The obvious argument in its favour is that young children pick up languages much more easily than teenagers. Their brains are still programmed to acquire their mother tongue which facilitates learning another language, and unlike adolescents, they are not inhibite by self-consciousness.
The greater flexibility of the primary timetable allows for more frequent, shorter session and for a play-centred approach, thus maintaining learners’ enthusiasm and progress.
Their command of the language in later life will benefit from this early exposure, while learning other languages subsequently will be easier for them. They may also gain a bette understanding of other cultures.
There are, however, some disadvantages. Primary school teachers are generalists, and ma not have the necessary language skills themselves. If specialists have to be brought in to deliver these sessions, the flexibility referred to above is diminished. If primary language teaching is not standardised, secondary schools could be faced with a great variety of level in different languages within their intake, resulting in a classroom experience which undoes the earlier gains. There is no advantage if enthusiastic primary pupils become demotivated as soon as they change schools. However, these issues can be addressed strategically within the policy adopted.
Anything which encourages language learning benefits society culturally and economically, and early exposure to language learning contributes to this. Young children innate abilities should be harnessed to make these benefits more achievable