Source: CCTV.com

05-10-2007 17:00

Do students seem to be looking younger and younger to you, these days? Well the boom in learning English may have something to do with it. One early education institute in Shanghai has launched an English course for children as young as six months.

These children are part of the 600 young trainees who have signed up for the English course at the institute. Classes are structured around playing, singing and dancing. Organizers say most of them started to learn English when they were one year old. The youngest was only 10 months old. However, parents are less concerned with the age their children begin learning than with the program's positive effect.

"When my kid sees a table, he will say "table" instead of its Chinese name. Sometimes he will combine the Chinese with English, " says parents.

English has been recognized as the most important skill that Shanghai parents expect their children to learn and use. However, the study doesn't come cheap. Parents have to pay 120 yuan for a weekly one-hour class. The seven-year course costs more than 40 thousand yuan, enough for a student to complete their college education in Shanghai. Parents think it's worthwhile, and so does the organizer. They say the popularity is based on a solid language-learning concept.

"The earlier, the better. Learning two or three languages simultaneously will not confuse the foundation for children's language. In fact, the learning process will stimulate their ability to develop languages in the future, " says Cai Peijun, manager of Helen Doron early English.

However, early education experts say children just begin talking at six months of age, and are not yet speaking their mother tongue well. They say infant's words and sounds are just mimicking grown-ups, which may lead to confusion for bilingual study.

"The two language systems will cause confusion in the child's brain. Because when they speak, they'll find it hard to choose one language over another in order to communicate, " says Prof. Zhang Minghong of Dept. of Preschool Education, East China Normal Uni.

Professor Zhang said that physical conditions hinder babies from learning two languages simultaneously since infants only remember things for a very short period. She added that without reinforcing the outside language, they can't remember much. Therefore the results of learning a second language may not be as satisfactory as parents hope.

"Short-term memory is dominant for children before three years old. A weekly class can't produce long-term memory. In addition, as parents usually don't speak English, there is a lack of environment, " says Prof. Zhang Minghong.

Experts suggest babies first master their mother tongue before learning a second language to avoid confusion. They say the best time can be set at 3 to 4 years old. Until then, with proper additional courses, and a more bi-lingual environment, parents can expect their English language hopes to come true.

 

Editor:Chen Ge