Bienvenue / Bienvenida to the Modern Language Program at the International School of the Turks and Caicos – French and Spanish It is never too early to start learning another language. Many children are born in families where two or more languages are spoken. In fact, the sooner they start the better. It is amazing how their little brains can retain words in different languages and not get confused between them. In our school we start French in Junior Kindergarten, between the age of three and four. At that age they acquire a perfect pronunciation. They understand instructions very quickly and soon learn to reuse them to make themselves understood by other children. All children from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 4 have French two hours a week. We have a whole range of activities that are mainly geared towards understanding and speaking. As the children reach grade 4 they have to start studying at home to remember the vocabulary learned in class so we can reuse it in full sentences as we now start learning how to use verbs, adjectives and adverbs.   We also have French Immersion Classes for first language French speakers. The classes runs for three hours a week  to enjoy games, activities, television and stories. There is a French library also which the French speakers can use too! Last year the school introduced Spanish in Grade 6. This year they start in Grade 5. They have no problem switching from one language to the other. French and Spanish are very similar in vocabulary and grammar. The children now learn new sounds easily. They learn vocabulary and they are able to learn adjectives and verbs right away. Read this interesting article on this topic: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationopinion/11151726/Children-should-start-learning-languages-at-age-three.html