Hi, I have an 8 year old son who speaks and reads English fluently, but not German. We're planning to move from the US to Zurich in September. I'd like him to learn German and attend a German speaking school (after a transitional period).

Any suggestions on where to look for schools that make this possible?

Thanks,
nyenyec

You could start researching the schools mentioned at http://www.xpatxchange.ch/index.php?...=317&Itemid=81

Otherwise, I know from experience that it takes children at that age weeks, rather than months, to learn a second language if they use it daily. So, it shouldn't be a problem at all!

Good luck for your stay in CH.

Hi,

Our kids are going to attend the d'Insle Montessori-Schule, it's in Signaustrasse.

Can't really vouch for the school as our kids tuition is part of our relocation package...but it's a bilingual German/English school with an english-speaking and German-speaking teacher in each class...

We want our kids to maintain their English and learn German, rather than doing total immersion and risk them losing their English academics (they are both excellent readers/writers in English)...and also our kids have been at Montessori here in Australia...so for them it's the same curriculum wherever we go...

Thanks for the tips!

What kind of price range can I expect at these schools?

Are they hard to get in? Also, when does the school year start?

School Year starts mid-late August.

Prices for international (private schools) are maybe 15-20K per year, need to factor in whether food is provided, whether the kids come home for lunch, what time they start/finish and also whether they have before and after school care or vacation care.

I believe the goverment-run schools are free...

Not sure what you mean by a transitional period? You move to Zurich in September, your son starts school - it's the law .

Seriously, the question to ask yourself is how long are you staying. If long term then put him in the local school, he will get a language for free and the process appears to make it easier to learn additional languages - mine now do German - fluent, French, and Italian.

If short temr then consider an international (up to 30K a year around ZH) or a bilingual school (20 to 25K around ZH last time I looked).

I can speak from experience - I arrived in December last year, now 7 months ago - with my 6, 8 and 10 year old children.

For preparation we did send them to German lessons in our last country, and that helped exposure to the language, but they were not really at a confident speaking level when they arrived. They could say where they come from and what their names were and where they live, and understand a bit more, but quite limited.

When we arrived in Switzerland we put them straight into the local Swiss public school system, and gave them every support to learn the language - which meant making sure they found friends :-).

After 6 months:
My 6-yr old is speaking Swiss-German like a local, having learnt it in kindergarten in 6 months with no formal language lessons. The first 3 months were absorbing and listening, then she started talking.
She now happily makes friends and plays with the Swiss and German children in our house and neighbourhood.

My 8-year old went into the local Swiss school system, where she was allocated to a special language class that focuses on teaching the local language, and the curriculum, to non-native speakers. After the teacher has assessed the child as being sufficiently fluent, they get assigned to their normal class. She starts in the normal class in August.
I noted the other day that she could read German better than a local Swiss child of the same age.
She has now started to speak Swiss German, even though she is taught High German.
She happily communications with other children and makes friends.

My 10-yr old also went into the same school system. We notice that she learns at a different pace to our 8-yr old, and the teacher told us that learning a 2nd language for children up to 8 is very easy. In fact, 8 is an ideal age to learn - some logical thinking is developed, the ability to learn in a structured manner is developed, but the inhibitions of age have not yet appeared.
My 10-yr old also plays and talks to the local kids easily, and her German is great.

Our experience has been very positive - surround your children with local kids, give them loads of support with the local language and help them as much as you can. We are constantly practising languages using every street sign and shop sign as an example.

We told our children that the first 6 months would be hard, but that at the end of 12 months they would speak like a local - and they are well on track to achieving this.

Our transitional period was the German classes taught in the Swiss school system. It is excellent, we can only recommend immersion in the language and school. We do not use a private school.

We are very proud of all of our children's achievements and can highly recommend using the public school system.

A very detailed and helpful post. Only comments I would add is that if there are many other 'foreign' children at the school, or in the area in which the child lives, it will be more difficult from the point of view that the child will hear other languages too.
And some children just find it more difficult than others - irrespective of how supportive the parents and school are.
Don't worry if it takes your child a bit longer.

...Also, in a class with other people who speak german as a second language, the general standards may be lower. When we first came here my brother, then ten, was in a class where noone spoke perfect german, so there was little incentive to speak it perfectly since he fit in better speaking it as everyone else did.

On the other hand, schools in the state system with a lot of foreigners often have extra german tutoring programs for those who need to catch up- again this was the case with my brother, he had daily german lessons in a small group with a few others.

That is correct. We addressed this issue by consciously seeking out an area to live whereby the locals strongly outweigh the foreigners :-)

We can see the impact on the classrooms: in the new school year when our children will go to the normal class at the local school, there is only 1 or 2 non-native Swiss-German speaking children in each class. That helps hugely.

Hi,
I know of a great initiative in Basel to help English-speaking children aged 6 – 13 years have a smooth transition in Switzerland culturally but more particularly educationally in their move from an English-speaking school into the Swiss school system. It’s called “Step in”. T
he curriculum is taught in German and is adapted to “fill the gaps” that each child has between what they've learnt in other school systems and what they need to know at that level in the Swiss school curriculum.
This course only lasts a year, is approved by Basel-Stadt and includes culturally integration too and at the end of it all children are fully prepared to enter the Swiss school system.
Sound interesting?

First post here but I was interested in this thread - I'd also appreciate advice on local state schools v International schools too. I maybe moving to Zurich next year and will have a 10 yr and 6 yr old. I am a single parent Mum so I'd like to know how the local schools could work for the kids and I, I can fund an au pair to help me?

Hi,

The local schools are fine, and free of charge

Bear in mind the private international schools charge about 15k pa per child !

As to an au-pair - I am sure that as a successful deriviatives broker on 1m pa you will have no issue funding an au pair.

PS: I guessed at your occupation and salary. Was I right?

That's why I'm enquiring about local schools as the International ones are so expensive... afraid I'm a humble designer not a banker......
Do the local schools only accept new children in the new school year eg Aug?
I know I'd need an au pair to pick the children up at lunchtimes as they close for lunch.... It's reassuring that this is a good option.

Hi,

In Switzerland an education is compulsory by law. So the local school must accept your child when you arrive in the area. They cannot make you wait.

Schools run a Mittagstisch (lunch table) for working parents, and they are also lunchtime care centres (Hort) - the availability (and cost) of these facilities vary from school to school, but generally there is something available.

So you can arrive and put your kids in school anytime.

Note also that your children may first be assigned to integration classes, if they do not speak the local language.

This happened to my children, and after 6 months they have sufficient excellent language skills to start the normal local school classes when school starts next week!.
We had a slight complication in that the integration classes were at a different school, so my children attended a different school for the first 6 months. But they enjoyed it.

Great info! Thanks...
I hadn't realised that the schools provided lunchtime facilities....even at a cost that is wonderful news, as it solves the issue of an au pair having to pick-up lunchtime and return in the afternoon.
What time genarally do state schools start and finish? Are there any after school clubs or facilities...
I'm wondering if I could cope without an au pair, but then there's the issue of school hol care too and am I correct that Wed afternoon schools are closed?
Thats good to hear your kids have got up to speed so quickly with their German... very encouraging as the International school cost was the make or break as whether I come to Zurich or not....

Hi - I'm also a single Mum and my son goes to the local Swiss school. I would agree with the comments regarding the speed at which the children learn the local language (especially if they make friends) if they attend a local school. After a year here my son is fluent in Swiss German and reads German very well.

I have an aupair (although the search for a replacement is ongoing as she's about to leave soon) and it really is much nicer for my son to come home at lunchtime. For a period of six weeks while I didn't have one my son used the local Mittagstisch. It wasn't bad but the food choice was sometimes not that great and he missed being able to come home, chuck his stuff down and chill in front of the tv or playing with his lego etc..
I suppose it didn't help he had towalk up almost 70 steps to get there!

So you may want to still think about the aupair option - at least until you've had a chance to see the Mittagstisch environment for yourself.

Besides you'll get more than just a lunchtime babysitter if you get an aupair.

Thanks Demi - Do you mind me asking the age of your son? I will have to have an au-pair, but it useful to know that the school lunch facility is available as an option.
Would you be able to give me some info about how you find au pairs, do you go via an agancy? An tips appreciated...

The first time I heard my eldest daughter speaking Swiss-German was with an American girl who had moved in three weeks before.

Hi Julieken - he's 8 and a half now but we've been here a year. I'm currently using an agency from England. Only hassle with getting an aupair here are the stringent regulations which are best swotted up on. The main one being the aupair mustn't speak the same language as the family and ostensibly they are here to learn German/ French/Italian. Bit of a pain really. Will send you a pm with more details.