The ultimate goal in many classrooms is to be communicate in meaningful and appropriate ways. In United States, American students get the opportunity to learn a second language in high school, yet it has been proven that children learn better when they are young. Some schools are taking this opportunity to teach a foreign language to elementary students. The United States may be the only nation where it’s possible to complete elementary and secondary schooling without completing any foreign languages. In some countries, such as Europe, Africa and Asia, teachers within public elementary schools are required to teach two or three different languages, usually English and French, to their students.
Many schools within European and Asian countries teach two languages to their students before they enter high school. In America, students are introduced to a foreign language in high school where it is difficult for them to master a second language. I believe, that elementary schools should include foreign languages in their curriculum as well, in order to allow younger students to get familiarize with foreign languages at early age, because its proven that young kids have more tendency to learn and recognize languages then older kids. And it has so many and advantages throughout the world.
As we all know, that the youngest brains have the greatest aptitude for absorbing language and that someone who is bilingual at all young age will have an easier time learning a third or fourth language later on. Compared with adults or even high school students, young children are better be able to learn foreign languages with near-native pronunciation or mimic the subtle tones of Mandarin. Children should start learning a foreign language in kindergarten and continue through high school. Learning languages helps increase listening ability, memory, creativity and critical thinking- all of which are thinking processes that increase learning in general. In addition to developing thinking skills, foreign language study exposes children to other ways of looking at the world. For some people, who consider foreign language study in elementary school a frill, I think that foreign language education supports the core curriculum. Foreign language instruction uses themes that support the elementary curriculum including math, science, social studies and language arts.
Correlation studies show students who have had several years of foreign language do better on SATs, particularly the verbal part. Becoming fluent in foreign language takes years, although children tend to absorb foreign languages more easily than older students and adults. The importance of an uninterrupted sequence of foreign language study in grades K-12 to gain the level of proficiency needed to communicate with people around the world in other languages.
Starting early can translate into an advantage in the work force, too. The work force has an increased demand for people who can speak foreign languages at a sophisticated level. This is not limited to the corporate world. Employers are looking for mechanics, social workers and medical professionals, too. Parents are also becoming more aware of the value of early language to the cognitive learning of the child. But, most of the legislators are still in the mindset of twenty five years ago, not recognizing what neurologist have lave learned about what learning language does for the brain. If their child’s elementary school does not offer an early foreign language program, I think that parents learn about programs in the elementary grades used by other school system. I believe that, school administrators have to think out of the box and look at foreign language study as a regular part of the curriculum. Effective language instruction needs to involve more than colors, numbers and shapes.
The advantages of learning a foreign language in today’s world are a lot, studying a foreign language is very helpful because of the diversity that we have in our country. You could run into a person of another culture that speaks another language almost anywhere and it will help if you can communicate with them easily. As we know that, some countries like Canada and some countries in Africa have French as a primary language, it would be nice to get to know these foreign languages to be comfortable in our neighboring countries. It also helps a person at a job level that understands multiple languages as these can be used as skills towards ones work requirements.
There is an another advantage of knowing a foreign language, because if a person is planning on further education in college, it is a requirement to at least two foreign language credits to get accepted. Foreign languages also helps a person in his or her job careers. Because if a company ask the employee to fly across seas for international trades or company partners, a foreign language will really helps in communicating with other people.
All these are some important aspects to incorporate foreign languages in elementary school curriculum. Because it helps a young student to grow up in today’s global village. We all know that what would happen if nations spoke only their national language. International communication would not be possible. It is quite hard to imagine such a world. Therefore it is necessary to study a foreign languages to communicate in with the world. And I believe that when is as young as five years old, he/she has more learning and recognizing ability then a high school student.