my eight year old daughter was swimming in scotland with an amatuer swimming club. We are keen to find one here but because we have recently arrived she needs the instructor to be able to speak english. Does anyone know if there is a club nearish us who would satisfy this, we live near Aarau
Thanks

At her age, I'd say why not find a German speaking instructor and club who'll demonstrate as well as speak. The sooner she becomes immersed in the language, the better for the future. It's amazing how well they cope at that age, and how incredibly quickly they learn.

thank you for advice, she is just getting a bit bogged down with not having a clue what people are saying at school i thought getting her to do something she loves in her own language would help with her confidence a little bit. I get what you're saying though. thanksx

I used to tell the English speaking children to listen to the German, look what the other children do and do the same. If it all went pear-shaped, I'd have another go. I don't think the swimmers ever actually listened to what I said first time around.

If your children have swum in a club before, they'll soon pick up the necessary phrases. Aarefisch used to have some pretty good swimmers. Don't know these days though.

Unless things have changed in England, more confusing than training sessions are 'lower level' competitions as they are run quite differently here.

thanks for advice x x i know what you mean - i often wondered if the scottish coach could be heard by any of the swimmers over the pool noise

It's going to be a pretty visual thing teaching kids to swim don't you think? As there are only four kind of ways to swim, I'm confident you're daughter would grasp the basics of front & back crawl, breaststroke and butterfly if the instructor demonstrated the motion concerned.

Most pools have a system for the kids to advance through, each with their own merit badge and skill level. The clubs are pretty well organized here and there are frequent club events.

Of course, the catch is that what is important in swimming is what goes on under the water not what goes on on top, which is why youngsters who have learned by 'looking at other swimmers' usually get it all wrong!

As the mother mentions the word 'coach', and the youngster is 8 and was swimming in a club in England, I expect she will be able to swim crawl, back crawl and breaststroke already. Fly might come later in the programme but our children were expected to be able to make a decent shot at it by then. Coaches/trainers don't usually get into the water at all. Nasty wet stuff, water.