Please assess my Essay. Trying to get Band 8
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:02 am
Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school.
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Learning foreign languages is an art or a hobby for a few people; while there are others who learn it just because the school curriculum requires them to learn it. Some people say that a primary school is a better place for students to learn a new language rather than starting it in secondary school. I believe that learning a foreign language early on has far more advantages than disadvantages.
There are two very important reasons for my opinion. Firstly, young children have a far more active, capable and an adaptable mind. The developing brain of a young learner has the capacity to absorb much more than an adult brain. A healthy brain’s memory power during primary school allows them to learn and understand a foreign language much more quickly. Secondly, young individuals start to incorporate the new language as a part of the learning process, which compared to students in secondary schools, who are not emotionally attached to a new language, feel burdened by the addition.
There also might be a few disadvantages to the concept of adding foreign languages early on in primary school. For example, I read in a research article which says that learning multiple languages at the same time for a young developing brain might delay the development of the primary language. However, this theory is still debatable according to the author.
In conclusion, as we can see that there are more advantages then disadvantages to start learning a foreign language in primary school rather than in secondary school.
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Learning foreign languages is an art or a hobby for a few people; while there are others who learn it just because the school curriculum requires them to learn it. Some people say that a primary school is a better place for students to learn a new language rather than starting it in secondary school. I believe that learning a foreign language early on has far more advantages than disadvantages.
There are two very important reasons for my opinion. Firstly, young children have a far more active, capable and an adaptable mind. The developing brain of a young learner has the capacity to absorb much more than an adult brain. A healthy brain’s memory power during primary school allows them to learn and understand a foreign language much more quickly. Secondly, young individuals start to incorporate the new language as a part of the learning process, which compared to students in secondary schools, who are not emotionally attached to a new language, feel burdened by the addition.
There also might be a few disadvantages to the concept of adding foreign languages early on in primary school. For example, I read in a research article which says that learning multiple languages at the same time for a young developing brain might delay the development of the primary language. However, this theory is still debatable according to the author.
In conclusion, as we can see that there are more advantages then disadvantages to start learning a foreign language in primary school rather than in secondary school.