Beginners are Beginners

I am often asked by potential students, can my (for example) 2nd grade child join the lesson with his 5th grade sibling.    I answer, IF they are both beginners, YES.   

Why?  Because beginners are beginners.   It doesn’t matter if they are in 1st grade or in 6th grade.   If they are NEW to English, then they will begin (like all elementary school students) on My English Book and Me 3 learning lots of vocabulary, phonics and grammar.   So, YES, they can join the same beginning class together.

It’s easy with all new, beginning students.  They are the same level.   It becomes more difficult 6 months down the line.   By then, some students will have leveled up quickly while others progress more slowly.   Many times, (but not always) AGE does play a factor.    So 6 months from beginning, the 5th grader might be reading and writing 3 letter words while his 2nd grade sibling is still reading and writing ABC phonics.   Again, it depends on the student.   We have many younger students who level up much more quickly than older students.    

So, the answer is YES, siblings CAN join the same lesson.  But 6 months down the line, we might recommend that 1 child change to a lesson that better suits their reading level.   Or we might not.   The siblings might ALWAYS be a similar level.   We don’t know.   We CAN’T predict how each child will progress.   But we DO promise to keep the parents informed and IF another lesson is better for their child in the future, we will recommend changing lessons.  If we don’t recommend a change, be assured that the lesson your child is in now is their level and good for them.