介绍:
Heyang: A survey has found around 70 percent of respondents say that Chinese children begin learning English right before school age and of course we want to know if that is a good time to start learning a foreign language? Guys, let's start with the survey and its results first. Does it make any sense to you?
Bob: I think well 59.4% of respondents started learning English between the ages of 3 and 5 while 7.8% of those surveyed began studying before the age of 3. I think that figure is the one that worries me slightly because this is learning another subject which I'm guessing that they would not necessarily need in daily life. I'm making a distinction there because where I come from a lot of people learn 2 languages at the same time in the home and they use both languages together equally. So perhaps in the home they'll use one language, they'll walk to a shop and use a different one, then they go to school and use their first language again. So that to me is a natural way of learning languages because you are using it on a daily basis. It's not learning a subject. It is something which you are taking as part of yourself.
Xu Qinduo: Speaking from this point of view basically; it's not really about learning English before the school age. It's about learning any subject before the school age. Is that a good thing? Is that proper? That's the question! Of course we have to realize that cases are different from one another, they vary. Some cases, they probably have the language aptitude so probably it is easy for them to pick up a new language by watching TV or by listening to stories. It's easy for them! For others, probably later stage is better for you to pick up a new language. But in general I think that there is a bit over-emphasis for Chinese parents in terms of having their kids learn English or other subjects.
Heyang: But, why are Chinese parents so eager in pushing their kids to start learning something from the tender age of 3? How is that?
Xu Qinduo: I think it's based on this popular understanding which is not necessarily correct, the earlier the better. It's like in a competition where when you start first, you gain the advantage here.
Bob: It's about parents wanting the best for their children. I guess they feel that learning English is going to give them a good start. They are going to have to learn it at some point anyway. Later on, they need to pass exams before they get anything else. So, I can understand that. I think I saw a survey somewhere that suggested if you start learning 2 or 3 languages at the same time, you never really get the depth of any one language. There's only so much you can take in. So it might look good if you are bilingual or maybe trilingual but the depth of the language is not so much as if you were learning or studying one.
Xu Qinduo: Definitely. I tend to agree with that because it takes a lot of time to learn another language. If you are learning a third language, you don't have enough time to go deep in your native language in your first language say written literature.
Bob: So, the first language is going to miss out?
Xu Qinduo: Yeah, miss out, sacrifice to some degree. Also, learning 2 languages at the same time also you can see that they usually react a bit slower than it appears. But, ultimately as time goes on, they will pick up and basically have a good command of both languages. Good command to a degree, remember, what is a good command of language? Is it about you're able to say "Hi" or "Good Morning" or daily conversation or you are involved in academic discussions or you can write novels using both languages. It's about really the standards.
Heyang: Yeah and if the parents have that kind of standards, they're asking for too much I'd say. I think for parents, yes they want the best for their kids and especially when it comes to learning a language, you can learn so many different other skills but when it comes to languages, there seems to be a common perception that the earlier you start the better secured you are in success of managing, mastering that language as you grow up. What do you guys think of that?
Xu Qinduo: I think so in the sense that's right. A lot of research has shown that if you want to learn a new language, younger age is a better choice than say if you start from the age of 20.
Heyang: Yeah…What do you think Bob?
Bob: I was going to say, I keep on quoting studies that I don't know the name of but I'm going to say them anyway. One they've decided that if you learn a language, it actually helps you learn other things because you're learning something which has a flexible structure. But, also if you learn math which has a defined structure, that helps the brain. So, I'd like to see kids in primary school, the first school that they go to learning a language and I'd like to see them learning mathematics as well. I just think those are the 2 things that will put them in a good place for the rest of their life, for the rest of their education.
Heyang: Yeah, I think actually I was trying to get at was if you start early, which you would be able to get that success in that language actually isn't the answer is no for me as I've actually done a little of my own research and surveying around people that I know who started learning a foreign language when they were really young often because their parents were working in a different country. So, they brought their kids with them and yes, when you're so young at 3 or 4 years old, you're starting that language acquisition process. Our brains work like sponges and it's so easy to take it in. But, is it so easy to keep it? That is a completely different story. So, more importantly is it about as we grow up, during the process of that, you still studied really hard.
Xu Qinduo: Keep on
Heyang: Keep going! That's the success to mastering a language and so many of our listeners have been asking me: "How did I do it?" I feel flattered. Yes, I started at 6 in the U.S. but then it was years of hard work of devotion into the language I loved that is English.
Xu Qinduo: Hard work is the key.
Heyang: I guess so. And also, you know what, listening to Roundtable and that's how you improve and maybe one day you can even become a host on an awesome show called Roundtable.
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