When is the best time for children to attend international schools?

You can judge the best time for your child to enter an international school from those three angles!

1. From the perspective of English learning, the earlier the better. Experts say that if you want to master a language and basically reach the level of "mother tongue", you should not be over 10 years old at the latest.

Q: What is the level of "mother tongue"?

It is difficult to describe quantitatively. In practical application, if you can do the following two things, you can simply understand that you have reached the level of "mother tongue":

First, if you think in "English", English will blurt out without going through the process of "Chinese-English translation" in your mind;

Second, people in English-speaking countries can't find that "English" is not your mother tongue when communicating with you.

Of course, not everyone will require their children to reach the level of "mother tongue" as their goal.

However, if you want your children's English level to reach the level of "mother tongue", then don't send them to an all-English immersion environment at the latest when they are 10 years old. In this case, it is still possible, and it must be as soon as possible. Otherwise, it is unlikely.

The reason why reaching the level of "mother tongue" is the standard is mainly because it is an achievable goal and a goal pursued by many parents. Nowadays, many children in China, from kindergarten to primary school, are bilingual or speak English. For example, they have been studying in international schools and their English level has reached the level of "mother tongue". Of course, if your child's "English" learning goal is not so high, then discuss it again.

2. Choosing students from international schools from the perspective of foreign transition basically means not taking the national college entrance examination but studying abroad. Going to an international school can improve children's English level, get familiar with western teaching methods and make a good transition for studying abroad in the future.

If the child goes to primary school, it is best to transfer to an international school before grade five or six. Because it takes at least 1-2 years for children who transfer from public schools to international schools to truly adapt to the language requirements of international schools and master the learning methods of international schools, and English listening, speaking, reading and writing can meet the requirements of the curriculum.

If you choose between Grade 5 and Grade 6, you'd better transfer to an international school at the end of Grade 5. This is because the grade setting in the United States is slightly different from that in China. In the United States, grades 1-5 are primary schools, grades 6-8 are middle schools, and grades 9- 12 are high schools. Compared with primary school, middle school is a big leap. Grade 6-8 is an independent and complete curriculum system with more detailed subjects and higher requirements.

Therefore, considering the transition period of 1-2 years and the relative integrity of the academic system, it is best to transfer to an international school at the end of the fifth grade, so that you can learn a complete junior high school curriculum, and it is more difficult to transfer from the end of the sixth grade to the end of the fifth grade. Because it is equivalent to taking a year less secondary school courses than others.

If your child is already in junior high school, you can also consider entering the international department of a public school after graduating from junior high school. In this way, I will receive a complete public system primary and secondary education in primary and secondary schools, and then transfer to high school.

If a child transfers to an international school in junior high school, he may face great transitional pressure. Compared with primary schools, junior high school courses in international schools are more abstruse and difficult to understand, and at the same time, they also require high English reading and writing skills.

Many students do their homework until 9- 10 pm. Junior high school children are in adolescence, with strong self-esteem and great mood swings. At this time, they turn to the past, not only to complete the transition of English quickly, but also to learn difficult courses. They have to overcome more pressure than transferring from primary schools to international schools.

3. From the perspective of learning Chinese, some parents are struggling when choosing a primary school for their children. On the one hand, we agree with the educational methods of international schools, but on the other hand, we are worried that Chinese teaching in international schools may be weakened, and that Chinese will fall behind while children learn English well.