A child with no English at a Dubai school
Which schools take children without English, how EAL support works, whether to start at a non-selective school, and how families keep a home language going — mother-tongue programmes built into the timetable.
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- ✓ The questions that follow the piece, answered further down
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When your child does not speak English
The most common fear of a family moving to Dubai from a non-English-speaking country is that the child has no English. The good news: in Dubai this is an everyday situation, and the system is ready for it. The less good news: not every school will take a child without the language, and that narrows your choice.
Will a school take a child without English?
Yes, but not everywhere. Selective schools assess in English, and weak English becomes a barrier there — NLCS, for example, states plainly that it does not admit children with weak English. Non-selective schools accept children with limited English, and sometimes with none at all. If you can, it is worth getting at least basic English in place before school starts — it makes settling in easier.
The younger the child, the easier it is: at three the assessment is a play-based interview, and language barely decides anything. At ten or twelve the gap is noticeable, and this is where the strategy of “a non-selective school first, then a more selective one after a year or two” comes into its own.
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EAL — English as an Additional Language
Many schools run an EAL (English as an Additional Language) programme for children who are behind in English — extra lessons. In some schools it is included in the fees (at one GEMS school, for example, extra English three times a week is part of tuition); in others it is charged separately, and sometimes a school starts charging for what used to be free. Ask about it on the tour.
How quickly children start speaking
Going by parents’ reviews, younger children begin to understand the teacher within one or two months, and sometimes start reading in English after a couple of months. The schools parents praise for a gentle transition are usually those where teachers and assistants work deliberately with newcomers: seating them next to classmates, giving one-to-one time. Teenagers find it harder: the first year goes on the language, and you should be prepared for that.
A warning from the same reviews: at a school with a strong emphasis on Arabic language and culture, a child with no English may start speaking Arabic before English. If English is the priority, ask how many hours of Arabic there are each week.
Keeping the home language
For many families the other half of the question is not losing the language spoken at home. Dubai has options:
- Mother tongue in the timetable. At GEMS World Academy a mother-tongue programme for native speakers is part of the curriculum — 16 languages, twice a week within school hours. Arcadia runs mother-tongue lessons once a week. Some schools host home-language lessons with teachers from language centres.
- National-curriculum schools. Some communities have their own schools teaching in the home language to their home country’s standards — for Russian speakers, for example, the Russian School in Dubai and the Primakov Gymnasium in Abu Dhabi, which opened in September 2022.
- Saturday schools and tutors — the most common choice for families whose children attend international schools.
How many children share your language?
It varies. Some schools have almost none — eight to ten such children in the whole school, mostly Europeans around them, which speeds up English. Others have large communities from one country, which helps with settling in, but children tend to stick with their own. Which is better depends on your child’s temperament; ask on the tour how many children in the relevant year group speak your home language.
On assessments and CAT4, see Dubai school entrance assessments; on schools with mother-tongue programmes, see IB schools in Dubai.
The full “Schools in Dubai” series
- Schools in Dubai: how the system works
- KHDA school ratings in Dubai: how to read them
- Getting into a Dubai school: the five steps
- School documents in the UAE: attestation and the transfer certificate
- Dubai school fees and how to pay less
- The school day in Dubai and the costs on top of fees
- The Dubai school year, holidays and starting age
- British, American or IB: choosing a curriculum in Dubai
- IB Diploma vs A-levels: what each gives a school leaver
- British schools in Dubai: twelve strong options
- American schools in Dubai
- IB schools in Dubai: seven international-curriculum schools
- Dubai school entrance assessments and the CAT4 test
- The Dubai school tour: what to ask and what to watch for
- School first, home second: where to live near a Dubai school
The essentials
The most common questions on the subject, answered briefly. Figures come with the period they refer to — rates, visa thresholds and yields do not stand still.
Will a school take a child who does not speak English?
Yes, but not every school. Non-selective schools take children with weak or no English; selective schools assess in English.
Do schools offer extra English support?
Yes, many run an EAL programme for children who are behind in the language. Some include it in the fees, others charge for it.
How can we keep our home language going?
Choose a school with mother-tongue lessons in the timetable (GEMS World Academy, for example), a national-curriculum school such as the Russian School in Dubai or the Primakov Gymnasium in Abu Dhabi, or use a Saturday school and a tutor.
How quickly will my child start speaking English?
Going by parents’ reviews, younger children begin to understand the teacher within a month or two. Teenagers need about a year.
This material is provided for information purposes and does not constitute individual investment advice. Property returns depend on many factors and are not guaranteed.