IELTS Writing Task 2: 'language learning' topic

My students and I worked on this question from Cambridge IELTS 9:

Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

Here's our plan for a 4-paragraph essay:

1. Introduction: Topic = best age to learn a foreign language. Our opinion = better to learn at primary school age.
2. Disadvantages of learning languages at primary age: other subjects are more important at that age (maths, mother tongue language, science), learning a new language is confusing and wastes time, could delay development of child's first language.
3. Advantages of learning languages at primary age: young children learn faster, they are less self-conscious or shy, they pick up the pronunciation better, they enjoy copying and learning through games, nowadays languages are just as important as maths etc.
4. Conclusion: repeat / summarise our answer.

The plan took us 10 minutes to write. With a plan like this, it should be easy to write a good essay in 30 minutes.

Comments

[sam]

HI SIMON i always get confused whenever question asks for do advantages outweigh disadvantages??? with regards to above question,do pro’s and con’s of learning language in primary education should be cosidered or pro’s and con’s of learning language in prim&sec are considered????
plz can some one help me

[k.u]

Hi Simon,

How can I organize the paragraph of this type of question?

"Some people consider computers to be more of a hindrance than a help. others believe that they have greatly increased human potential. How could computers be considered a hindrance?"

Your website is very useful.
Thank you!

[Mamta India]

Hello Simon and Sam
To Sam, Hey!Hope to help you
1. Always keep in mind that whenever essay asks 'do the ....' just discuss both the views and do give ur opinion in intro and include it in ur conclusion as well. you should discuss ur view in the 3rd para of ur essay,hope i m correct if wrong anyone pls correct me

PS pls see Simon's earlier lessons for better assistance

[Andrey]

Hello, Simon! It is my first post in your blog but I have been visiting it for 2 months. I am a student from Russia and I am going to apply to German University this summer to start Master of Science course of study in computer science. I achieved a fantastic score (I needed 6.0, I dreamed about 7.0 and I got 7.5) L-7.5, R-8.5 ,W-6.5, S-6.5.
It wouldn't be possible without your blog, your ideas and your amazing eBook! Also I'd like to thank all people posting their ideas in the comment area and especially Martin.
It is my first attempt and I want to say that everybody can prepare using this blog, youtube, ted and English podcast.
Just listen and read! And then your writing and even speaking ability will be improved.
My writing topic was about children spending their time playing computer games and watching TV rather than doing outdoor activities. It wasn't too difficult.
Speaking topics (mine and my friends): vegetable, teenager you know, language you want to learn, sport event you watched on TV.
Thank you from all Russian IELTS-students and good luck to all!

[semenchu]

kindly comments on my essay as below:
.....................................

Children usually learn foreign language as early as in secondary school even though some experts believe its better occurs in primary school. It seems for me that foreign language should be taught to our children at elder stages rather than youngest one.

It is undeniable that young children will easily learn vocabulary and pick-up the pronunciation of language much better compared to elder people. However, they have to learn basic subject such as sciences, mathematics and moral which essential for them to survive in future especially at the beginning of education system. In addition, it is compulsory for non-native English student to focus on their mother tongue language and might start with English language. Learning foreign language other than English would make them confused and distracted so that generate negative effects on development of education system.

On the other hand, other subjects are more importance at that age. We should allow them to focus on the basic subjects which requires them to put much effort and time consuming. Therefore, they can begin to learn foreign language after establishment and understood the concept of study in primary school. Furthermore, it could easy for them to practise and enhance the usage of foreign language with attractive approach. For example, they may enjoy learn language through games and debate, present a current issue, as well as establish the social conversation with others people from different location either locally or internationally.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that children may begin his education in foreign language at secondary school rather than secondary school because the benefits are outweighing the drawbacks.

[Mukhammad]

Semenchu, your essay is nice! It has helped me. Sunny wishes!!!

[MS]

(bit Revised)

Children usually learn a foreign language as early as in secondary school, even though some experts believe it is better to start learning it from primary school. It seems to me that a foreign language should only be learnt at secondary level rather than at primary level.

It is undeniable that young children will easily learn vocabulary and pronunciation of any language much better compared to adolescents. However, they need to learn basic subjects such as sciences, mathematics and moral which are essential for them to survive in the future, especially at the beginning of their academic career. In addition, it is compulsory for non-native English student to focus on their mother tongue language as well as the English language. Learning a foreign language other than English would make them feel overloaded and distracted which might cause negative feelings towards learning.

On the other hand, other subjects are often more important to learn in their young age. We should allow them to focus on the basic subjects which demand plenty of effort and time. Therefore, they can begin to learn a foreign language after establishing themselves well by better understanding the concept of education in primary school. Furthermore, it could be easy for them to practise and enhance the usage of a foreign language with better approaches when they become older. For example, they may enjoy learning language through games and discussions, presentations on current affairs, as well as they can embark on social conversations with people from various locations.

In conclusion, I strongly believe that children should learn a foreign language only in secondary school rather than at primary level as the drawbacks outweigh the benefits.

[semenchu]

thanks to Mukhamad and revised version by MS. really appreciated your effort..

[pawan]

Hi Simaon,

I thought this to be discussion essay and came up with the following answer. Is this the correct way.. Please let me know if i should have written a argument essay with my opinion in intro and conclusion

-----------------------------------------------
With the advent of Globalization the world has become one huge Global Village with no boundaries. This globalization has triggered the need for learning foreign languages to communicate with people from other countries. Some people believe that learning foreign language at the initial stages has a greater advantage while others opine differently. In the following essay we will discuss on the advantages of learning foreign language at primary school followed by the disadvantages.
Firstly, the things/ subjects taught at primary school are remembered for long time by the children. For example, the rhymes, formulae & morals learnt at the primary school are remembered by pupils for their entire life. However people tend to forget the formulae and lessons taught at secondary school. So a foreign language introduced to the children at primary school will be remembered for longer time. Thus it is clear that learning foreign language at primary school has its advantages.
On the flip side, students at primary school will have more subjects to learn. The subjects like mathematics, sciences and English at primary school are foundations to the advanced subjects that are introduced in the latter stages of the education. So students would have focus more on these subjects in order to excel at these subjects in next stages of their education. Hence, introduction of foreign language at primary school will be a deviation to the children from the other important subjects. Thus from the above it is clear that the learning foreign language at early stages of education has its disadvantages.
To conclude, it is clear from the above that the disadvantages of introducing foreign language at primary school outweigh the advantages. It is agreed that these foreign languages could be introduced at the secondary level for the greater good of children.
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[Linh]

Dear Simon,
I wrote an essay follow your structure. Could you give me some advice?

Dear everyone,
I know that Simon has little time to go to details. I have already started learning IELTS, so I hope that you can comment and support me.
------------------------------

It is true that foreign language is an important subject in all schools, however there are different opinions about what the best age to learn it. In my opinion, this is better to learn at primary school age.
There are several disadvantages of learning languages at primary age, and the main argument is that can increase the pressure for children. At that age, children not only learn knowledge from core subjects, but also discover everything in their life. Pupil have to have the time to play and entertain, learning too much knowledge makes them confused and have no time to relax. At primary school, other subjects are more important, children have to study maths, science..., especially mother tongue language, another language wastes time and could delay development of child's first language.
However, we can see a lot of advantages of learning language at primary school. Firstly, that age is the idealest age to learn language - both mother touge language and foreign language. Young children study naturally because they enjoy copying and learning through games or every activity they take part in. Therefore, they are less self-conscious or shy, they also pick up the pronunciation better, this makes a great background to develop their language. Also, the knowledge young child accumulated is difficult to lose. The younger children are, the faster they can learn. Secondly, nowadays languages are just as important as maths or science... Schools have many activities compound playing and learning language to make pupil fell interested in this subject.
In conclusion, primary age is the ideal time to chirldren commence learning foreign language. Schools should adjust amount of subject to make great studying environment for children can learn language and other subjects comfortably.

[Ha Nguyen]

Hello Sir Simon,
I'm a Vietnamese student. I followed your lessons as the only material for studying IELTS. Although I finished studying for it and got IELTS result, I still visit your website to learn your useful lessons.
Thank you very much teacher Simon. You not only teach me IELTS but inspire me to follow your career since I decided to be an English teacher like you. Thank so much, again, my great teacher.

[Mamta India]

Hi all
anyone pls help me regarding style of marking in ielts listening. is it marked manually or electronically
hope to get assistance

[Hung]

Could anyone check grammatical mistakes please?

Some educationalists believe that learning a foreign language at primary educational level is more efficiently than at secondary level. Personally I think its merits outweigh demerits.

There are some drawbacks for primary students to acquire a second language. Foreign language learning could prevent the student’s acquiring knowledge from other subjects. At primary level, it is vital for the youngsters to develop their first language and start studying social and scientific subjects such as maths, biology and history. Learning a new language definitely consumes the school children’s time, so they could not have adequate time for the other subjects. Furthermore, exposure to a language which is not the first language could deter the students from developing their mother tongues. It is evident that children exposing a second language at very young age tend to mix up two languages when communicating.

I, on the other hand, would argue that there are also undeniable benefits of learning languages at primary school. Firstly, young school children learn faster than older children. As a result, foreign language learners at primary level pick up the pronunciation better and remember vocabulary more easily. Secondly, it saves a great deal of time and effort to teach a second language for these youngsters. In other word, it could be more productively to train them at this level. Finally, languages are judged as critical as other subjects. They will become future advantages for the learners, so the sooner they learn it, the better they are.

As analysed above, it seems to me that children learning a foreign language at primary education have more advantages than those studying it at secondary education.

[Soha]

Hi semenchu,

Your essay is pretty good and you did excellent job in developing your ideas.But please pay more attention to some grammer mistakes such as the following :-

Introduction:
It is better not its better
at elder stages rather than youngest one.(Please consider paraphrasing this sentences as recommened by (MS)

Paragraph 1:
In the future not in future
at the beginning of thier education not education,Please do not forget pronouns

after understanding the studying concepts in primary NOT after establishment and understood the concept of study in primary school.

with other people NOT others people

In conclusion, I strongly believe that children may begin thier education NOT his education

In the last paragraph in the conclusion you repeated the word scondary school,I guess you mean to mentioned both secondary and primary

Other very good comments recommended by MS should be considered

Have a good day,
Soha

[semenchu]

Hi Soha,
Thanks for the valuable comments and advices. Yes, I'm agree with all the suggestion and glad that you able to take your time evaluating my essay. Frankly speaking, this essay was written within allocation time (40 minutes) and directly submitted at the end of time with just minor attention. In the previous exam, I run out of time to check my work till times up. Anyway, hope I'll get my desired score this coming Saturday, 18th May.. :)

[Yusufboy]

There is a conflicting issue about young generation’s ideal period for starting to learn a foreign language. While there are people who are not in favour of exposing children foreign language lessons at primary school, I believe no other time can be better than this early stage .

Some people argue teaching pupils foreigh language so early can create several drawbacks. Firstly, at that age other subjects are more important to learn rather than a new language. Mathematics and mother tongue are to be developed deeply in early school years because many other subjects are based on these two knowledge in the future. So learning a foreign language may take time from these two essential disciplines. Apart from this, at primary school children have not acquired even their own language’s syntaxes and grammatical structures which are really vital to learn during new language lessons. Therefore, children are unable to be taught this language efficiently.

However, benefits of early age foreign language lessons are even more. Young children tend to learn every thing faster as well as less shy so that it is easy to teach them a language through games and other activities in the shortest time. Moreover, most adult learners often experience problems to adjust new pronunciation but this problem can be delt easily with young students. On the top of that, today knowing international language is becoming one of the most essential skills in our globalized era, so it is worth setting this subject top priority at schools.

By the way of conclusion, we should ignore some disadvantages of teaching students at primary school, because its benefits offset drawbacks in long term.

[Orkhan]

Hi, Simon. i need an urgent information.Because of the stress in writin session intead of writing discuss both view and give your own opinion, i did give my opinion and support only one side with 6reasons and 2 examples. i was about free education . What do you think will i l be granted 6 points ? task one was line graph and i think i could express it pretty good, with the limited lexical mistakes .

[raja]

People have different views regarding the best age to learn the foreign language. While I accept that there are some disadvantages of learning foreign language at primary school. I personally believe that learning foreign language at primary age has more pros than cons.
On the one hand, at primary school, the other subjects which are very important in pupil’s life such as maths, mother tongue language and science etc. are affected by learning foreign language. By adding extra foreign subject in primary school curriculum will be a burden for students. Another thing is that learning a new language at that age is confusing, stressful and wastes of time. This could divert the concentration of children from their basic subjects like maths, science etc. Furthermore, this could delay the development of child's first language which is very important in their development. When looking at above points it is understandable why learning foreign language at primary age is not beneficial.

On the other hand, learning language at primary school has number of advantages. Firstly, as children at primary age learn faster and they are less self-conscious or shy, therefore, they pick up the pronunciation better, which is a key part in learning language. Secondly, at that age, pupils enjoy copying and learning different things. Learning foreign language will help them in their practical career because nowadays, foreign language is just as important as maths, science or native language. It is obvious that there are more advantages of learning foreign at primary school.
In conclusion, primary age is better for learning foreign language. It is recommended that foreign language courses should be included at primary school curriculum.

[Sun]

Hi, Simon!

I have a question about the IELTS writing Task 2.
I sometimes encounter unknown words, such as "egalitarian", in the topic of Task 2 and they might be key words in the essays.
In this case, what shall I do?
Just guess the meaning of words and keep writing?
If you have good advice, please kindly let me know.

Thank you in advance.

[thesinh]

It can not be denied that learning a foreign language is good way to prepare for the future. Some expert believe that the children begin learning a foreign language at primary school is better than at secondary school. However, it has some advantage and disadvantage on this situation.
It can true to say that mastering the mother language is important for children at the primary school because it can help young children understand their parents as well as the young children start learning about cultural family by mother language. For example, the family life of young children is almost using mother language and traditional culture in the family is also using mother language. Moreover, maths and other sciences in primary school are basic development their brain to catch up surround environmental life.
On the other hand, it can be said that young children can learn foreign language fast because they are beginner and more brainpower. For example, the young children are easy to follow teacher on pronunciation a new word, this is good way to speak foreign language as native speakers. It’s also happy to learn foreign language through games. Furthermore, nowadays languages are just as important as other subjects because nowadays is open society which most people are working together. As a result, learning foreign language is trend of modern society.
In sun, learning foreign language is most popular in modern society but it should choose the right time. Some expert believes that children begin learning a foreign language at primary school is rather than at secondary school. However, I strongly believe that it is better for children begin learning a foreign language at secondary school.

[thesinh]

Hi

[lamun Kayurin]

I took IELTs writting Task 2 today. Topic is some people think that children should learn history subject at school and other believe that other subject more than important for children's lives today. This is my writting task 2 on the following:

It is true that a rich variety of history subject can be found around the world. History is one of these important of human culture for a real of reason, and in my opinion children should learn history subject at school and these solution which aim answer here.

History is something that accompanies all of us for our lives. As children, we are taught to learn local history in each countries by our parents and teachers as a means of learning local history or as a form of enjoyment. Children delight in history singing with others, and it would appear that the act of learning history and speaking in group connect between participants. Later in life, people's history develop for education system to learn and see different culture in each countries.

In my opinion, children should learn history subject at school because they can learn and see their local history. For example, I was a student in primary school at Polwittaya school in Hadyai Southern Thailand. I had a teacher name "Somsri". She taught local history subject. During her first class, she introducted local historic place in Songkhla. She asked us this question "What you knew local historic place ?" I raised my hand to answer. I spoke the house that the 16 th prime minister name "Prem” was born in birth place. Following her class she took us a filed trip to the historic place. Therefore, we can learn and see different culture local historic place.

In conclusion, this history subject is very interesting because it can learn and see different culture and learning centre for studying of children. It is really an amazing to learn and see local historic place for learning centre all student and all ages , and I believe that most school have history subject for studying of students every class.

[Nga Tran]

Here is mine.
What is the best age for children to learn a foreign language? In my view, children should begin learning another language at primary school.
Exposing to a second language at young age might have few disadvantages. First, children at that age will start off with mathematics, science, and other subjects that are more important than a foreign language. Second, learning a new language while mother language hasn’t been fully developed will create unnecessary confusion and could delay development of child’s first language. Fortunately, this disadvantage can be easily overcome if parents focus on developing their children’s proficiency of the first language at the same time.
The earlier young children start off with a second language, the faster they can learn. Children at primary school age are less self-conscious or shy, they pick up the pronunciation better, as such they can speak that language with a native-like accent. This will be impossible for adults who expose to a new language at a later stage of their life. Learning a second language at early age will also help increase their cognitive ability. Recent researches have shown that a child who is introduced to a second language through nursery rhymes right after birth will have their brain develop at a higher pace comparing to those who do not. Nowadays languages are just as important as maths.
In conclusion, learning a second language during childhood will bring countless advantages to children and help them to reach their full potential by fully developing their brain at early age and improving their pronunciation better.

[shafva]

In todays world learning a foreign language is more important. Many children start to learn a second language at primary school.

It is true that there are some disadvantages of learning a foreign language at primary school. First of all, young children may need to spend their valuable time in learning subjects which are more important to them than learning a second language. The core subjects such as mathematics, science and mother tongue language are the same in many primary schools. By studying a new language it may take away their precious time from concentrating on those core subjects. This could make a young child to dislike academic importance. In particular some people may also be worried about a childs delay in the development of understanding the first language.

On the other hand the positive of learning a foreign language at primary school outweigh the negatives. First of all many young children at their primary age tend to learn faster than aged people. This may be because children are not self concious when they learn a new language as they try to copy and mimic from the games they play. They also pick up the pronounciation better and use similar accents in their routine life.

In conclusion there may be a number of reasons not to learn and to learn a foreign language at primary school. However I believe that it will always better to learn a foreign language than not to learn one at a young age.

[shafva]

Hai simon in such essay if i write less words in the positives compared to the negatives and agree that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages would that be a problem ?

[shafva]

Hai Lamun. I have written another essay on your topic to share with all. I hope to have answered the question.

Topic: Some people think that children should learn history subject at school and other believe that other subject more than important for children's lives today. Discuss both and give your opinion.

The present today is a history tomorrow. People have different views on whether to study or not to study history at school and focus on other core subjects. I believe that we should study history during our school curriculum

There may be some advantages of not studying history in school. Probably because studying history may be considered as a waste of time and an extra burden for students to carry the load of preparing one more subject for their exam. The core subjects such as mathematics and science can be concentrated for a considerably longer hours if there is a subject less to prepare. In particular, perhaps people may assume that by studyiny can be useful only for students aiming to become a history teacher or a genealogy worker.

On the other hand there are number of advantages of studying history at school. Learning history increases ourt knowledge about the different cultures and traditions present in the world today. It helps every individual to know about their identity. Knowing history also helps us to trace our ancestors. If one has no knowledge about the past events, people would not be aware of the progress and developments that happened in the human race. For instance, without studying history people would not be aware about how their country attained independence. Knowledge about history could also solve many problems. For example, when history repeats current issues can be compared to the similar problems that happened in the ancient times to find a solution.

In conclusion I think studying history at school will develop the knowledge about the past in every child who learns history. So it is always better to study history than not to do so.

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Appreciate all if you could correct my mistakes . Honestly it took me more than the required time to write it but i will speed up gradually.

[Mai Le]

There is no denying that nowadays foreign language is very popular for future of each person but learning foreign language is never easy. Following opinion of some experts, if children begin to learn a foreign language at primary age, it will be more effective than at secondary age. In fact, learning new language when you are young has many advantages and some disadvantages.
As you can see, at primary age, beginning to learn basic knowledge, pupils have to learn many more important objects such as mathematic, mother tongue language, science,… taking a large their amount of time. If they learn a foreign language in addition, it will be confusing. As a result, they will not only have not more knowledge but also waste of time and even their first language development be delayed.
However, in present day society, foreign languages are as important as mathematic or different basic objects. Besides, after learning mathematic or science stressful, learning a new dynamic language helps pupils feel more excited and effective. Furthermore, as long as they are young, they will learn faster, pick up the pronunciation better, not feel shy or self-conscious which bring many difficulties and challenges for learning foreign language of adults. In addition, children enjoy playing games, watching cartoons,… which are extremely wealthy sources of new vocabularies, structures or pronunciations for them to copying or learning through.
In sum up, to learn a new foreign language more excitedly and effectively, children should begin to learn at primary age.

[VIKAS SINGH]

Can the conjunction "And" join a noun and an adjective or A verb and an adjective?
For example is it correct to write "Wailing and Gnashing of teeth"- Wailing is a noun or an adjective whereas Gnashing is a verb.

Kindly guide

[AJ]

Some people argue that the primary school age is the best time to learn a second language. Although there are both advantages and disadvantages, I personally agree with this notion.

On the one hand, there are a few disadvantages of children learning a foreign language at primary school. Firstly, studying a second language can take up valuable time of students. That time could be spent on other, arguably more important, subjects such as maths, mother tongue language and science. Secondly, learning a new language can be confusing. It can hinder the development of a child’s first language. For instance, different sentence structures in two different languages could cause confusion for a child. This confusion can lead to the child using his first language incorrectly.

On the other hand, learning a new language at primary school age is also beneficial. Primary school pupils learn faster because they are less shy and self-conscious. This can enable students to learn a second language more effectively as compared to students who start learning a new language in the later part of their academic career. Moreover, children’s pronunciation would also be clear if they start learning a foreign language at a tender age. This could be very beneficial for their career in later life. Furthermore, these days learning a foreign language could just be as important as learning maths or science for a person’s career. By starting to learn the language early children would get a head start in something which would be important for their future.

To conclude, studying a second language at primary school has both advantages and disadvantages. However, in my opinion, the benefits of this outweigh the drawbacks.

[Jahongir]

thank you!!!

[chi mai]

Dear Simon,

please kindly commment on my essay below

In contemporary times, it is acknowledged that foreign languages should be included in the primary school curriculum by some scientists. While I admittedly agree that teaching foreign languages at such an early age may pose several particular threats, I realize that the benefits offered outweigh the drawbacks.

Initially, there is no doubt that learning a new language may delay the development of child’s first language. In fact, children may encounter numerous problems when trying to distinguish their mother tongue from the foreign language. A dramatic example can be evidently seen in teaching English for primary students from countries of pictographic languages. Another fact worth mentioning is that the introduction of fundamental scientific subjects ranging from Maths to Basic Chemistry is far more significant for small children compared to foreign languages.

Nevertheless, the merits of acquiring a new language are unquestionably far more considerable owing to the nature of their mental and the possibility to form effective learning habits for primary school children. First and foremost, it is obvious that very young learners are less self-conscious and shy, which helps them practice oral communication substantially better than adults, who are normally afraid of making mistakes. In addition, it is also noticeable that they are not much influenced by their mother tongue’s pronunciation and spelling, which apparently facilitates their second or foreign language acquisition. One further benefit is derived from the fact that studying languages in primary schools develops their habitual learning through reading passages, conversations with teachers, and vocabulary on flashcards or notes.
By way of conclusion, from all the arguments above, the disadvantages are considered to be just marginal in comparison with the advantages. Hence, I am strongly convinced that every child should be taught at least a foreign language at the age from 6 to 10.

[Jana]

Pleas,i want to improve speaking and listening i am weak in these skills

[shiv]

hi simon i wnt 6 bands in writing...so give me some suggestions how can i get 6 bands in writing

[TheAnh]

Education has more and more attracted the people’s interest in the world nowadays. In the era of globalization, learning a foreign language in schools is necessary for future development of each country. One topic which is necessarily discussed is children should start studying a foreign language at primary school level or at secondary school level. Although each choice has own drawbacks and benefits, I personally recommend the children had better learn second language at primary school.
To begin, there are a number of advantages for starting learning second language early. It is a long period taking much time. As learning mother tongue, children learn second language will start with listening and speaking skills. This is the natural process. Thus, the second language will be absorbed much better. Moreover, from the characteristics of children of always copying and repeating what the older people say educators and educationalists can teach them more easily.
Additionally, scientists have discovered that learning second language will help brain more active and response more quickly. Hence, children are taught foreign language soon; they will be smarter and also contribute to learn other subjects.
However, learning another language contains a disadvantage. If teaching quality is not controlled, this will result in unexpected outcomes. For example, children maybe pronounce wrong. Hence, training at secondary school will meet many difficulties. Nevertheless, the drawbacks can be solved by policy. As the policy applied to other subjects, teaching a foreign language will be controlled strictly.
To conclude, learning foreign language early will bring many advantages. It can improve children’s brain ability and especially be suitable with characteristics of children’s development at period of primary school. I advocate that parents, educators and educationalists should consider the arguments in the essay.

[Sherry]

This's my essay. Please check it and comment

The relative importance of starting to learn a foreign language at primary school and at secondary school is a common topic of discussion when people try to explain about children's ability to learn another language. Personally, I think learning the second language at primary age is better.

In daily life, they speak and read in their native language. They have a little chance to practise their another language skills. If they learn it at early age, they will be familiar with it. In addition, young children can learn faster than adolescences - according to some researchers said. They may easily remember vocabulary. They pick up the pronunciation better and they are less self-conscious.

However, it has some disadvantages. The huge obstacle is that children have to study critical subjects e.g. mathematics, science and native language. It is hard for young students to concentrate on every subjects. They should have time to relax and get in tough with acquaintances. If they are only focused on studying, they won't live in the future.

In conclusion, it can be said that learning a foreign language at primary school has both advantages and disadvantages, but I still believe learning at early age is better. Because nowadays the globalisation has been changing so a foreign language is more important than the past.

[Siri]

Hello Simon and everyone,
Please comment my essay below
Thanks for your kindness in advance
I really look forward to see your commemt

Many specialists suggest that foreign language should be started to teach in elementary school, other think that it will be more efficient if it begin studying in secondary school. Both sides are reasonable, before identify my position the detailed discussion must be required.

On the one hand, children will learn foreign language faster than the older people because they will be enthusiastic to know new knowledge in their lives. They may not shy to pronounce an accent like a native speaker and may enjoy communicating with their friends in other language. Moreover, nowadays, people should know at least two languages beside their mother tough language in order that in the future, they need to connect to the global. So parents encourage their children to study foreign language in the early age. Children may enjoy the new language by learning though a foreign cartoon, video game and music.

On the other hand, there are many subjects such as Mathematics, Sciences and Mother tough language to learn in primary school. Just studying these courses, the students will not have time to do other activities. These core subjects need to know for their basic of living and in their age, they do not need to communicate to other foreign friends. In addition, they may confuse to speak the language because the grammar in each language is not similar. This situation may effect to lacking of development of knowledge in childhood.

In conclusion, it seems to me that children may begin to learn the foreign language in the primary school rather than the secondary school because the advantages outweigh the drawbacks that I mention above.

[marja23]

Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Nowadays, foreign languages are just as important as native language for communication. It is very essential to learn a foreign language especially the English for non-English speaker countries to make their life better and easier in this globalization era. Several Specialists trust that primary school is suitable for learn a foreign language. However, I believe that secondary school is better for learn any second languages to every children.
Children need more to learn many subjects at primary level such as mother tongue, social science and math rather than a foreign language. Academically, students can’t use their native language properly at this level so that they have to learn more about mother tongue. Moreover, they need to learn social science on their own language at primary level because they have to know about their social norms and values. Learning a foreign language at this level is unsuitable because it interrupts the others important subjects which are very necessary to learn at primary school. Furthermore, it is difficult to learn many subjects at this period.
However, student can learn faster and easier at primary level than secondary level. In addition, they never forget what they learn in primary school. Secondary level may be more complicated to learn a foreign language because it can be interfered by their native language so that they never get good achievements. Consequently, they would have many difficulties in the future because the lack of the language performance. For example, English is very important foreign language for every nationality except English speaker countries so if student don’t have the skills in English language they can’t study in the international university. Learning the foreign language always provides good opportunity and student get more about it at primary level.
In conclusion, its reality advantages and disadvantages resembles two sides of a coin so as any other of the learning a foreign language at primary school. It is a child right to learning about social norms and values in their own language at primary level and duty for teachers and parents. Additionally, they have to learn many other subjects instead of foreign language in primary level. On the other hand, student can learn easier all subjects with foreign language in primary level than secondary one.

[Samuel]

Hi all, I have conducted my essay as follow. It would be very kind if anyone can criticize my writing. Thanks a lot.

Bilinguals are now more valuable in societies as a result of globalization. Because of this, children are encouraged to begin foreign language education at primary school rather than later. Some people discourage this phenomena as they believe that the development of first language would be hindered due to possible confusion n children. Nevertheless, these opponents have underestimated the capability of our brains and neglected the following advantages.

First of all, children's brains at their stage are ready to absorb various types of knowledge effectively, in other words, it is a good time for learning. Learning more than one language does not have any negative effects on the development of first language as children's brains are advanced enough to handle multiple language systems. At their age, memory always lasts longer. This absolutely is an advantage for learning especially in languages since some of grammatical structures are truly needed to be memorized before the languages becoming native.

Moreover, languages are important nowadays. It is undeniable that languages are now as important as other core subjects like mathematics and science. As a result of this, foreign language education should begin at primary school same as other core subjects. This can ensure that children have enough time to build up a solid foundation of other languages more than their mother-tongue before they have to practically apply the languages in their lives.

By concluded, the younger we learn foreign language, the greater competitiveness we have. The prime time of learning should not be missed in learning languages which is an essential and competitive element nowadays.

[Anna Nguyen]

Dear Simon, please kindly have a look at my essay and give me some feedback on how to improve my writing.

Thank you so much
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Nowadays, being capable of communicating multiple languages can bring individuals huge advantages in many aspects of life. Thus, it is suggested that getting children to learn a foreign language since primary school may further improve the children's proficiency of foreign languages later in their life rather than delaying the study until the secondary level. From my perspective, the idea sounds potential and reasonable, however just to some extents, which seems uneasy to produce the expected outcomes as the drawbacks going along with would more highly likely overshadow and inhibit the virtual expectation.

Advocates for children learning a foreign language as early as at primary school may stand for the belief that with its fast intuition and freshness, the earlier a child gets exposed to a new language, the easier for him or her to naturally absorb and use the language as native speakers. Admittedly, children tend to learn foreign languages quicker and easier than adults, especially in the way they pick up the pronunciation, in remembering new vocabularies and practicing the language without self-consciousness or shyness. Nevertheless, in reality, this does not mean that getting children to learn a foreign language at such earlier time as their primary school time will certainly do much greater improvement on their foreign language's capacity in future. The good outcome, in fact, depends on many other important factors such as: children's preference or passion towards a language, a well-designed and appropriate study programme for not causing overloaded learning as well as the exposure level of a language in the real situations, which is not easy achievable. Also, it is yet for mentioning about adverse effects, usually more powerfully influential to children than desired expectations, which will be discussed as following

The first visibly anticipated drawback about too early learning a new language for children is that mixing up between mother language and foreign languages. Primary school time as usually known as the primitive time for children to learn how to read and write their mother language at very basis level. Thus, in such condition, with an incomprehensive knowledge about their own mother language, learning another language would potentially result in confusion and misuses between languages children learn. Consequently, this also may somehow cause harm to the children’s development of their mother tongue later. The second reason for not supporting the add of a foreign language in the primary curriculum for a child is that this may reduce their study efficiency in other more important and crucial subjects such as maths, moral or sciences… due to time and effort devoted on those subjects being shared down to learning an additional language. Moreover, this also will lead to too heavy study workload for children, thus possibly causing negative impacts on children’s health, both physically and mentally. Learning an additional language means that children would have less time for playing and relaxing. Also this would potentially put them under unnecessary study pressure at their little age.

To summarise, from the arguments indicated above, I would like to reiterate that even though learning foreign languages at younger ages are undeniably more beneficial, however getting children to learn an additional language as too early as at primary school is just not a rightly ripe time because if not having appropriately well-designed curriculum and teaching approaches, as well as thoughtful consideration about children’s wellbeing, it would potentially more likely produce adverse impacts on children rather than expected advantages.

[Darwin]

Anyone, please review my writing and give me some feedback. Will my writing get 6,5 score for a General Test? Thanks Before.

These day, many education specialist are discussing on when would be the perfect time for children to learn a new language beside their official language. Some said that it should be started during the elementary school rather than high school. In my opinion, studying another language in the primary age would be the perfect time.

At the primary age, children are still improving their mother tongue language, such as enriching the vocabulary and developing their grammatical range. By learning a new language during that phase, it could make them confuse and not focus. The difficulties could get worst when the words of the new language is not written in Latin words, such as Chinese, Japanese or Korean. Basic knowledge such as science and mathematic should be the priority during this age rather than learning another language.

Despite of the disadvantages, children during the elementary age are fast learner. Their way of thinking and their logical mind are still clear and fresh, therefore they could absorb the knowledge much more faster than adults. Beside that, they have more time to study and practice the new language, since they don’t have to work or take care of the household problems. Also during this time, they are not shy in practicing the language, although they could pronounce it wrongly, while grown up people would be embarrassed to do it.

To conclude, although there are negative side in learning new language at early age, but the benefits is more than the drawback. I personally believe that learning a new foreign language during the primary age would bring more benefit to children and it would the best time for them

[Olivia Tan]

People have different views about having kids to start learning a foreign language at early stages of their development. Some say learning during primary school days is better than learning it when they are in secondary school. I am of the opinion that children would pick up a foreign language more rapidly at primary school age.

One of advantages to begin learning a foreign language skill at primary school period is because young children learn faster in anything during that time. They are less self-conscious or shy to use that foreign language for daily conversation. Once they speak more, they can improve tremendously in that particular foreign language. Furthermore, they would pick up the pronunciation better as they can remember their teachers’ teachings immediately. This is good for them because their pronunciation in that language will not turn out to be atrocious when they grown up. Besides these, kids nowadays can enjoy the learning process as they could learn through interactive games, power point slides and video tutorials. These learning materials help them to master the foreign language even faster.

Some people still think that children are not in the suitable age to acquire a new language skill during primary school days. They say that other subjects such as mathematics, science and mother tongue language should be the main focus of the learning progress at the age rather than a second language. Some parents believe learning a new language would be confusing and wasting time of their children. They prefer their children to concentrate more on the main subjects rather than letting the lessons in a new foreign language take away valuable study time from these key disciplines. Also, they are worried that learning another foreign language could delay development of their child’s first language.

In conclusion, I couldn't agree more that kids are better when they begin to learn a second language when they are younger as the advantages are more than the drawbacks. Since we are now in a globalization age, therefore learning another foreign language, especially English, is just as important as the other main subjects taught in school because it gives people more opportunities to live a better life and getting a better job in future. (371 words)

[zahid]

Could I write the introduction like this?.. pls suggest me;

It is certainly true that primary age is the best feeding time for learn anything weather it is foreign language or moral lesson. But we have to look up that how much afford children could absorb which will direct us to preferences of life according to the demand of time.

[Carolina]

It is believed by some Scientifics that It is more advantageous for kids to start learning a second language at the first years of the school, rather than at secondary school. Personally, I think that it is very good idea because it gives the opportunity to students to learn better the language.

Some object that children should learn other more important subjects such as Math, Sciences, Chemistry, Biology and so on, because they think that these other studies are more important for their foreseeable life. Furthermore, It is said that learning a second language at early ages can confuse them, being a waste of time and delaying development of child’s first language.

On the other hand, others advocate that young children learn faster because of their empty minds are more receptive to acquire new knowledge and obtain more sophisticated language skills, so as that they are less-conscious or shy. In addition, they enjoy copying and learning through games, as a result, they can pick up the pronunciation better and incorporate new vocabulary and expressions. Moreover, because of the phenomenon of plasticity that brains have, which enable it to retain new information through repetition.

In conclusion, there are two different points of view regarding to start learning a foreign language at primary or secondary school. From my observation, I think that children should use their capacity as much as they can from early ages.

PS: I would like to know if phenomenon of plasticity is well used.... thank you

[mei]

(bit Revised from Carolina)

It is believed by some scientists that it is more advantageous for children to start learning a second language at the primary school rather than at secondary school. Personally, I think it is a great idea that provides a good chance for children to learn well.
Some reason points out that children should learn other more important subjects such as math, sciences, chemistry, biology because of these subjects are important for their foreseeable life. Furthermore, it is said that learning a second language at early age will confuse them and waste time, even delay development of child’s first language.
On the other hand, others advocate that young children learn faster because of their empty minds are more receptive to acquire new knowledge and obtain more sophisticated language skills, so as that they are less-conscious or shy. In addition, they enjoy copying and learning through games, as a result, they can pick up the pronunciation better and combine vocabulary with expressions. Moreover, because of the phenomenon of plasticity that brains have, which enable it to retain new information through repetition.
In conclusion, there are two different points of view regarding to start learning a foreign language at primary or secondary school. From my observation, I think that children should use their capacity as much as they can from early ages.

[gurinder singh]

Hello simon sir plz help.me.on this esay

..SOME PEOPLE BELIVE THAT LEARNING IS ENGLISH IS BEST IN THE COUNTRIES WHERE THE NATIVE LANGUAGE IS ENGLISH.OTHER BELIVES THAT WE CAN ALSO LEARN ENGLISH IN COUNTRIES IN A BETTER WAY WHERE NATIVE LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH.
WHAT IS YOUR OPINION

[ashik]

English is the international language and i think it is the best for children to inception learning a foreign language at primary school.English language increase smartness.
Advantage:Worldwide acceptable language English and it has many advantage.Every family should inspire their children to learn English.Children gradually increase their English vocabulary,They can easily catch up pronunciation.Now a days online game is most popular.Children Easily understand gaming concept,because every game use English language.In addition Television channel provided several types of cartoon channel and children have enjoyed to see cartoon channel.On the contrary That cartoon channel used to normal and easy English.Actually we can get all site benefit to learn English and future may be great.
Disadvantage:Foreign language is advantage of our life but it has some disadvantage.Children can not take another proper knowledge such as math,Physics and so on.In future children fallen down their practical life.Its really harm-full of their future.

To the conclude,Everybody should know foreign language beside their study.

[SIBLE SEBASTIAN]

Hello simon sir plz help.me.on this essay Question

..New generation higher education learners can do without learning history as other streams of knowledge are bigger in number that would help them find a job? To what extent do you support this idea? Do you thing learning some history is of some significance at all?

[Nam from Vietnam]

Hi Simon :)

Can I ask a question about your plan

From the plan, if I want to write introduction, is it right that I will only need to answer the question that studying in primary age is better? This will imply the benefits outweigh the drawbacks?

Also, is it ok if I just mention about the best age to reveal the topic without "the primary age"? Do we need to paraphrase the phrases "experts believe"?

Thank you so much, wait for your answer.

[hina]

Billinguals are more valuable in this era of globilization.From my perspective,its better for children to learn a forign language at primary school rather than scondary school.It sounds to be a reasonable implementation however it has few drawbacks as well.
Supporters of foriegn language say that a child in primary school is better able to pick pronounciation,learn faster and practice more.The earlier the child gets exposed to a foreign language the easier its for him to use the languag as native speakers.However good outcome may depend on class environment,study programe and childs passion.
On the other hand,critics argue that learning foreign language as early as primary school may result in forign language getting mixed with the mother tongue and rsult in confusion and misuse.Moreover,it may result in heavy workload for the child,harming him physically and mentally and leaving less time for playing and relaxing.
Its clearly evident that the advantages outweigh the drawbacks.

[Samantha]

For the millions of years, languages have acted a major role in the development of mankind. Knowing more than one language mean, open many doors for various opportunities. It is very arguable to define a correct age to start learning a new language other than the mother tongue. Though many researches have been conducted to find a clear cut answer for this question, still could not be able to found. But majority of experts believe that, primary school is the most appropriate age to begin learning a new language. My belief is also in line with that opinion.
When children are learning completely new two languages, there is probability to get confused, as a result of that, children may speak a mixed language since they don’t have an ability to recognize the difference between two languages. That is the main argument which we can present against this.
Other than that, a reasonable portion of children’s studying time should dedicate to learn a new language. Therefore, attention to the other most important subjects will lose. It may be a major impact to the student in their future studies.
Despite all those disadvantages, advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages. The writer would like to highlight more benefits of this argument. Since children’s learning curve at this stage is very high compared to the adult ages or teen ages, they can grab and store new things very quickly and easily, therefore teaching a language is very effective and productive at this age.
For adults, major barriers to learn new languages are self- conscious and shy. When children may not or have little. These will definitely help children to be a master in the new language.
As a conclusion, the writer would like to stand with experts who believe that primary school is the best place to start learning a new language.

[Hie]

- Hi Simon
- I am a Vietnamese student. Can you help me? - Today, I have a topic that "What are the most important benefits of learning a foreign language" and I don't know make a exerise T_T
- You help me, please.
- I'll wait for answer of you. - You can reply your answer soon. - I'm hurry . Thank you very much :)

[prannob]

every bit of information in this site is very helpfull to me.tahnk you simon and my dear friends

[pranoob]

Language aquistation is a complex process. Eventhough some expert believe that learning a foreign language at primary school is better but I belive the other way around . it has some pros and corns .Let see
It is a well known fact that at their budding age children can learn any thing quickly .However,in early ages they need to learn basic subjects such as mathematics ,science,and mother tounge which are essential for them to survive in the future.In addition,learning a non native language at primary level is sometime confusing and waste of time .There may be a chance of children deviate from their mother tounge and basic subjects and it could delay devolepment of child's first language .these are some disadvantages of learning non-native language at prinmary level.
on the flipside ,subject taught at primary school are remembered for a long time by children .Let me make it clearer,the formulae ,morals,and rhymes learnt at primaryschool are remembered by pupil for their entire life.However,people tend to forget the morals and formulae taught at secondery level. So a foreign language intoduces to the children at primary school will be reminisced for along time.Moreover,it could be easy them to learn ,practice and enhance the usage of a foreign language with better approches when they become older.Thus it is clear that learning a non native language at budding age has its advantages .
To conclude ,if we weigh up the pros and cons of inroducing a foreign language at prmary school,I believe tahat its disadvanges outweigh the advanatges,foreign language could be indoduce at the secondary level for benefit of children.

[pranoob]

frndz if any advice or correction please mention

[Amira]

Please can u evaluate mine

[Amira]

Recently many experts alround the world have agreed that acquiring a foreign language in primary school is better rather than learning a foreign language in a secondary school, consequently the concept of ability to learn faster properly and faster in younger ages has to be taken in to account, therefore for the purpose of this essay I shall confine the discussion of the advantages would overweight the disadvantages.

[Jalees Ahmad]

It is true that learning foreign language at the primary level is good concept.However, at this stage the children pick up the basic concept of learning anything rapidly.As well as student more focus on the basic subjects in their primary school and also the school is better place to learn foreign language.In the same way many people thought that learn foreign language at the secondary level is more better than basic level but i deniable from that logic.Although when children learn oversees language they also picked the mother tongue from their home, friends, or surrounding people.So in flaw point it is not be better for the reason that of first rank the childly not be able to understand the maturity words.As well as my personal belief is conducted at this stage that learn foreign cognitive process is more superior to other process.
On the other hand to learn at secondary level also good on the other hand to a great depth on the whole subjects which assigned.
In conclusion to introduce that from outside source about the communication way at basic stage is to great degree.

[shaka]

hi

[annmay]

foreign language is better be learned and taught in the primary school rather than secondary school as what some experts believe. In my opinion, if foreign language is introduce to children after assessing their capacity to learn, advantages surely outweigh the disadvantages.

To begin with, teaching foreign language in the primary level could impose difficulties in the part of the children being taught of it, as children might encounter certain level of confusion between their primary language and the new language being learned which might lead to disinterest in learning, hence doing so would be just a waste of time. In addition children might encounter difficulty in coping and catching up that could possibly result to low level of self-esteem and perhaps place a child in a state of shock.

But I believe that all these disadvantages could be prevented from occurring if introduction of foreign language to children would be done after certain assessment, in this way the teacher could gauge the students' level of understanding and ability to learn, therefore adjustment in the methods of teaching could be made and appropriate level of difficulties could be introduce depending on the students' ability to cope. By the aforementioned methods, student might be encouraged to learn and advance their knowledge in foreign language.

To speak with some advantages of learning foreign language in the primary school, I would begin by saying that we are now living in a world that requires one to be competitive enough to adapt, cope and communicate well , hence learning it early is an edge to have the chance to earn a sense of mastery and time to let the foreign language be part of one's system that would automatically flow out and spoken out by one's tongue leading to fluency and confidence to express oneself, communicate and explore.

To conclude, it is better that children learn foreign language in the primary school provided that its' introduction is guided by certain degree of assessment to escalate the advantages and outweigh the disadvantages.

[My]

Hi Simon

If I don't see setbacks of learning a foreign language at primary school.
How could I solve with this matter? And how can I present my idea in this essay?

Is it OK if I plan as below?

Introduction : which age most suitable for starting another language, believe it does not seem to have any disadvantages if learning at primary shcool

Body:
1. Two benefits and compared to learning at high shcool:
study faster and remember for a long time
study language with other activities: playing games.

2, Two other benefits and compared to learning at high school:
school timetable not heavy as at high scchool, spend time for other subjects like math, science
have a basic knowledge for studying at high school, save time, learning language requires time

Conclusion: repeat my opinion

[Ngoc Huyen]

Dear Simon, could you help me to give some comments to my essay? I'm also grateful for you if you give points to it. Thank you!

With an increasing concern of foreign languages in education system, some school authorities suppose that children should start to learn a foreign language at elementary school instead of secondary school. It would be necessary to have a look in its pros and cons.
In the one hand, it is agued that younger learners are more beneficial to gain a native-like fluency compared to teenagers. Some researches show that kid’s brain is more sensitive with languages than any others’. Therefore, it is no doubt that many adults can not be professional in English after a lot of practicing and very strong efforts while kids could easily communicate like English native-speaker though they rarely invest their time in learning English structures or vocabulary. Furthermore, taking earlier time to learn, children will have a longer time to master it.
In the other hand, starting learning a second language in a very early age could cause some disadvantages for learners. One of these drawbacks is the influence on their mother tongue. Some feel really confused in comparing two languages. Others are likely to use second language more frequently than their mother language. More to add to these disadvantages is that kids may be under pressure if they are forced to learn too much . Thus, they hardly do as many outdoor activities as they should.
In conclusion, there are a variety of benefits and drawbacks as well, however in my opinion, the advantages dominate the disadvantages if some suitable methods with many dynamic and funny activities are used in teaching the foreign language. As a result, our young children could use professionally many languages to exchange knowledge and cultures between countries.
(306 words)

[NGOC TRAN]

Dear Simon, could you please to give me some comments

It is widely believe that learning foreign languages at primary age is much more effective than secondary age for children. The situation may bring either benefits or drawbacks
On the one hand, it will create some positive effect on children if they are encouraged to learn non-native languages at primary school. Firstly, they are able to remember the whole conversations as easy as adults. They do not consider any social problems like older people do, therefore, they have a large amount of free time to improve both language and academic knowledge. Secondly, they feel less self-conscious or shy when they pronounce a word in the wrong way than those who are in high school and university age. As a result, they can easily pick up the right pronunciation and imitate the native voice also. Lastly, they can follow a talk show or some children channels in TV spoken in foreign languages. By doing this, they can not only enhance their listening skill but also gain more knowledge in different fields.
On the other hand, it seems that children need to focus on some compulsory subjects like math, home language and social subjects rather than other languages. Instead of going to sleep after finishing their task assignments, they need to spend a fixed time on practicing foreign language skills. In some cases, peers stay at language centers in the whole weekday to learn it with the native speaker instead they go somewhere for doing outside activities or doing sports. For example, children at primary age are usually forced to go to study non-mother tongue language from 7 am to 12pm despite lacking of their inspiration. Moreover, because of scaring punish from their parents, they learn without any concentration. In the consequence, the drawbacks can result in depressing
In conclusion, although learning foreign languages can benefit the linguistic ability most of the children, it also create many negative effects. Hence, parents should seriously consider before allowing their children study the languages.

[shabaz khan]

A certain number of specialists consider that it is more beneficial for the children to start learning a non-native language from elementary school than that of high school. In my opinion, it would be better to introduce a foreign language in primary school because of its benefits in the future of children. However, It may increase some burden on them

Primary schools are the initial step where young pupils learn a variety of new subjects and languages. This helps them to gain the basics and to advance in the higher or tertiary education. For instance, My native language is Hindi, but my parents enrolled me in an elementary school where they taught English from the beginning. Thus, it helped me a lot in my university education because we have medical colleges in English medium only. In addition to that, it motivated me to do my further studies in a western country thereby advancing my career.

However, If the schools do not have the facilities to teach the children, it would be more devastating for them. An example of this can be the government's schools in my area where English is added to primary school but due to the lack of teachers of the subject, the majority number of students failed. This may also increase the burden on their tender brains which are overloaded with multiple subjects of studies.

To conclude, I believe the children should learn a foreign language from their primary school, However parents and the government should ensure they are being supplied by resources such as books and specialist teachers excel in their education.