Foreign Language at a Younger Age (Lariat) Imagine you are sitting in a classroom full of people who are bilingual, but you are the only one who cannot speak another language except your own. What do you do? Are you going to try and communicate? Or wonder why you did not take the foreign language classes that might have been available to you during your earlier years of education? The key words here are, “might have been available.” Some schools may not have foreign language added to their curriculum, but it should be added because it would be an excellent opportunity for students to be better educated. But what grade level would be most effective in accomplishing this goal? The younger students would benefit more from learning a foreign language; being so young, their minds are more capable of absorbing the information. “…Time Magazine suggested that foreign language should be taught to children as early as possible” (Robert D. Peckham). Elementary school students should have foreign language added to their curriculum because there are multiple benefits to early exposure in the primary grades. Having been proven throughout history, younger learners are more adept to language acquisition. Although some may think “…their minds aren’t capable of learning and retaining a foreign language, it’s enough of a struggle for a child to learn one language, a native language…” (Should foreign...). It may not be easy to learn, but in actuality it will help their brains develop gradually, not only helping them in their foreign language studies, but also improving other areas as well. Cheryl Walker states this clearly, saying foreign language, “…increases listening ability, creativity, and critical ... ... middle of paper ... ...proving Students' Capacity in Foreign Languages." Phi Delta Kappan 1 November 2004. elibrary magazine. . Robert D. Peckham, PhD. Foreign Languages An Essential Core Experience. University of Tennessee at Martin, n.d. . Should foreign language courses be added to the U.S. elementary curriculum? 2013. . Walker, Cheryl. Foregin Language Study Important in Elementary Schools. Winston-Salem, 26 June 2004. online. .
...r they had all received the same language instruction for three years (kindergarten, first and second grade). These finding conclude that English language proficiency at the time of entering school does not matter. A good early literacy program works for both L1 students and ESL students who enter school at the kindergarten age. Students at that age are very susceptible to learning new languages quickly. The ESL children had difficulties in kindergarten, but by second grade they had caught up and were right on track with the L1 students and some of them even surpassed the L1 students.
When a baby is born, he/she comes into this world eager to learn. Always taking in information and absorbing it like a new computer. Every experience he/she encounters could possibly stick in that baby’s mind. However, some of the things that a child hears or perceives can either benefit or corrupt their learning. Teaching a child a second language has the same concept as putting in new software in a computer. Many advantages come with a safe and powerful computer and the same would come with knowing a second language. If a child was not taught a second language in their early years, that child might be at a disadvantage in their future, and as that child grows up not knowing a second language could potentially hold him/her back with grades and obtaining a job. Knowing a second language can benefit from those things and can also help with keeping strong ties with their family, culture, community, and even music.
Exposing children to different cultures is necessary, and our culture needs to face that soon. It is proven that foreign language study can create more positive attitudes and less prejudice toward different cultures, which shows just how important foreign language really is (Latimer). Additionally, international travel is made a lot simpler (Latimer). Not to mention, speaking a foreign language can help to save money and improve a person's overall experience during their travels. Plus, foreign language can lead to appreciation of cultural diversity, which is much needed in
When visiting just about any school across America, students who attend come from all over the globe. This raises the question across America about bilingual education. This can create many challenges in and out of the classroom. The classroom should be a safe place for all students regardless of what native language they speak. In the essay Lost in translation written by Eva Hoffman, describes a foreign student who tries hard to fit in. Instead, Eva begins to feel angry, hurt and confused because people laugh at her. In Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education by Elizabeth R. Howard, Julie Sugarman, Donna Christian Center for Applied Linguistics Kathryn J. Lindholm-Leary San José State University David Rogers Dual Language Education of New Mexico. Guiding principles gives great ideas to educators to stop kids from making other students feel the way that Eva felt. After reading several articles about bilingual education, it is evident that all children in school should learn English but never lose their native language. When all the students speak one language, students will be less likely to make fun of each other. A good educator should learn enough foreign languages to aid them in effective communication in their classroom although; if an educator does not speak a foreign language, they should recruit within the classroom students to be peer mentors. However, a teacher should be willing to listen and encourage the students. Above all a good educator should be a good role model to their students by respecting their heritage and their language.
Children are better learners than adults except in the area of the pronunciation of words. That is why the second language program will be accepting children who are in elementary, they will be taught how to read signs, and learn how to speak in the desired second language. The objective goal of the second language program is to get students ready to speak another language as if it were their primary language. The second language program will not be as any other school program because it will require dedication, responsibility, and focus. Kids now are lazy and also don’t communicate well with other people, which is important because they will need to know how to communicate when they graduate high school, but because they were not taught how to they are lacking that skill. Students because they are being taught out the book they don’t get to learn different skills that will be useful when they leave high school. In the program students won’t be learning straight off the book they will be assigned a pen pal who they will be writing to not in English but in their chosen second language, and every so often they will talk on Skype this will show if they are understanding the language; with the interaction that the students will be doing they will develop communicative skills that will be helpful when they are out of high
Bilingual education in our schools is crucial: but still there is talk about banning the use of foreign language in the instruction of our young children. We have to work to change that kind of attitude. We have to proceed from the assumption that bilingual
...thousands of years. Generally, bilingual education can mean any use of two languages in school, by teachers, students, or both – for a variety of social and pedagogical purposes. It also refers to the different approaches in the classroom that use the native languages of English language learners (ELLs) for instruction. These approaches include teaching English, fostering academic achievement, acculturating immigrants to a new society, and preserving a minority group’s linguistic and cultural heritage. Building on, rather than just discarding the students’ native-language skills, create a stronger foundation for success in English and academics. Also, if students learn languages at a younger age, it will be easier to remember and learn them, rather than if they were older. It helps to learn another language for students, and can later be useful in the future.
"Linguistics 201: First Language Acquisition." Linguistics 201: First Language Acquisition. Western Washington University, n.d. Web. 8 Sep. 2013. .
Richards, J. C., Platt, J., & Plat, H. (2000). Longman Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied linguistics. Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.
Clark, Virginia P., Paul A. Eschholz, and Alfred F. Rosa. Language: Introductory Readings. 7th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. Print.
... of the L2, they can effectively lower their affective filters. All in all, there is no ideal age to learn a second language. It all depends on the individual and his/her circumstances.
Language has pioneered many interracial relationships and historical milestones. Language is a necessity for basic communication and cultural diversity. Being multilingual is a skill proven influential to a successful future. Due to rapid globalization, countries all over the world are stressing the importance of learning a second, or even third, language. With the exception of time and lack of resources, adults have very few widely applicable disadvantages to learning multiple languages. However, language learning as a child presents more complications. Some of those include not having enough funding at the elementary school level to introduce a program for secondary language, academic overload for the youth, stress for both the parent and student parties, and the mixing of languages. Not all of these complications are true in any or all situations, however, and the absence of them provides multitudes of opportunity for future career and academic success. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the parents or the education legislation to decide whether they encourage the learning of a secondary language at the young age necessary for retention. “The general consensus is that it takes between five to seven years for an individual to achieve advanced fluency,” therefore the younger a child begins to learn, the more likely they are to benefit to the maximum potential (Robertson). Keeping the language learning in high school or beginning the process earlier is a greatly controversial discussion that is important to address because of the topic’s already lengthy suspension.
Kachru, B. B. (1992). Teaching world Englishes. The other tongue: English across cultures, 2, 355-366.
Research also confirms that children learn best in their mother tongue as a prelude to and complement of bilingual and multilingual education. Whether children successfully retain their mother tongue while acquiring additional languages, depends on several interacting factors.
In 2009, teachers of a New Jersey school banned foreign languages and stated, “any language other than English will not be tolerated" (Debaron 1). This situation was soon no longer allowed. While over ten percent of the total adolescent education systems contain emergent bilinguals, a whopping sixty percent of those students are educated in only English (Bale). Maria Estela Brisk, a Boston College Education professor, believes, “schools has wasted much energy in the search for a "perfect" model and the best way to learn English” when they could just focus on proving “quality education” to every student in the system (1). Teacher’s main priority should consist of effectively teaching their students to prepare them for the future, but currently there are a lack of certified bilingual education teachers. When students are taught more in different ways, they can educationally benefit their cognitive abilities, involving the brain with “mathematics, problem solving, logic and memory”, can be improved to create an overall better student. Even by learning another language at a earlier age can contribute to __________. Learning another language will be