Foreign languages from such an early age?
A key question that concerns parents is the age at which it would be good for their child to start learning English. This question becomes even more pressing after the implementation of the PEAP and the introduction of English in the first grades of primary school. Often, a fear emerges from parents (or even teachers) about early foreign language learning. Parents wonder whether engaging with the English language will confuse young children and hinder their learning of Greek. As a result, some parents end up sending their child to a language school to support their first contact with the foreign language. They also express concern that learning a foreign language at school may tire young children and lead to an overloaded schedule, which could create negative feelings about school in general.
However, research in the field of language teaching supports that there are many advantages to learning a foreign language in early childhood. As noted in an article in the first issue of the electronic magazine PE@P, the earlier the learning of a foreign language begins, the better for the child. Specifically, global research shows that learning foreign languages in early childhood promotes – among other things – the development of language skills, the ability to understand and produce spoken language, the cultivation of self-confidence, and a positive attitude of students towards other languages and cultures. Therefore, proper information for parents and teachers about research findings related to early language acquisition is essential. Learning English from such an early age can have very positive results, provided that teaching is approached as play and is adapted to the particular characteristics and needs of students at this age.
The earlier, the better
Learning a foreign language at a young age is particularly beneficial for students for reasons we will explain below. In any case, learning a foreign language requires time and systematic exposure to the language. For this reason, it is essential to give students the opportunity to understand and experience another linguistic code early so that both the time during which they are learning (through compulsory education) and the special abilities of children in early and later childhood, before adolescence, are utilized. It is believed that young students learn a foreign language better because the brain, before adolescence, has the ability to leverage the mechanism that enhances learning of the mother tongue, facilitating the development of language skills and awakening awareness of the function of language in meaning-making.
At the European level, this perception prevailed in language policy and its applications at the Council of Europe in the last two decades of the previous century and today is gaining ground in the areas of educational policy design and implementation in EU member states. Already since 2001, the European Commission has formulated the 1+2 recommendation (mother tongue plus two foreign languages) and argues in favor of starting foreign language learning as early as possible within educational systems. The most recent research from the European education network "Eurydice" reflects examples of policies in member states where teaching and learning a foreign language begins early, from the age of six to seven (e.g., Austria, Norway, Finland) or even very early, from the age of three (e.g., Spain).
Several advantages arise from early foreign language learning for students:
- Development of language skills: The ability to understand spoken language and produce spoken language is particularly enhanced in early ages, as it follows the natural linguistic development of children and is further strengthened by teaching practices where the teacher provides abundant linguistic input through spoken language.
- Motivation in learning: Children’s natural tendency to respond enthusiastically to new experiences facilitates their participation in activities that, through repetition and imitation, help them practice pronunciation and intonation spontaneously. The tendency of children to “play” with language and its sounds diminishes over time, as higher-level cognitive processes develop and their psychosocial world changes; older primary school students (pre-adolescents) may hesitate or feel shy to adopt features of the foreign language (e.g., pronunciation) and focus more on grammar or vocabulary.
- Interdisciplinary approach and creative language building: Teaching practices followed with early primary school children (e.g., stories, songs, games) encourage children to perceive language as a “whole,” a set of words and phrases that produce meaning, facilitating the approach of cross-disciplinary concepts that children will later analyze and process in higher grades. Thus, starting early, through play and fun, children acquire a valuable pool of phrases and examples of language phenomena and functions, which they can later draw upon to construct speech (scaffolding), relying on personal knowledge and experience.
- Psycho-emotional development: Research shows that discovering another linguistic code beyond their mother tongue helps children gain confidence and develop a positive attitude towards foreign languages, other cultures, foreign speakers, and learning in general. In Greece, empirical observation of multicultural classrooms gives positive insights regarding the enhancement of self-image for foreign students, who feel on equal footing with Greek classmates, native speakers of the language of instruction in primary education.
- Development of mother tongue awareness and learning strategies: From a very young age, children learn how to use language to satisfy their communication needs. Early foreign language learning helps them understand how their mother tongue functions compared to the foreign language and activates familiar strategies to communicate in the foreign language. Transferring strategies from mother tongue to foreign language enhances cognitive processes and promotes linguistic development. However, it can be very demanding when there is no correspondence between the two linguistic codes, so proper handling by trained teachers is necessary.
- Awakening intercultural awareness: Learning another language beyond the mother tongue provides intellectual well-being and enjoyment, broadening cognitive horizons and fostering awareness of other cultures. Multilingual individuals better understand their own culture through comparison and analysis of phenomena and behaviors of their culture and that of others.
Europe’s position on foreign language learning
It is well known, both to the Greek Ministry of Education and to the foreign language educational community, that foreign languages today hold a crucial place in school curricula across Europe. This results, among other things, from the systematic promotion of multilingualism by the Council of Europe and the European Commission, which strongly supports the idea of a multilingual Europe – a Europe that respects all languages of all peoples and the linguistic rights of citizens living there.
Since 2002, several EU programs have contributed to promoting multilingualism and substantially supporting foreign language education in schools from a very young age. Specific instructions, recommendations, and financial incentives have been provided to member states to introduce foreign language teaching early, and research findings have been published showing that learning a foreign language positively impacts children’s academic performance as well as personal and social development. As noted on the European Commission website, it is extremely important for children to start learning other languages alongside their mother tongue early, because “early childhood forms the decisive behaviors towards other languages and cultures, laying the foundation for how a child will learn […]. Young learners gradually begin to understand the value and influences of their own culture, while appreciating the foreign and different, simultaneously gaining a broader perception of the world and reality around them.”
Source: PEAP (https://rcel.enl.uoa.gr/peap/)
