Every child starting at a new school experiences feelings of apprehension and nervousness. And of course, these feelings can be much stronger if the child is not a native-speaker of the main language of the school. Below are some suggestions on how you can make your child's transition into Frankfurt International School as comfortable and successful as possible.
One important way that you can help your child to prepare for entry to FIS is to talk with him or her. Let it be known that feelings of anxiousness are normal and usually disappear very quickly. Teachers at FIS are experienced in helping ESL students settle down and feel comfortable in a short time.
It is useful if students have at least a little basic English before they arrive in school. This will help them understand some of the things that the teacher and other students will say to them. For example, your child should be able to say and write a few sentences about him- or herself, family and interests. He or she should know some basic vocabulary such as the numbers, times, colours, days and months etc. (Students starting at FIS with higher levels of English should be ready to talk more extensively about themselves and their previous education; they should also be able to talk and write about books they have read or experiences they have had.)
A sure way to learn some of the necessary words for getting off to a good start at FIS is to do the vocabulary exercises elsewhere on this site. Beginners in English should do the exercises in the Easier Words section; more advanced students will benefit from learning vocabulary in the Harder Words section.
It is very important that your child is able to read up about some of the subject content in his or her own language. For example, an ESL student in grade 8 history class will find it much easier to understand the work in progress about the American Revolution if she can get background information about this period through readings in the mother tongue. For this reason it is good if you can borrow or buy textbooks and encyclopaedias in your own language before coming to Germany. Native-language CD-ROMs are another very good source of information.
It is very important that your child has a good dictionary and brings it to every lesson. There are many excellent electronic dictionaries now available that not only give definitions and examples, but also pronounce the typed-in word. Older, more advanced students should have a good monolingual English dictionary that is kept at home.
I am sure that your child will soon feel very happy and comfortable at our school, and will start to make good progress in English and the other subjects. Please make it clear to him or her that the ESL teacher is there to help in all aspects of adjusting to FIS - not just learning English!