>>FWIW, my mother left Germany as a 7-year-old refugee and spent the war years in England. One of her worst memories of that period is starting school and having the teacher make fun of her because she couldn't speak English.
>
>I'd guess that wasn't unusual, especially back then.

If it had been the kids or other adults, it wouldn't have been so awful, I think. But for the teacher to make fun of her in front of the class because she couldn't speak a language she'd only be hearing for a matter of days was unforgivable. FWIW, it make her determined to learn English and to forget German. But it seems to me it could have had the opposite effect.

Tamar