My 8 yr. old son Benjamin attends 3rd grade at an extremely demanding bilingual English French school in Paris. He is totally bilingual speaking. But not succeeding in primarily this French school. We need help evaluating his skills and difficulties. Does anyone know anyone in Paris??? or could they recommend a program. I spend lots of time consulting this site and others but I need more direction assessing Benjamin’s situation. He is starting to withdraw and seems discouraged and a bunch of other symptoms. He probably has a problem with auditory processing. Probably has been demoralized beyond belief. The system here is very unflexible and critical. I need an English or French speaking specialist to help Benjamin realize that it is fun to learn and that he can learn. Thanks
Re: Help in Paris France
My suggestion would be to find a bright bilingual person (probably young language teacher in training) who would be interested in getting LMB or PG training and tutouring your son and others. No doubt there would be other French and anglo speaking parents interested and you could form a coop. Send them to course in Ca. or UK (tho London LMB tutours not very experienced or proved- just trained last summer with 5 days training in Ca) with tutorial contract for at least one year to teach your son. This worked for me in UK and a German friend. It works out to be no more expensive than a private school and frankly a private school that can fix an already demoralized kid is going to be rarer than a chanticleer’s tooth. Let us know how you get on.
Re: Help in Paris France
Sorry it took me so long to get online and find your request. I am bilingual and help kids learn to read in both English and French here in Montreal. In France, phonics-based instruction has long been the standard and there are good materials available, some better than the English programs. I can give you the names of some materials that you can get directly from the publisher or from amazon.fr I can give you suggestions of how to work with your son and you or a tutor (whever he works with best) can start at the beginning and get him back on track. Just email me and we can discuss what works in general. Sorry this is a late reply, but hoping to hear from you soon.
Chere Marjorie,
I lived in Tours France for a long time in the 70’s. I used to know a researcher who worked on language impairments, but he must be retired by now… if not gone. I’ll make some inquiries from some friends in Paris and see if I can find someone. My friends in Paris have older kids, but they may be able to help you find someone. Send me your email directly to [email protected] and I’ll get back to you.
Bon courage!
Bon courage!