I started studying English very early. I was only five years old when I first went to English classes. In my days, the most common thing was that we attended language schools, and my mother had always wanted that for her children: that they all learn a second language.
I was so little I didn’t even know what I was doing in the classroom! But my mother was right! Being in contact with a second language from an early age allowed me to acquire the language in a very natural and simple way.
As my studies started at the age of five and my literacy process started from the age of six to seven, Portuguese and English “appeared together in my life”. People then ask themselves: but, isn’t it confusing? Does the child take longer to speak or to read and write?
“In the early years of life, the human brain is still developing. For all structures to be worked on, many neural connections are made. At the same time, this increases the ability to absorb concepts and understand what is around.
When speaking in language, this is exactly what happens with the native language. Children are introduced to a language and begin to acquire it. So, studying from an early age is a way to increase the language’s learning efficiency and proficiency.
According to a survey by Islamic Azad University, research shows that up to the age of 10 is the best time to introduce a new language. The learning potential is greater and, as a result, fluency is more easily achieved.”
Source: https://bilingue.pearson.com.br/2019/07/08/qual-e-a-importancia-de-aprender-outro-idioma-desde-cedo/
This never happened to me. What actually happened was a great passion for languages. I always told everyone that I would study to be an “English Teacher” and here I am. I started teaching at seventeen, studied and graduated in the field. Of course, this will not necessarily be the way to go for everyone in a bilingual school, or exposed to a second language from an early age.
In fact, exposure or immersion makes the processes simpler. There will be no barriers, blocks or obstacles. What the child needs is stimuli and interests that make him or her connect with what they learn. In this way, the second language will be part of the child’s life in a genuine and spontaneous way, even if they have a talent for Mathematics, for example. They just know it!
So this is what happened to me. And to my brothers. And so it has happened with many of the students I have had the opportunity to follow. Therefore, it is worth investing in the acquisition of a second language in the first years of school life. Oh, and the sooner the better!
Written by: Denize E. K. Andreoli – Green Book School’s Early Childhood Education Coordinator.
