I'm hoping to move to Zurich early next year from Dublin to join my boyfriend who is from there. I have a 9 year old boy and would love to hear from other people who have put a child into a swiss school who don't speak the language.
I just finished University and I am now doing a TEFL course so hopefully I will be able to find work when I move there.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Carmen
Loads of Irish here, great fun and change of scenery..
Whereabouts are you from in Dublin, North or Southsider?
Have a good trip !
Joey ( Ex South Dubliner )
Thanks for your warm welcome. In Irish too! I wasn't expecting that.
I am from West Dublin close to Blanchardstown.
Do you live in Zurich now?
welcome!
I lived in South Dublin, Started in D24 (Tallaght), Blessington ( West Wicklow) and back to D24/Dublin area, City West
I live about 35 minutes from Zurich, between Zurich and Basel, a small place called Frick.
I've lived in Dublin for the last 8 years or so. I moved here from Donegal.
So how did you guys find learning the language? Was it a problem for you?
What made you move to Zurich? Sorry I seem to be asking alot of questions.
Carmen
Company that employed my partner moved to eastern europe, so we decided to move out and go to Switzerland.
I notice allot of Irish and Plastic Paddy's move out of the country , its like rat's fleeing a sinking ship. A shame to see Ireland go down that way, but i did enjoy my time there and certainly will go back to visit my old friends.
Do you have a job lined up here?
I don't have a job lined up yet, but I am hoping it won't be too hard to find one.
Hehe im here since may and no job.. don't want to burst your bubble but start looking already.. its not easy.
Then again it gives you some free time to explore the country
Check out these links..they will be of some help regarding jobs.
[[Swiss Job market] English-Speaking Companies](http://www.englishforum.ch/employment/324-swiss-job-market-english-speaking-companies-2.html)
Ill forward you a list of agencies and companies that are known to look for English speaking staff.
Not saying they do now but it doesn't hurt to ask
i am moving from Dublin (can you guess which suburb?) to Zug in December. I have 3 girls aged 6, 9 and 10 and am putting them in a bilingual school because they have no German. I thought it would be too hard for the older ones to adapt being plunged in full time and I didn't like the all english speaking international school from an integration perpsetive.
A lot of people may say that kids should be in the local all German school to learn the language and make local friends. My fear is that they might be ignored by teachers because they cannot speak the language and I will not be able to assist them with homework or communicate with the teachers until my German improves. As your boyfriend is Swiss I am sure this would not apply in your case.
Apparently (other forum users please correct me if I am wrong here) the important years for primary school are years 5 and 6 (ages 9/10/11). Year 6 cannot be repeated. In year 6 the school decides what kind of senior school it feels would suit your child. So unless recent arrivals get very good at German very quickly, good enough for them to be considerd "academic" by Swiss standards, then they cannot get into the best State high school (called "gymnasium").
Obviosuly I am not even there yet, so what do I know but I just wanted to share this info with you in case it helps your decision
The school thing worried me very much too. I went to find out about how it would work if I put my son into a Swiss/German speaking school and they were very supportive. The lady I spoke to assured me that my child would have intensive German classes for the first year for 3 mornings a week and would be put into the classroom with everyone else for the afternoon. I told her about my concerns about him not being able to communicate with the teacher in German and I was worried that he might fall behind. But she said that most teachers speak English too. So that if he had a problem he would be able to communicate. She said at this age (9) the children have already started learning English so communication between the children would be encouraged too. But she said that there are many children moving from different countries and are educated this way. She said that apart from teething problems they cope and adjust very well. But your right I am at an advantage here as my boyfriend speaks the language. I am encouraging my son to learn German before we go over. I bought a book that helps him with pronunciation and it has a cd too so he can hear how the words are pronounced. I am hoping that this will help him with the move.
Thank you for posting a reply. Keep in touch.
Carmen
I came for a one-year work contract. That was 3 years ago. I really like things here and when I do need to hit the Blanchardstown Centre for some crazy unnecessary late night or Sunday shopping, the flights back home are frequent and generally affordable.
As far as the language goes, I was fortunate to have done it for the leaving and was quite good at it. I had the grammar fundamentals, etc. I'm back in an advanced class now and some of the people in the group have come from nothing to C1 in about 3 years. Just stick with it.
You'll see a fair bit of discussion on the forum about British and American food. Maybe one day there will be enough of us to justify import of Barrys tea and Mikados
I was at an English book shop a couple of weeks ago near to the main station. I will have to check with my boyfriend the name of it. But they sell walkers crisps and all sorts of British food in there too. A book shop is the last place I would have checked for food but it was a nice find. Not sure about the Barry's tea bags or Mikados though. :-)
I'm glad you like it over there. It is really nice to hear stories from people who have moved from here. Did you find it hard to learn Swiss/German or do you think it is very similar to German?
Carmen
Sounds like Orell Füssli on Bahnhofstrasse - they have a few good things but nothing Irish as such. Handy from time to time to get the odd thing. There's also Myexpatshop and Britshop which satisfy my occasional lucozade craving.
Expect a huge difference between German and Swiss German. My school knowledge of German left me stumped and it's taken a good while to get my head around it. I understand most things I hear in dialect, but wouldn't yet dream of trying to speak it. Again this is something that comes with time and the more exposure you have to people the better.
Where are Myexpatshop and Britshop?
they are (mainly) webshops. I had great service recently from myexpatshop , which is in West Switzerland. Britshop is in Zug. I haven't used it yet but it has a good reputation.
So do you come back to Dublin often?
If your son is into Hurling there is a team here in Zurich, it is mostly adults but my 9 year old son joins them for training. Winter indoor training is on on Saturday afternoons.
Although he has never tried hurling so who knows. I will look into it.
Thanks
Carmen