Modern nations, particularly developing countries, strive for globalization, resulting in the increasing need to employ the teaching of foreign languages in schools, especially those for younger children. One is consequently led to question whether this trend is positive or not. In my opinion, this notion is well-founded.
The first reason for this is the future career prospects by knowing more than one language, given the competitive and accelerating pace of modern society. The desires for a stable future and a rise in living standards are natural aspirations, hence parents would certainly wish for their offsprings to get a start ahead of others, including learning a second language at a young age. Therefore, when they are at the age to join the workforce, being bilingual could serve as a strong point in their profile, which could, in turn, offer more opportunities to work in global enterprises with tempting salaries.
Another reason for foreign languages to be taught early in educational institutes is the ability to acquire new knowledge at a young age. Many currently available materials, both offline and online, are written mostly in English, Spanish, Mandarin and other languages originated from developed nations. In such circumstances, young learners who know more than one language could have the advantage of accessing plentiful resources, thus significantly broadening their horizon.
It might be claimed that this approach at such an early phase of life might render the native language obsolete, eventually leads to the loss of one’s national identity and culture. Although seemingly plausible, learning foreign languages is not a direct cause of the aforementioned issue – it is merely a tool for people to leverage their communication needs which can only benefit the modern society.
Clearly then, teaching foreign languages for children in primary schools should be encouraged.