Learning a Foreign Language in Primary vs Secondary School
Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school?
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Read the original writing alongside its overall assessment. Open a full review for criterion explanations and sentence-level feedback.
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Response 01
290 words
Some school of thoughts argue that a foreign language should be learnt in the primary school while others argue that this strategy would put extra amount of pressure on the innocent children and subsequently considering the importance, necessity and obligation of learning a foreign language then I strongly believe the thoughts of the first party.
Apparently the advantages of learning a foreign language in the primary level cross the minor number of disadvantages. Generally the age of childhood is very fresh and not any type of psychological pressure from their home and outside the home is on their shoulders and they are just free to play, enjoy and study, so the structure of the foreign language can easily be copied in their minds and finally they can become more mature when they get qualified to the secondary school due to the long term procedure.
On the other hand some school teachers devise quiet complicated teaching methodologies for teaching students and in the result the children get bored and failed in clearing the examinations of the foreign language. Therefore students could get mentally confused and discouraged to follow up the other school subjects as well. For instance my cousin was trying hard to learn the English language but did not succeed to pass the very basic English language examinations and he also complained for the identical reason.
To sum up all the observations then we can get a perception that teaching a foreign language to the students of the primary school is the best idea and beneficial for the future of the students but meanwhile a very slow and progressive, enjoyable and transparent teaching strategies should be planned in order to provide a very delightful environment to the lower aged students.
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Response 02
383 words
The idea of whether children should be taught a foreign language at primary or secondary school is still debatable. Many people are of the opinion that it is more beneficial for a child to learn a second language at secondary school rather than primary. In this essay, I will attempt to explain the advantages and disadvantages of this view from my own personal perspective.
To begin with, a child's mind cannot absorb too many contents at primary school and bombarding him with words from two languages (native and foreign) may lead his mind into a state of confusion. A student studying at Class one for instance, who just started to talk in his mother tongue will face great difficulty in learning a second language. Thus, it would be more appropriate to teach such a child a second language at secondary school where his mind will be ready to learn a new language.
Secondly, in some situations, for instance in the case of an immigrant child, it would become very stressful for the child when he has to learn three languages (Native, Country Language, foreign language at school) simultaneously at primary school. In worse circumstances, as some researchers have shown from their studies, such children have difficulty in deciding which language to speak and may end up learning nothing. clearly, this child would face no difficulty if he is taught the third language at secondary school.
Other commentators are of the view that foreign languages should be taught at primary school as it will spark the interest of learning new languages in the child's mind and as he grows up, by the time he enters secondary school he might be able to communicate in the foreign language. The argument here is that if such language is taught at secondary school, most of the children will not take interest in learning and may find it unnecessary.
To recapitulate. children are mentally ready to learn a second language at secondary school and also suitable in circumstances where the child has to learn more languages. It is the responsibility of the child if he wants to continue learning this language after secondary school or not.
In , I believe that teaching a foreign language would be more appropriate at secondary level as its advantages clearly outweigh its disadvantages.
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Response 03
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It is argued by some professionals that adolescents should learn an extra language along with the local language of their country in their kindergarten school instead of learning in secondary school.This essay will discuss both advantage and disadvantage and will submit that the benefits are far reaching than the drawbacks.
Learning a second dialect in primary school has outstanding prospects in practical life.When a person used to know a second language in their junior school,they would have better opportunities during applying for a job or working with a high standard company.As a matter of fact,nowadays, employers demand extraordinary skilled graduates with creative mind,multilingual and outspoken, and all these qualities are accessed by being a bilingual person.Many researches showed that to learn an extra language helps in developing a creative mind, and these individuals are more creative than monolinguals.Moreover,it is commonly noticed that multi-dialect students have exceptional grades in professional studies.Therefore,I personally believe a multilingual person has widespread advantages in the future besides being in the present too.
Nevertheless,primary school goers are in an impressionable age and having an extra course can be tiresome to them.During middle grade studies,a student has to study a number of subjects and if an additional part is also included with the majors,could prove a burden and ultimately failure in the school.For instance,many people feel that inclusion of an unimportant topic has many bad outcomes regarding performance and health too.However,most of the student do not face these type of problems until they have proper guidance and support.
In ,learning a second language in primary school has prominent advantages in term of better career prospects, creative thinking and most effectively,excellent results in tertiary school education,while being losing in their exam due to extra subject is taken as a negative notion.However,proper counselling can prevent this effect too.
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Response 04
313 words
The right time for children to learn second languages has been a riddle since society started thinking about global citizenship and opportunity, especially in countries whose first language is not English. Most professional in the field believed that it is best to start learning second language at primary school while other practitioner suggested that start to learn that in secondary school is more efficient. I believe that the best time to start learning second language is at primary school. It is due to the fact that for biological reason, it is more beneficial and children can have an early exposure to the language.
Medical research found out that the primordial part of the brain is responsible for emotional sensing, reflexive movement, and imitating ability. This imitating ability, which is developing significantly during primary school period, contributes significantly in language learning. On the other hand, logical thinking ability is developed later, that is during secondary school phase. This brain development knowledge is very fundamental information to support the idea that the best time to learn second language is during primary school.
Many language researchers, educators, and experts believed that each individual needs different time to absorb every aspect of new language learned such as grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation.
This learning curve, which can not be accelerated, can only be balanced by starting it at early as possible. By doing so, children can get early exposure to the language. Thus, they also more get used to and are more confident in using it. For this reason, it is obvious that starting it early in primary school give children more benefits.
After compiling that brain development phase information about imitating ability that contributes to language training as well as the fact that getting early exposure that can give more advantages, it is clear that the best time to begin learning foreign language is at primary school.
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Response 05
282 words
Some authorities think that it is more favourable for pupils to begin studying languages at primary school instead of secondary school. This essay will argue that the advantages of this outweigh the drawbacks. The essay will first demonstrate that the earlier someone learns an additional language, the more likely they are to master it and that it brings added cognitive benefits, followed by an analysis of how the primary disadvantage, namely confusion with their native tongue, is not valid.
The main reason to start kids off with foreign languages early is that this increases the likelihood they will achieve fluency in adulthood. That is to say that they will have far more years to perfect their skills, and speaking bilingually will seem perfectly normal. For example, in countries such as Holland and Norway, where English is taught from a very young age, most adults speak it at an advanced level. Learning a second language also helps to improve overall cognitive abilities. In other words, it benefits the overall development of a child’s brain. It is well known that bi-lingual children are significantly more likely to score higher in Mathematics and Science.
Those opposed to this say that it causes the child to become confused between their mother tongue and the other language. However, there is actually no evidence to support this view and children from bilingual families do just as well in both languages. My son was brought up speaking both Vietnamese and English and outperforms most of his classmates in both.
On balance, the fact that early foreign language learning leads to higher fluency and improved brain function clearly outweighs the flawed argument that it impairs the uptake of native languages.
