The question of whether the students must commence their foreign language education in primary school or secondary school has long been debated. While it is argued by some that language learning should be incorporated in early school years, others maintain that studying a language in secondary school years is beneficial. In my opinion, although education of foreign language in secondary school offers certain merits, I believe that learning a language at primary school is a logical and effective approach.
On one hand, there are several reasons why people advocate for learning a language in secondary school years. The foremost argument is that learning a language in secondary school debilitates the risk of cognitive overload. Students tend to loose concentration in core subjects such as math and science when learning a foreign language as simultaneous learning creates extra pressure on a student’s mind. This often results in acquiring low grades and creates a negative impact on holistic performance of a student. Furthermore, it is often suggested that education of a non-native language at secondary school level can be advantageous as the student possess a fully functional brain which allows him to analyze, process and understand concepts more clearly. Exposure of secondary language to the high schoolers promotes critical thinking and consequently boosts the learning capacity. For instance, a mature individual understand the grave and complex structures of sentences and memorizes them effectively. Therefore this approach rewards understanding and standardized aspects of learning rather than rote memorization method.
On the other hand, I side with those who believe that language education must be commenced in primary school years. There are two key advantages: efficiency and cognitive benefits. To begin with, the children have a critical period, where they can acquire a native-like pronunciation and grammar effectively. This is often termed as “Brain plasticity”. Learning a language in early stages of life encourages curiosity in the student, which often results in intensive research on vocabulary, grammar and pronunciations that is vital for learning a language. For example, a student can have a native-like experience, as a language provides the understanding of culture and bridges the gap in communication. In addition to that, learning a foreign language early-on provides cognitive benefits. Studying a different language keeps the brain active and delays the onset of dementia, which has become an increasingly common ailment in concurrent world. A clear illustration of this can be seen when a bilingual student is proved to be more intellectually capable student than a monolingual one.
In conclusion, while commencing education of language at secondary school has its own advantages, I believe that primary education of foreign language is a superior choice because of efficiency and cognitive benefits it offers.