Online English lessons for children in Belgium: English as a third language, without the overload

Why is English often a third language for children in Belgium?

Belgium has three official languages, Dutch, French and German, and education is run separately by the Flemish, French-speaking and German-speaking communities. So the order in which your child meets other languages depends on which community's school they attend.

• In Dutch-speaking schools in Flanders, French is usually the first additional language, and English comes later.
• In French-speaking schools, the first additional language can be Dutch, English or German, depending on the school. In Brussels, it is Dutch.

So for many children in Belgium, English is a third language, after their home language and a second national language. Your child's school is the best source for when English starts in their class and what it covers.

Is it too much to add English alongside French or Dutch?

For most children it is not. Children can learn two or more languages side by side, and a child who already handles two has practice at noticing that the same idea can be said in different ways. Mixing words from different languages for a while is normal and fades as each language grows. Our guide on a bilingual child mixing languages explains what is going on.

What matters is the load. If your child is tired from a long school day in a second language, English should feel like a break, not more homework. Keep it light: talking, games and stories, with reading and writing added when your child is ready. Watch your child rather than the calendar: if English starts to feel like a chore, ease off for a few weeks.

Which English sounds are tricky for Dutch and French speakers?

The tricky sounds depend on the language your child speaks at home and at school. Knowing them helps you stay patient when the same mistake comes back.

There are false friends too. A Dutch speaker may think slim means clever, because in Dutch it does. A French speaker may say actually when they mean currently, because French actuellement means currently. These slips are easy to laugh about once your child knows them.

English spelling is less regular than Dutch or French, so phonics helps children of either language: it teaches the sounds of English letters on their own terms.

How can international families in Brussels keep their child's English strong?

Brussels is home to many international families who use English at work. If English is spoken at home but your child goes to school in French or Dutch, their spoken English may stay strong while reading and writing in English fall behind. The gap can become clearer as classmates start reading confidently in the school language.

A few habits help: read English books together most days, let your child write short notes or shopping lists in English, and give them someone outside the family to talk English with, so they hear more than one voice and more than one way of speaking.

How long and how often should English lessons be?

For children aged 4 to 12, short and regular beats long and rare. A 25-minute lesson once or twice a week keeps English fresh without crowding out the school language or after-school activities. Young children in particular lose focus in long sessions, and a lesson that ends while your child still wants more is a good lesson.

Choose a time when your child is not exhausted, keep it the same each week, and add a few minutes of English at home on the other days. Our guide on how long a child's lesson should be explains why shorter lessons work so well.

How do I keep three languages organised at home?

You don't need a strict system, but a little structure helps children know which language to expect.

• Tie English to a time or a place: Saturday breakfast, the car ride to sport, or bedtime stories on certain nights.
• Keep reading in the school language too. Strong reading in one language supports reading in another.
• Praise effort, not accuracy. A child who tries English and gets it wrong is still learning.
• Use the CEFR to describe progress. It is used across Europe, so the same levels (Pre-A1, A1 and A2 for young learners) make sense whichever language your child's school runs in.

How would CurioKids lessons work for a family in Belgium?

CurioKids gives children aged 4 to 12 live, 1-to-1 online English lessons with a real teacher, 25 minutes each, in the CurioKids online classroom with video, an interactive whiteboard, lesson slides and games. Most children start with Phonics Starter; a child who already reads can be placed straight into a CEFR-based level after the free first lesson. Phonics Starter is our 52-lesson reading course, from letter sounds to reading sentences. Teachers can't teach until our team has confirmed a background check and they have signed our teaching agreement. Lessons happen only inside the CurioKids classroom, and your child's teacher gives feedback after lessons. See our levels and safety pages for more.

For a child in Belgium who is reading in Dutch or French at school, Phonics Starter keeps the English sounds and spellings clearly separate from the ones they already know.

Visit our Belgium page to see how lessons work, what your child will learn and how we keep children safe. If lessons for families in Belgium haven't opened yet, the page has a waitlist: leave your details and we'll let you know when you can book your child's free first lesson. Plans for families in Belgium are priced in euros: see the prices for Belgium.