Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. Do advantages outweigh disadvantages?
In the advance communication era, the importance of language has been observed due to which teaching languages in school remains a topic of debate. Some experts think that it is more favorable for pupils to begin studying other languages at primary school instead of secondary school. This essay will shed light on both advantages and disadvantages of learning languages at primary schools to reach my perception.
To begin with, the merits of learning foreign language early is that this will increase their language skills and they will be able to learn basics at very early age and will have much time to be perfect in that skill. Later, it will be normal as well as comfortable for them to be multilingual.
For instance, in countries such as Holland, Sweden and many more, English is taught from very young age, and more than ninety five percent pupils become perfect at the time of their secondary education. Thus, learning language at primary school helps them to increase their vocabulary and fluency.
Additionally, learning language also helps to improve overall cognitive abilities. In other words, it benefits brain. For example, in a recent survey conducted by Oxford University found that children who studied new languages at primary level were more significant in handling problems and were more confident.
Alternatively, there are also some demerits of learning languages at primary school as children will become confused between their mother tongue and foreign language. Thus, it will create more burden on their shoulder which will make them feel depressed and confused. For example, a survey conducted by National Paper says that learning new language will affect the significance of local language and mother tongue as pupils will start using foreign languages more.
Moreover, learning new language at early age may affect the upbringing of a child as more burden of learning will make the child aggressive and will affect on their childhood as they will get no time for playing games with their friends. For instance, a WHO report claims that a child’s brain develops more at early age when they are indulged in playing rather than doing other things.
In conclusion, learning new languages at primary schools would definitely bring new changes as they will become more confident, fluent in speaking and can easily use foreign language at times when they need it. So, I believe the advantages outweigh disadvantages.
-Arpit