South America
Online English lessons for children in Colombia: Calendar A, Calendar B and bilingual schools
Quick answer
Whether your child in Colombia is on Calendar A or B, a weekly 1-to-1 online lesson fits around school and adds speaking. CurioKids teaches children aged 4 to 12 in live, 1-to-1, 25-minute online lessons with a real teacher. If lessons for families in Colombia haven't opened yet, our Colombia page has a waitlist.
Whether your child in Colombia is on Calendar A or Calendar B, a short 1-to-1 English lesson each week can fit around school and give them steady speaking practice. That matters whether they attend a bilingual school or have English as one subject among many. This guide explains the two school calendars, where levels and exams fit, which English sounds Spanish speakers find tricky, and what to look for in online lessons.
- By CurioKids teamHow we write our guides
- Published
- Updated
- 7 min read
Key takeaways
- Colombian schools follow Calendar A, from about February to November, or Calendar B, from about August or September to June.
- Bilingual schools are common in the big cities, but even there a child may get few chances to speak 1-to-1.
- The CEFR gives you a shared way to describe your child's level, and Starters, Movers and Flyers are optional.
- Spanish speakers usually practise the English vowels, th, and words that begin with s plus a consonant.
On this page
What are Calendar A and Calendar B in Colombia?
Colombian schools follow one of two calendars. Calendar A runs from about February to November and is followed by most state schools. Calendar B runs from about August or September to June and is followed by many private and bilingual schools. So two children of the same age can be at very different points in their school year.
This matters when you plan extra English. A 25-minute weekly lesson fits around either calendar. A family on Calendar A has its long break around the end and start of the calendar year, while a family on Calendar B has its long break in the middle of the year. Whichever applies to you, the long holiday is a good time to keep a short weekly lesson going so English does not slip.
Does a bilingual school mean my child doesn't need extra English?
Bilingual schools are common in Colombia's big cities, and they give children a great deal of English to listen to. Even so, a child in a busy class may understand well but rarely speak at length. Others find reading in English harder than speaking, because English spelling is far less regular than Spanish.
Extra lessons are most useful when they fill a specific gap: more speaking, help with reading, or a chance to go faster than the class. If your child is happy and progressing, there is no need to add more. Your child's school is the best source for what their class covers and how your child is doing.
Which languages do children in Colombia grow up with?
Spanish is the home language for most families, and Indigenous languages are spoken too. On San Andrés, many people also speak an English Creole. For children who already use two languages, English becomes a third, and that is fine: children can learn several languages side by side, and mixing words for a while is a normal stage.
Where do the CEFR and Cambridge exams fit?
The CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) is used in Europe and widely in Latin America to describe language ability. Its first levels for young learners are Pre-A1, A1 and A2. CEFR Pre-A1, A1 and A2 correspond to the Cambridge English Young Learners levels Starters, Movers and Flyers. CurioKids is not affiliated with or endorsed by Cambridge University Press and Assessment. These Young Learners exams are optional and taken by children in many countries. Some children like having a goal to work towards; for others, regular speaking and reading matter more than a test. Read more about Starters, Movers and Flyers.
Which English sounds do Colombian children find tricky?
Spanish gives children a strong start: the same alphabet, plenty of shared words such as animal and hospital, and the habit of reading letters carefully. The tricky parts are mostly sounds that Spanish does not have.
| What happens | Why | Example |
|---|---|---|
| An e sound is added at the start | Spanish words don't begin with s plus a consonant | school becomes eschool, spoon becomes espoon |
| th becomes s or t | Latin American Spanish has no th, and z and c are said like s | think sounds like sink |
| Two vowels sound the same | Spanish has five vowel sounds and English has many more | ship and sheep, cat and cut |
| Words are read the Spanish way | Spanish spelling is very regular, English is not | said, was and one |
False friends add some fun. In Spanish, librería is a bookshop, not a library, and embarazada means pregnant, not embarrassed. Children tend to remember these once they have laughed about them.
What changes between age four and age twelve?
Children aged 4 to 12 can all enjoy English, but a good lesson looks different at each stage.
- Four to six. Songs, pictures, puppets and games, with lots of listening and copying. Short lessons suit short attention spans.
- Six to eight. As your child learns to read Spanish, phonics helps them read English with its own set of rules.
- Eight to twelve. Longer conversations about their own interests, short books, and more writing, ready for the step up to secondary school.
How do I judge online English lessons in Colombia?
- Your child speaks with a live teacher, not a recorded video.
- The lesson is 1-to-1, so your child does much of the talking.
- The lesson is short enough for your child's age, with games and movement for the youngest.
- You can see your child's level and get feedback after lessons.
- The provider explains its safety rules clearly before you start.
A free first lesson is a good way to check all of these. Our guide on what to look for in a free first lesson lists what to notice on the day.
How would CurioKids lessons work for a family in Colombia?
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.
Whether your child in Colombia is on Calendar A or Calendar B, Phonics Starter can run alongside their school English.
Visit our Colombia page to see how lessons work, what your child will learn and how we keep children safe. If lessons for families in Colombia 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 Colombia are priced in Colombian pesos: see the prices for Colombia.
Frequently asked questions
Is my child's school in Colombia on Calendar A or Calendar B?
Most state schools follow Calendar A, from about February to November, while many private and bilingual schools follow Calendar B, from about August or September to June. Your school can confirm which one it uses.
Should my child take Starters, Movers or Flyers?
Only if it suits them. These exams are optional. Some children enjoy a clear goal, but steady speaking and reading practice is what builds their English either way.
My child reads Spanish well but struggles to read English. Why?
Spanish spelling is very regular, so children expect each letter to make one sound. English is less regular, so learning its sounds and spellings through phonics helps a lot.
My child at a bilingual school mixes Spanish and English words. Is that a problem?
No. Using a word from one language while speaking the other is a normal stage for children who learn two languages. It fades as both languages grow, so gentle modelling works better than correcting.