Aisha-Taweela seems to think that children only need to "speak" a language. However, this is simply not the case. In a French school, the curriculum will most probably be much the same as that of a French school in France, in which all of the pupils will speak, read and write in French, as their first language. Therefore, if the curriculum is designed to be challenging for children for whom French is their FIRST language, it is quite unrealistic to imagine that most children, of average abilities, will be able to thrive and to compete with their peers on an equal footing if French is their second or third language.
Of course children acquire language in different ways, but gradually there is a change: from oral to written forms, as the child becomes an adolescent. Reading is therefore crucial for continued success, as children make the transition from primary to secondary school. Unfortunately many second (or third) language children do not have the same access to French children's books that a French child would have in France - or an English child would have in England. Therefore I cannot agree with this idea that the only important thing is for a child to be able to speak in another language.
There is considerable debate as to whether ADHD really exists. Some doctors have suggested that it is a "disease" that has been invented by the drug companies that manufacture Ritalin.
Aisha-Taweela seems to think that children only need to "speak" a language. However, this is simply not the case. In a French school, the curriculum will most probably be much the same as that of a French school in France, in which all of the pupils will speak, read and write in French, as their first language. Therefore, if the curriculum is designed to be challenging for children for whom French is their FIRST language, it is quite unrealistic to imagine that most children, of average abilities, will be able to thrive and to compete with their peers on an equal footing if French is their second or third language.
Of course children acquire language in different ways, but gradually there is a change: from oral to written forms, as the child becomes an adolescent. Reading is therefore crucial for continued success, as children make the transition from primary to secondary school. Unfortunately many second (or third) language children do not have the same access to French children's books that a French child would have in France - or an English child would have in England. Therefore I cannot agree with this idea that the only important thing is for a child to be able to speak in another language.
There is considerable debate as to whether ADHD really exists. Some doctors have suggested that it is a "disease" that has been invented by the drug companies that manufacture Ritalin.