Some people argue that children should be taught foreign languages from the primary stage of school years. While teaching languages to young learners can be disadvantageous in some regards, I believe it presents more benefits such as better language acquisition skills and cultural awareness.
One disadvantage of starting to learn a new language from an early age might be the burden it places on children. In order to begin speaking a new language proficiently, it requires a lot of time, hard work and perseverance, not to mention consistent the effort one has to put in. This means that if a young student is forced to master a language, it would come, in effect, with a lot of stress and learning-related anxiety, putting their health and well-being at risk. This situation is even exacerbated when a pupil cannot grasp some grammar concepts right and makes numerous mistakes, which is a natural part of a language –learning process. These, in turn, might lead those learners to feelings of discouragement and frustration, making them unmotivated and afraid to start studying even other subjects due to the fear of failure.
However, the upsides of starting to learn a new language are far greater. Better language-learning abilities is one benefit that is unique to children. Young people can usually learn a language more easily than adults thanks to their stronger memory, a sharp brain and a responsibility-free life. It has also been shown in research studies that if people are taught a foreign language from a young age, they can acquire it more effortlessly and impressively, to a near-native level. Moreover, teaching children languages of people from the other parts of the world would familiarize them with their traditions and customs, enhancing their cultural awareness. This global perspective, as a result, would help grow to be more emphatic and appreciative of their national values and cultural differences.
In conclusion, although the language-learning pressure can be a concern for some people, I believe it is best for children to start learning a language from the primary stage of school as they can uniquely acquire languages faster and grow to become more culturally aware individuals.