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Vital words for understanding
primary school – the first years of school for young children
tribes – groups of people with the same opinions
research – studying or investigating a topic to find facts
foundation – the base or starting point of something
cognitive – related to thinking and understanding
emotional – related to feelings
bilingualism – the ability to speak two languages
confusion – when something is not clear or is mixed up
awareness – knowledge or understanding of something
crucial – very important
common sense – the ability to make good, practical decisions
beneficial – helpful or good for someone
environment – the situation or conditions around someone
prematurely – too early, before the right time
A topic with a capital T. If you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in what I have to say about it. So let me give you my humble opinion on the matter.
People seem to fall into two obvious tribes here – yes and no. I will argue my point throughout this article. Let me start with some research to give you the background I am building on.
During my DELTA I did a lot of reading and there are many interesting facts that I would like to share with you. In the past there was a belief that language and thinking were closely linked and that a strong foundation in the L1 (first language, in our case Czech) was crucial for higher order thinking. This idea comes from a Soviet psychologist who suggested that if a child is exposed to a second language (e.g. English) prematurely (too early, without a strong base in the mother tongue), it could lead to cognitive and emotional difficulties. Later, and I am talking about the 20th century, there were researchers who speculated that early bilingualism could lead to split identities or confusion.
However, this theory has now been disproved.
Let that sink in.
I agree that mother tongue awareness is a must. But I’d advise any parent to start as early as possible. So is it a good idea to introduce English in the first year of primary school, when the children are about 7 years old?
Hell’ya.
However, there is a BUT coming from where I am. Children at that age cannot write in their mother tongue, so there are some crucial parts that need to be taken care of. I would need to be sure that their first language is well developed – that they speak and understand the language. As they cannot write in their first language, I hope that my colleagues teaching the early years would have enough common sense not to teach them to write in English. This can cause further confusion.
I honestly think it can work. Young children are like sponges and it’s easier for them to learn. I think their English will also sound more ‚native‘ and honestly, the earlier they start, the better they can become. As long as the lessons are full of speaking, playing, singing and games, they will be beneficial.
One question remains: Can we create such an environment?