Totally understand your concern about maintaining interest and the level of proficiency of French.


Learning any language at-a-distance without actually going to its country of origin is a handicap.

My own experience learning French is still ongoing. Haven’t formally learnt it at university, I’m grateful that I’m still using it, at work with colleagues whose first language is French. but it hasn’t been easy because I had to surround myself with media (books, TV shows, movies etc.) and like-minded people. Earlier on at university I spent the summer in France on an immersion programme and boy, did that help (or force) me to speak French.

I think that idea of sending your kid to an overseas camp is ideal if you are fine with that. If not, he might need to surround himself with like-minded kids or get to know actual French or Francophone kids.

Frankly, I think some families just have it better than others.


Picture an example in which the family converses only in English because its elders have always conversed in English, read in English and watched/listened to the English media. Is the father and mother likely to converse with their children in solely in English? Will their children have an easier time learning English? Probably so.

Whatever tuition, enrichment programmes and other English language infusion courses will only get a child not in-tuned with the English language from young a little but further than what his or her ability to speak and write fluently. Consistent after-class exposure to English language literature/media (i.e. books, TV shows, radio programmes etc.) are also very important.

I think the issue is not really about speaking proper English (honestly, I don’t even know what that means given the varieties of the English language). I think the issue is really about speaking and writing fluently in English. Fluency of the language starts young as quite a number of people have agreed. The able parent has to consistently speak in grammatically correct sentences as best as one can.

But herein lies the great difficulty that quite a number of us face: how does one do that consistently if one’s basics are not stellar to begin with? Maybe the family can learn (or re-acquaint, in the case of the parents)) English together - everyone improves, everyone gains confidence in using it fluently.

My experience growing up and learning the English language was helped because of my family environment. But it also helped when I surrounded myself with as much literature/media (i.e. books, TV shows, radio programmes etc.) I could get my hands on. I’m having an open mind with my two daughters by exposing to the different ways of expressing the English language as early as possible (through books, selected children’s TV shows, Internet/computer games etc.) as I think one of the very basics of having self-confidence is being able articulate oneself.

There will always be examinations and tests and all that, but can’t learning be as exploratory and fun for a child as well?