Can you picture an Argentine family, travelling abroad for leisure? A mother, a father, along with a cute six-year-old blonde girl are standing in a line at the entrance of the amazing Walt Disney World Park, Magic kingdom, when suddenly a guard says something to the father (in English of course) and he has to ask his daughter for a translation. Surprising, right? Well, this is actually a rather normal thing nowadays, as in many schools, youngsters start learning foreign languages at a very early age.
In our country, the educational system is constantly improving, and therefore, foreign languages are beginning to be taught each time to younger students. i, personally, started learning English in kindergarten and I consider this to bbe perfect, as we, humans incorporate knowledge best at the first stages of our lives. Studiens have shown that ,out of ten Argentinian adults who speak a foreign language fluently, eight of them have began learning it before high school. So this is actually a fact.
Besides the obvious benefits that knowing another language can have, it is also helpful in other ways. Not only does it give the students an important tool to handle themselves in a better way later in their lives and when they travel abroad
travel abroad, but it also stimulates their brain for learning other things , in a similar way that studying math does.
Nevertheless , there is alwys another point of view, as in every aspect in life. In spite of the evidence mentioned before , which shows the contrary, a minority may still consider teching foreign languages to young kids to be excessive and too demanding for their little brains.
However, as it is widely known, "you cant teach new tricks to an old dog" This is the last piece of evidence i need to back up my affirmation that children really should begin learning a foreign language as soon as they start school.
Foreign Languages and Culture
Rosario