Do you think it's a good idea for children to learn foreign languages in Elementary School instead of High School?
by 
anonymous
ANSWERS: 23
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Absolutely. At a young age, children have a much easier time learning foreign languages.
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No. Some kids can barely learn the alphabet and count to 100. It would be way too much to try to tell a kid to learn French or Spanish or whatever.
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No. Some kids can barely learn the alphabet and count to 100. It would be way too much to try to tell a kid to learn French or Spanish or whatever.
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yes I do, the younger you are, the easier it is to learn languages.
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Definitely. I think it's a shame that (around here) kids have to wait until high school to begin foreign language classes. I think that kids pick up languages better at younger ages, and if we would start introducing them at a younger age then they would have a better grasp and larger vocabulary by the time they finished high school than they do with just the couple classes they can take during high school. I would love it if my future children would have the chance to learn a second language during elementary school.
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Yes! It is a great idea! Children who learn a new language while they are still young, have created within their brains the map they need to learn any future language easier. In some schools, a second language is introduced in 1st grade. In my daughters' pre-school, Spanish is already being introduced. Research has shown that music and language are essential for optimal brain deveopment.
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Yup why not? The quicker the better I say, and anyway I think the older you get the tougher it gets to learn languages. By starting to learn at a young age it will deep rooted.
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I think it is a good idea for children to learn foreign languages when they're in elementary school instead of high school. I learned French since I was in senior kindergarten - I think that when children learn it at a young age, they become independent learners (in that language) I never had any helpful help from my parents. All you need to do is provide them with dictionaries/thesauruses and other reference books that you and their teacher think will be useful and your children will learn... If you start when they're young, they will be able to handle the pressure and load of work in order to learn the language as they grow up. Elementary school takes up a long part of children's education and if they learn the language then rather than in high school they will also be more fluent in it.
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Yes definately , children learn languages much faster the younger they are
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For sure. It's a lot harder for people to make the sounds some foreign languages might require once their vocal cords have become fully developed, therefore limiting the sounds they're capable of making. Plus children absorb such things like a sponge, versus bratty teenagers who typically fight it(education in general) tooth and claw.
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Yes I think its a great idea. The more languages they learn, the better career in the future, and it will hone their communication skills. My 3 year old Granddaughter can count from 1-10 in Spanish, just from watching Dora The Explorer..
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It is easier to learn new things when you are younger because you have not made a habit out of things yet. I absolutely think we should be teaching foreign languages in elementary school, and before. The earlier the better, so they can get it engrained in their minds early on.
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The speech center of the brain developes earlier than higschool- so learning a second or even third language is best attempted early-added to learning the mother tounge
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They should start as early as possible and continue through their academic careers. There's a short window of time when the brain is capable of learning how to learn a foreign language. Its important to tap into that at the right time. I began French lessons when I was in kindergarten and I feel that because my brain discovered the way to learn languages at a young age, I pick up new ones so easily even at the ripe old age of 29.
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I think it's a good idea, just because when they are younger their brains are like sponges and they can learn things like another language a lot easier.
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Yep. I did, and now I speak english fluently. Obviously, you don't start with advanced grammar and vocabulary, but you get familiar with the accent and the basic structures, and when you take a "serious" course in that language, it's much easier to learn...
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Some kids grow up with a parents from two different [native] languages. The baby hears and learns both easily because he is still learning from oral stimulation and his brain begins to register the sounds from both language. In my personal opinion 0-5 years is the best time to teach a foreign language. Also sign language is the easiest language for young ones (and probably adults, too. Not sure about that) to learn. Babies as young as six months can have the motor skills necessary to produce signs (maybe not perfectly) My five-year-old sister picks up asl signs in less than half the time I do. And all I have to do is speak a few spanish words around her and she quickly learns what they mean.
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Yes. Younger children are supposed to be able to learn foreign languages more easily than adults. At my elementary school we did learn Spanish, but we just learned basic vocabulary such as colors and clothing. I do think they should also have foreign languages in high school though.
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Absolutely - this is the world, not a country. The sooner we can all talk to each othrt the better.
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It is proven that children have a better capacity to learn other languages then adults do. I think they should incorporate Spanish, or whatever language is particular to the country/area into the schools starting in Kindergarten or Pre-k if possible.
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Most definately!! Much more difficult and easier to get discouraged by the time you hit highschool!
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Yes, the younger the mind, the easier it is to learn languages.
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I'm with the majority on this one. The sooner the better. The hardest language to learn is the second one. Start before your kids know it's hard and they will pick it right up and the third and fourth will be much easier. Almost by accident, i learned some German and French from my parents and it made Latin, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese so much easier. Tots can learn 2 languages at once with no confusion. It's wired right into their brains.
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