Online English lessons for children in Chile: getting ready for school English and speaking with confidence

How does English fit into school in Chile?

English is part of Chile's national curriculum from the later primary years. Many schools add English earlier than that, so what your child has already done depends a lot on their school. Your child's school is the best source for what their class covers and how often English is taught.

Whatever the starting point, a class lesson has many children sharing one teacher. Your child may understand a lot but get few turns to speak. Speaking is a skill that grows with practice, so extra time talking with a teacher is often what makes the biggest difference.

Which languages might my child already know?

Most families in Chile speak Spanish at home, and Mapudungun and other Indigenous languages are spoken too. If your child grows up with two languages, English simply joins them. Children can learn several languages side by side, and mixing words for a while is a normal stage. Our guide on a bilingual child mixing languages explains why.

What do Spanish-speaking children find hard in English?

Spanish is a friendly starting point because it uses the same alphabet and shares many words with English. A few differences take time, and knowing them helps you listen with patience rather than worry.

• Vowels. Spanish has five vowel sounds and English has many more. Pairs like ship and sheep, or cat and cut, can sound the same to a child at first.
• Words that start with s. Spanish words don't begin with s plus another consonant, so school often comes out as eschool and star as estar.
• The th sound. Latin American Spanish has no th, because z and c are said like s. So think may sound like sink until your child has heard and copied it many times.
• Word endings. In English, small endings carry meaning: -s for more than one, -ed for the past. Children learn to notice and say them over time.

Spanish spelling is very regular: once you know the letters, you can read almost any word. English is less tidy, which is why phonics teaches its sounds and spellings in a clear order.

Which English words could confuse a Spanish speaker?

Some English words look like Spanish ones but mean something quite different. Two favourites: embarrassed looks like embarazada, which means pregnant, and exit looks like éxito, which means success. Sharing these with your child turns a possible mistake into a joke they will remember. Many other words really are shared, such as animal, hotel and chocolate, which gives beginners a welcome boost.

How do I know what level my child has reached?

The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is widely used in Latin America as well as Europe to describe language levels. Its first levels for young learners are Pre-A1, A1 and A2. Knowing your child's level helps you choose lessons that are neither too easy nor too hard, and lets you see real progress over a school year. Our guide to CEFR levels for children explains each level in plain words.

When can a lesson fit into the Chilean school year?

The school year in Chile runs from about March to December, with a winter break in July and the long summer holiday from December to February. A 25-minute lesson is easy to fit after school or at the weekend, and younger children usually focus best before they get tired in the evening.

The breaks are worth using. A lesson or two a week during the summer keeps English fresh, so your child starts the new school year without having to catch up.

What if my child is too shy to speak English?

Shyness is common, especially for children aged 4 to 12 who worry about getting words wrong. A 1-to-1 lesson can help, because there are no classmates watching. Good teachers start with games, pointing and yes or no answers, then build up to full sentences. At home, avoid asking your child to perform English for relatives; let them choose when to show off. Our guide on a child who is shy to speak English has more ideas.

What does a good online English lesson look like?

• Your child talks with a live teacher and gets answers straight away.
• The lesson is one teacher and one child, so speaking time is high.
• Activities change often enough to hold a young child's attention.
• You hear after lessons what your child practised and what comes next.
• The safety rules are clear before you start, including where lessons take place.

How would CurioKids lessons work for a family in Chile?

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 Chile who already reads Spanish, Phonics Starter is a step-by-step way into the less regular spelling of English.

Visit our Chile page to see how lessons work, what your child will learn and how we keep children safe. If lessons for families in Chile 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 Chile are priced in Chilean pesos: see the prices for Chile.