Till what age can you put English speaking kids into Hebrew

amother

OP ↓

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 3:30 pm

Till what age can you put English speaking kids who do not speak Hebrew into Hebrew speaking schools?

And how do people help such kids learn Hebrew and keep up in school?

#BestBubby

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 3:39 pm

It depends on the child.

Some kids, if you explain they won't understand anything for a couple of months but then they will become really fluent are willing.

But other kids would panic.

If they can have an english-hebrew speaking buddy sitting next to them in class It can work.

amother

Slategray

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 3:45 pm

If you already live in Israel but want to keep them English until latest possible - of course not talking about doing Aliyah when they are older.
DH went from a English crowd without speaking Hebrew at the age of 3, and 30 yrs later still remembers how traumatising it was for him. He was adamant to send our kids by the age of 2 and will mainly at the beginning speak to them about gan in ivrit- the first time he ever spoke to them in ivrit.
He said it was very hard in his head to speak about his day which happened in Hebrew over in English at a young age so would never tell his parents about his day.

Ofcourse not all kids are like that but be aware it can be hard on children.

Elfrida ↓

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 3:46 pm

It's easiest to do it in gan, when they can pock up Hebrew almost organically.

The older they are, the more support they need. If you're thinking of making aliyah with older children, one of the best things you can do is give them conversational Hebrew lessons beforehand. Sometimes it's worth putting them back a year in school, so they can focus on learning Hebrew without too much academic pressure.

A school with a large population of Olim probably has services in place to help.

↑ Reality

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 3:48 pm

amother OP wrote:

And is there anything I could do now in the summer to help prepare them?

You're still in chul and making aliyah soon?

I personally did not feel any of the prep that my kids did pre-aliyah actually helped.

But things I did:

Every day my kids were supposed to watch one show in hebrew.
We did 10-20 minutes of ulpan online each day.
I hired a math tutor to catch them up with Israeli math. This was for my older kids only.

amother

Nemesia

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 3:50 pm

amother OP wrote:

Is 7 considered young enough?

You know your child best. For a bright resilient child, it shouldn't be a problem. For a child who struggles with language, with social issues, with emotional, behavioral or transition issues, it can make things worse.

↑ Elfrida ↓

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 3:56 pm

amother OP wrote:

And is there anything I could do now in the summer to help prepare them?

Expose them to as much Hebrew as you can. Even if it's just in the background, they'll be picking up the syntax.

Read them Hebrew translations of books they know well in English. Get a few new books in simple Hebrew to read them. If you do screen time, find him Hebrew films to watch. If you can, start using Hebrew words and phrases yourself - just intersperse then in your daily conversation. Have a Hebrew radio station playing in the background.

If he hasn't learnt it yet, make sure he knows aleph-beit, and simple reading, and counting to ten (or twenty). He won't be too much behind the others.

Mamaluv18

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 4:02 pm

I've heard from friends up to age 9 is usually the easiest age to transition.
Obviously that's not a rule, every kid is different.
I have 2 relatives that moved from Israel to the US at age 7 and 6. They spoke only Hebrew and were not exposed to any English prior to the move. They are adults today you would never know they were Israeli born. I know you are asking about moving to Israel, same concept just reversed. Hatzlacha!

amother

Rose

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 4:05 pm

My daughter has been intentionally seated next to new Olim since she speaks both languages. Was born here but we speak English in the house.

The teachers try hard to accommodate the girls.

I think the age really depends. I know kids who came at 16 and integrated completely. (Married to an Israeli. Most of his life is in Hebrew.) And some at a much younger age that didn't...

But if I had to guess, I'd say before first grade is the best. And if possible let them repeat the last year of gan. Based on Olim I see, I think that can be very helpful for the kid. Learn the language before they are responsible for any material. (And even in my community that is not in Ym or RBS...) there's a few English speakers.

However, I do have a relative who made aliya before 2nd grade. She did wonderfully and her 4 YO brother struggled way more than her ironically.

amother

Hydrangea

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 11:04 pm

My daughter is 3.5 and we live in NY but moving back to israel next year. My husband only speaks to her in ivrit but she answers in english!! I really want her to be able to speak I am getting nervous since she answers in English unless my husband prompts her to respond in ivrit

amother

SandyBrown

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 11:27 pm

amother Hydrangea wrote:

she will be fine

essie14

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 11:28 pm

amother Hydrangea wrote:

She will start replying in Hebrew in gan within a week. She will realize they don't understand English.
Kids that age pick it up so quickly and she already understands it.

Comptroller

Wed, Jul 10 2024, 11:37 pm

It depends on the child and it depends on the environment, whether the environment is supportive.

I have seen 4-year-olds having a hard time at the beginning because they were very advanced in their first language and kind of did not accept that they would have to start at 0 in another language, so they just stopped speaking where they would have to use the new language, for a while.

In Israel, they give 2 years to learn the language, but even afterwards olim chadashim get some benefits, like extra points to compensate for the fact that they had to learn a language. 2 years is sufficient for some children and not for others.

It is important to have a supportive environment, I have seen cases where children were teased or even bullied because they did not speak hebrew yet, and that's not helpful.

amother

↑ OP

Thu, Jul 11 2024, 1:29 am

Comptroller wrote:

That’s what I’m worried about the most. I don’t want the kids to get bullied.

If they understand some Hebrew and can speak a (tiny) little bit as well, does that make things easier?
Easier for them to pick up the language?