Learning a foreign language is becoming a very important skill nowadays. So, it has been suggested by some experts that teaching children a foreign language should be started in primary school rather than secondary school. although adopting this recommendation can speed up the process of learning, it may affect the academic achievement of the students. In my opinion, children can greatly benefit from this approach despite the drawbacks.
I believe the primary school level is the perfect time to introduce a foreign language to the children and it will enhance the process of understanding and absorbing the language. This is because the child’s brain at this early stage has a high capacity to absorb a huge amount of information and assimilate knowledge quickly. The younger the student the faster he will pick up the language. To illustrate this more, for example, if you bring two students, one is 6 years old and the other is 12 years old and you try to teach them a language other than their mother tongue, you will definitely notice the difference in performance and understanding.
However, this policy may result in some negatives such as lowering the overall academic achievement of the students. Overlading and stuffing the primary school syllabus with additional subjects to learn a foreign language can cause boredom among younger students. This subsequently will decrease students’ enthusiasm toward studying which in turn leads to low scores in formal examinations.
In conclusion, in my personal opinion, the recommendation of the pedagogical experts of early exposure to a foreign language is more advantageous than disadvantageous.
