(edit title) Schools in Sweden Any tips for evaluating them? Options

[byke]

Bender, trying to be pedantic because of issues you have with me being "anti Swedish" as you call it ... Only makes your attempts at looking to devalue others as desperate.

But feel free to add to this thread and the OP's question with any experience you have in regards to a mixed cultured family sending their child to a school in Sweden.

[Yorkshireman]

What I have always planned was that we would only speak English at home and the kids could pick up Swedish at dagis / school / etc and from their grandparents on my Sambo' ... (show full quote)

What I have always planned was that we would only speak English at home and the kids could pick up Swedish at dagis / school / etc and from their grandparents on my Sambo's side. I want their primary language to be English to enable better communication with their family on my side. ... (hide full quote)

Not a good idea Dave

I checked this with a couple of professionals when My 1st kid was born, they said ... Both Parents should speak their native language at home. That way the children will pick up the 2 languages naturally and flawlessly, according to how You speak with them.

I originally considered speaking Swedish only at home, but was warned, the children will notice the difference between both parents language, within the brain it will confuse the nuances.

No matter how good You think You are with a language, there are basic flaws when speaking your non-native language, the kids in turn will subconciously notice the difference between Your English and their Mum's English ... and that slightly confuses the brain, leading ultimately to a poorer understanding of how English should be used that they carry for life. The brain learns languages in a very very different way prior to 5yrs than it does as we get older.

Let the Mum speak Swedish, and You Speak English ... then the kids will benefit in a good way.

If you let the Mum speak Swedish, don't be surprised if the kids mainly respond to You in Swedish, whilst You are talking English ... avoid the temptation to speak back in Swedish ... this is natural in many kids ... their English will sounds loud and clear when they want You to hear it

[Bender B Rodriquez]

Bender, trying to be pedantic because of issues you have with me being "anti Swedish" as you call it ... Only makes your attempts at looking to devalue others as des ... (show full quote)

Bender, trying to be pedantic because of issues you have with me being "anti Swedish" as you call it ... Only makes your attempts at looking to devalue others as desperate.

But feel free to add to this thread and the OP's question with any experience you have in regards to a mixed cultured family sending their child to a school in Sweden. ... (hide full quote)

I'm just giving you some advice. When you repeatedly make such grammatical mistakes it diminishes your credibility, especially on this issue.

I fully agree with you that learning English as a second language cannot compete with English as first language, and one should of course take that into account when choosing schools.

[dave.smith]

Thanks for the message byke, but I was hoping you had some advice for our case in particular.

Yorkshireman, this is not really what I was hoping to hear although I don't want "host language" issues, it will be a bit of a pain for my sambo and I to break our tradition of speaking only English to eachother... It will be way too easy for me to start speaking Swedish. (I had a rule of only speaking English at work when we first started out, but it's easier to speak Swedish so that is what I do 99% of the time now, exceptions being forgein clients or potential clients.

If I've learnt anything in terms of languages at work, it's that you can't force someone to speak a language - my guess is that unless we ONLY speak English at home, the kids will definitely reply to everything in Swedish.

I am also not denying that the advise of the experts you consulted is solid, but I don't know if it would apply to us - after 5 years of speaking English at home, consuming English media (originals), and just general learning, I believe that my sambo's English is better than a lot of native English speakers, and don't believe it would negatively effect the kids' English. Do you think it's a hard and fast rule that the advice that the experts you consulted should be adhered to, or do you think there are exceptions that could be made?

[byke]

Dave, every family is different based on variables of those members and the children themselves.

Our eldest took on both languages from the start, but didn't make sense for many many years.
They were frustrated and couldn't speak properly due to their own handling of 2 languages.
Eventually it started to make sense and they calmed down, but this technique didn't work well for them and it wasn't until we increased one language (English) at around age 6 that we saw a change on both language fronts. I wont lie, many people thought our child was "special" or had an issue because of the way they spoke and the problems hearing what they were saying. But this wasn't the case. It was simply that 2 languages at once was causing difficulty for them to latch onto language properly and causing to much confusion ... think of it as colour blindness of language being oversensitive to input. But once we relaxed on one, then they improved greatly - and was then in a position to be relaxed enough to use the second mother tongue. Our eldest is fluent in both languages, but is stronger in English. But as parents we have agreed this is down to education and not a pissing contest.

Our youngest on the other hand (not of school age) has been dominant in English from day one and is a marvel of description. They fully understand Swedish but don't see it as another language yet. So if they are playing in the park with a random child and the child speaks to them in Swedish, our child replies ... but in English. Which has unfortunately in some ways alienated them somewhat to current social interactions. But we have rectified this now by changing his environment to that of children who can reply in English ... And like a flower they have bloomed.

So as you can see, with the 2 kids mentioned.
The first had issues with anxiety in trying to communicate for many years.
Fully knowledgable in both languages but couldn't make themselves understood.

Whereas the second example child is allot happier, but chose to focus on speaking one language but understanding both.

All kids are different, so there is no perfect way ... and any specialist telling you otherwise is an idiot.
As the evolution of a young child's mind in the early years is very random.

My only advice for non swedish parents, irrespective of sex.
Don't expect your language to be adopted without YOU putting in the work.
No one gives a shit about YOUR language ... And while Sweden is becoming ever more multicultural - there is an even greater push for linguistical assimilation to protect those natives who fear change.
So the odds are stacked against you as the "foreigner".

So put in the work ... and reap the rewards.
2 languages can be learnt at the same time, but not necessarily used at the same time.

And yes the influences of society is far greater than the 50% often awarded to it.
I would say that it accounts for at least 75% ... but that is speculation.

[byke]

I wanted to add, that while it is absolutely no substitute for a parent putting in the work, English based kids TV shows that in my opinion are of a much higher quality than the tat shown on channels like SVT, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network.

Programs aimed at young children in English, such as the BBC's : CBeebies offers a great range of shows aimed towards younger children in English. That is both educational and covers a wide range of subjects and helps keep children in foreign countries used to hearing English being used by natives in its natural environment. Which is especially useful when children are subjected to pidgin English, often by foreign state services.

Obviously you will need a VPN to be able to access these programs, but there are many available out there. Depending on what you need.

Good Luck.

[tamohamo]

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