As children and parents move from one area to another, difficulties may arise in the language medium of the school. For example, when children are between the ages of seven and sixteen, and their language has not developed sufficiently to allow them easy entry into the language used in the curriculum of the school, what alternatives exist?

If a majority language parent moves to a different majority or minority language environment, there may be supplementary language courses before, or as soon as the child enters the new school. For example, in Wales, there are language centres for majority language in-migrants into the area. The children spend fifteen or more weeks in such minority language centres before entering primary school. The children are taught the new language in a lively and attractive way, and simultaneously, efforts are made to ensure that their work throughout the core curriculum is kept up to age expectations. When children are sufficiently fluent to understand that language in the classroom, they are transferred to a mainstream primary school.

In other cases, there are classes within a school specially set aside for children who are late entrants. While long-term use of separate classes tends to stigmatize children, in the short term there may be a language necessity for extra provision to be given.

Older children experience a more advanced curriculum and therefore a more advanced language is required to cope in the curriculum. Hence, movement from one language medium to another tends to become more difficult as children progress through their school years. If sympathetically, sensitively and carefully handled, language transition is possible. After initial worries and concerns by children and their parents, children are amazingly resilient and adaptable to new situations, including new language situations. It is important that children are accepted, their self-esteem is preserved, their confidence in their academic ability is maintained and their first language is not the subject of derision and disparagement.

In a school which uses a different language up to the age of seven there are usually few transition problems. After the age of seven, there is often a need for a child to acquire quickly a language competence sufficient for working in the curriculum. If such language competence can be relatively speedily acquired, a switch to a different language medium is possible throughout the primary school years.

When a child will struggle in the long term (and not just short term) to catch up with the language competence required to cope in the curriculum, parents may need to consider carefully the alternatives. Parents relative priorities in schooling (e.g. exam success, moral and social development) need weighing against language priorities. Maintaining a child's positive academic self-concept and positive achievement in the curriculum is essential to ensure that success breeds success.