At elementary schools in Japan, one hour of English lesson is held weekly since 2011. According to the report published by the Ministry of Education of the Japanese Government, English language education in Japan is lagging behind compared to some other Asian countries with regard to the starting grade and annual lesson hours. Thus, by the revision of the guidelines for teaching, English lessons will be started in the third year of elementary school (eighth year of age) from FY 2020.
I happened to get the first English lessons at a private class in the fourth year of elementary school. Those days, the first official English lessons in Japan were given to the first grader of the junior high school. So, I had been one of the best students in English classes from the junior high school to the college. This experience of mine might show that the age of eight or nine is good to start learning English.
Though the official age to start school in Nigeria is 6 but learning English language at pre nursery education and as well as using the language to communicate with the a child will do a lot of good.
At elementary schools in Japan, one hour of English lesson is held weekly since 2011. According to the report published by the Ministry of Education of the Japanese Government, English language education in Japan is lagging behind compared to some other Asian countries with regard to the starting grade and annual lesson hours. Thus, by the revision of the guidelines for teaching, English lessons will be started in the third year of elementary school (eighth year of age) from FY 2020.
I happened to get the first English lessons at a private class in the fourth year of elementary school. Those days, the first official English lessons in Japan were given to the first grader of the junior high school. So, I had been one of the best students in English classes from the junior high school to the college. This experience of mine might show that the age of eight or nine is good to start learning English.
It can be started very early from the beginning but my observation is that firstly, child should learn his/her mother tongue, then national language and at that time, child will be 8 to 9 years old, and then introducing a new language could help more; but sometimes,necessity, of learning an English could be the cause to start it in early age.
In your opinion , what is the right age to learn English language?
In Malaysia, generally is 6 years old i.e. the age when most of the children go into kindergarten. However, some parent send their children to "day care" center or kindergarten whereby they start exposing to English from 3 or 4 years old.
For speakers of ESL, personally I find the right age to learn English is as young as possible after they know how to speak their mother tongue / native language so that they can understand the meaning of English vocabulary during the learning process. Reason being - learning English since young is like enable the child with a tool that can communicate, learn various contents, explore their interests & deep dive into specific knowledge at the earliest age possible.
The best time for learning is when you are young. Younger generations are easy to learn fast than in older ones. Different countries have different systems for teaching English language with different policies. As stated in your question, 9 years old is pretty good age to learn such language.
A similar question has been asked before. However, there is no fixed age limit to learn English or any other language. But it is recommended that teaching a language should be done in an early age; between 6 to 9.
Though all the respondents replied accordingly, technically, the question should be rephrased to ask about the age for learning English as L2. As from this year 2018, the age for starting to learn English In Libya is changing from Primary 5 (age 10) to Primary 1 (age 6), which is expected to highly improve standards of proficiency of school leavers.
I think ... teaching children foreign languages early along with the mother language is useful in developing the child's intellectual perception and creativity, and does not pose any danger to the growth of his native language skills, but rather leads to increased language fluency and special creative abilities Using the mother tongue thoughtfully and loudly and in writing. "
It would be great not to have specific age to learn English. all ages should learn English because English is the most common language in the world; I would say it is the Lingua Franca of our universe :)
Theoretically, it is believed that callosal commissure, a wide, thick, nerve tract consisting of a flat bundle of commissural fibers, beneath the cerebral cortex in the brain connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres, enabling communication between them. According to critical period hypothesis , such communication is at a high level before the age of puberty and before children reach the differentiation age.Therefore, exposing children to foreign languages at an early age before their L1 language ego is formed can be the right time for learning languages.
In my opinion at age 5 to 10 will help you speak with no accent. After the age of 18, you will learn to speak with accent. Depending on your environment and interaction, you can have a heavy or a minor accent.
In my country, students begin to get in touch with English in elementary school. However, the approach normally used is odd and does not allow most if students to develop reasonable levels of proficiency. Therefore, many of those who really feel the need, get to study the language as adults and as a result never go beyond B1. Learning beginning to learn any language up until the age of 12 should be a priority for anyone.
I think the suitable age is 4 years and more because the brain of the child in these years is pure, and they can learn, keep, and remember any new words easily
If its mother tongue , then you can lean it from childhood ; but if its not mothertongue language then give preference to mothertongue & introduce english in syllabus at later stage at the age of 13 - 14 - 15. If it is introduced to early then it's influence rise & it destroy regional culture / language.
What is the effect of rising more number of english medium school in country like India having different language as mother tongue ?
=> In order to extract more money ,
many selfish had starting more & more englishing medium - charging more fee. Even in many english medium , mother tongue is not taught. In english medium school, lessons are not included that helps to student to understand tradition ,cultureof nation , Problems of people. Hence it is not connecting student to society deeply.
But education given in regional language have full of lessons on farmers, their problem , regional culture , tradition. So it develops strong bond between students & surrounding society. What english medium schools are doing in India ?
They are making education system hell for students & parents. In many cities , fee of LKG in english medium school is more than 1 lakh ?
I would say as early as possible. Children are able to learn multiple languages at the same time. They have a better chance of being perfect bilinguals before they are 11.
I would say as early as possible but be careful with this. Multiple languages too early can slow development in all languages. I started with English but learned others from the ripe old age of 7. That was perhaps a bit late but it worked very well.
Well I think the sooner the better; but anyway, there have been some exceptions such as joseph conrad and arnold schwarzenegger. They have not started before puberty but they have been successful in learning ,or one may say acquiring the target language. Anyway, it seems that the subject should be highly motivated and determined to tackle the issue after puberty.
Interesting replies. In Greece, children learn English from early elementary school years, in public schools. Of course there is great discussion about private english courses as well.
From what I have heard and read (aside age, which is important) it has to do with having the opportunity to practice it as well.
Learning any language is best when you are as young as 5years. The earlier a child becomes exposed to hearing a language they can understand faster. I suggest parents should start speaking to the child as young as she 3years the language they want him/her to learn. Expose them to child tv shows, read them books in the other language and above all take them to play with other children speaking the other language.
According to some of the teachers, the child should start studying English from an early age, the best time to start learning English is between 5 and 7 years.
According to some of the teachers, the child should start studying English from an early age, the best time to start learning English is between 5 and 7 years.