We live in a time when there are great efforts being put in bringing the world together on a global level. Thanks to the explosion in the development of telecommunications and means of travel, the world has suddenly become a much smaller place than once thought. Yet, although everything seems easy within reach, there is still one thing which is essential in any kind of cooperation between people : mutually understandable language of communication.
Without it we are like the people working on the tower of Babylon, all set and ready to work, but unable to communicate our needs. This is why acquiring knowlegde of foreign languages is so important if one wants to participate in the process. And if one belongs to a nation whose language is not on the list of so called ‘world languages’ learning at least one becomes almost a necessity.
So, there is no doubt, that studying foreign languages is useful and necessary, the question that poses itself is – when is the good time to start learning one?
The natural answer that follows is: as early as possible. But how early in fact is that? Some people feel that childern should start learning a foreign language as soon as they start school.
The Term Paper on Standard English Language Ideology People
With the fast-paced globalization and technological development, the world is stepping into the era of informational ism. It is characterized by the advances in computing technology and the global network of telecommunications, in which English is! SS selected!" as the lingua franca (common communicative language). Subsequently, the demand for learning English as the second language (ESL) or the ...
There are some good arguments for this point of view- children, when they are young have almost an unlimited capacity to learn. Their brains are like sponges waiting to soak the knowledge of the world, and as we grow older our ability to learn new things and skills dwindles. Hence the saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”.
The critique that immediatley follows this point of view argues that while it’s true that children have great learning capacities, starting to learn a new language at this point would still be too early beacuse the new language would come in interference with the native language. They feel that children who start school have enough concerns with learning the basic skills of reading and writing in their own language.
That’s why implementing a foreign one at that time would only serve to confuse them and would have neagtive effect on the proper acquisition of both languages.
In my opinion, it is never too early to start learning a new language, if in fact it is done with the right approach.
That is to say children need to be accessed in an appropriate way in order to achive desired results. By using techniques which incorporate play in the study of language, children wouldn’t feel stressed or confused about learning a language.The way in which to do it is excellently presented on the TV show ‘play and speak’ . The show features pre-school children who get together and play various games, while at the same times using English as a means of communication. This is how kids by doing something which they percieve to be fun end up picking up the actual language along the way.
From personal experience, unmotivated and unimaginative teachers are most detrimenatal to the learning process. That is why i never felt like i learned much of English (which is my foreign language) while sitting in a school room listening to teacher drone on and on. I much rather picked it up from watching tv channels which were in english only, and had many interesting cartoons and TV shows which fascinated me as a child. By watching these shows, trying to discover their meaning, i picked up words and expressions without even realizing it.
The Review on First Language and Learning English
Language is the most dynamic form of symbolism that cultures possesses. Language is the medium in which people interact and communicate for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and feelings. Language acquisition has been one of the most intriguing aspects of human nature and had been the focus of different disciplines. For the most part, language acquisition had been theorized and conceptualized in ...
I feel that we most often wrongly underestimate our children’s potentials and capabilities, when in fact they are our greatest asset. The only problem lies in finding the right approach to deal with them .
Without effective and stimulating teaching programs, performed by qualified persons, the whole argument whether it is too early for children to start learning a new language as soon as they start school, becomes in fact obsolete.
