2 weeks French immersion experience for my kids - no major results visible
I wanted to share my experience in case someone was thinking about making this major expense.
Background:
I’m a non-native speaker who speaks at B2 or C1 on good days. I used to live in Montreal but now live in the USA. I read up a lot on learning languages so I could make sure my kids learn a difficult language effectively with the least amount of stress. Our routine is:
- me speaking everyday 30% of the time, at least basic sentences
- Online tutor, 25 min, native speaking, once a week for just conversation.
- Media consumption daily, passive learning through music (I find an album to put on while we are eating), reading, a tv show, video game, Duolingo even, lol.
- Grammar/workbook 10 minutes a few times a week
I thought kids learn like sponges, and they do, but this was not enough to become fluent at a C1 level. I would say B1!
I thought a 2 week summer camp would be a good push towards the finish line.
Well, they got sick for two of the days, being in a new virus environment! So it was actually 8 days.
As expected, they really hated it the first few days. Then they were a little mixed. Everyday they left being in a good mood, so I was confused why they say they hated it. I had to talk to the camp counselors and camp director, they were a little strict and even yelled at rowdy kids, my kids shouldn’t have had to put up with the group discipline. It was supposed to be the best camp in the city (also one of the most expensive). Their spots get sold out fast! I felt guilty sending them there, but I thought it would be good for them to also see how people are different. They also had a habit of talking to my kids in English! I also had to talk to them about that. All in all, the kids said they spoke like 50% of the time in French. At least they got unique exposure.
Results:
I noticed minor improvements, like they would say certain sentences they heard at camp, or repeat the songs they had.
I am sure there was also a lot of invisible learning.
Going forward:
I will try my best to speak more in French to them, it’s the most effective thing I can possibly do. I just need more ways of reminding myself not to slip into English!
I do not think summer camp is a good idea for small children because they talk to your kids in English most of the time and they hire people unsuitable for children. It’s risky, your kid could get sick and you could lose lots of money by not going. At least with a tutor, you can cancel.
I think it’s better to get more tutors. But at some point, kids need to interact in French in the real world, especially with other kids. There could be some drop in activities to consider that are low risk and lower cost. Pokémon tournaments? Any ideas or input would be appreciated!