When do the school children in Western Europe

[raccoon]

Begin studying English?

I'm guessing very early.

I just heard a Dutch teenager talking in English on NPR He had a slight accent and he sounded like he was totally fluent.

[oberliner]

1. In the Netherlands, age 10 or earlier

In any case, by law all schools in the Netherlands are obliged to start teaching English as a subject by group seven (about age 10) at the latest. An increasing number of schools, however, are deciding to start English earlier, sometimes even from group one. You can also find primary schools that teach French, German or Spanish.

[cyclonefence]

2. Message deleted by DU the Administrators

[GeorgeGist]

3. Reminds me of being in Helsinki ...

and the natives spoke better English than many Americans.

[BannonsLiver]

4. That makes perfect sense

I too have traveled abroad and have heard people who have never been to the US speak better English than most people in certain regions of the US.

[malaise]

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[duncang]

6. When I visited Sweden

Most people I asked had taken English classes early in life. There were some immigrants and had learned English elsewhere. But a lot of them told me they grew up watching American tv also. When they asked where I was from (Texas) I was asked if watched Dallas or lived there. Evidently some big Dallas fans in Sweden. Several had what I would call newcaster English with out a noticeable accent.

Side note: I was amazed by one shop owner. He shifted through 4-5 different languages while we were there. I don't know how many he knew in total but it was impressive what he showed in the short time we were there.

[mnhtnbb]

7. We have a friend from the US--a teacher--who moved to France 5 years ago and now teaches

in an international school in Lyon. He is fluent in French, English, and German. He teaches 1st grade and
his students are learning English. He grew up speaking German at home (his mother is German) and majored in French in college.

Our French "daughter"--who lived with us for a year many years ago when she was a foreign exchange student--
now has a family of her own and lives just outside Paris. Her son started studying English when he was 11 in school.

The teacher friend was friends with our French "daughter" when they were in high school. We visited with both of them on our trip to France in April.