of both cultures.