Introducing Second Language in Curriculum - Essay Example

Introducing Second Language in Curriculum al Affiliation: Introducing Second Language in Curriculum During the growth and development of the child, timing is very important in ensuring that the child is not put under intense pressure while learning. Currently, the parenting roles have changed, with many parents becoming busier in the workplaces. As a result, they lack ample time to observe their child’s development through different stages of life. Learning a new language is a significant step in improving the child’s ability to communicate with a more diverse population (Lally, 2001). Currently, many organizations are looking for people who can be able to communicate in more than language. This is because they can work and interact with people emanating from different parts of the world. As a result, debate concerning the best time to start teaching a child the second language continues to intensify. This paper will therefore discuss why second language should be introduced in junior high. Proponents state that the best time for children to learn the second language is when they are young and their brains uncorrupted by a lot of information. During this time, children are able to absorb new concepts, ideas and thoughts. In addition, at very young age, children are less judgmental or even self-conscious. Moreover, they are more open in accepting new people, things, and places that they come into contact with. However, at this stage, the child is being bombarded with many new things to learn, observe, and absorb. As a result, introducing new language when the child is not yet familiar with some of the terms of things in the first language will add a burden to the child (Lally, 2001). This might affect the child’s growth and development. In addition, the child might dislike the language because of viewing it as an extra burden. This aspect might affect the absorption of the language by the child. Some states that children are capable of learning more than one language either simultaneously or sequentially. They argue that the mind of a young child is fresh and free from pressures that face junior high students. During middle school, many students’ starts being affected by issues related to adolescent. With parents lacking enough time to develop a close relationship with their children, many children opt to shift their focus on their peers for help. This is in an attempt to seek love and attention. These aspects affect the concentration of the child in school. However, just like other subjects, middle school students can be able to handle personal issues and add a second language in their timetable. Research indicates that during this stage, students are eager to learn new things especially those that will break class monotony. Studies indicate that students at this stage are willing to learn a second language as they take it as a source of pride and accomplishment (Lally, 2001). Moreover, besides just learning the words and how the words are written and spelt, the lesson involves understanding the culture of the people who uses the language. This includes body language and how to handle various issues just like the natives who use the language. Therefore, the lesson can be overwhelming to the young children who are at the lower level. This is because they are yet to even conversant with their communication skills. Elementary students have not yet mastered their first language. Therefore, learning a second language might distract the students from learning the first language. Students who leave their country while in middle school and complete their schooling in a different country that uses different languages to communicate do not lose their first language. However, they are able to learn the second language and use it in absolute fluency. This indicates that learning of the second language during elementary school is significant in giving the student an identity (Lally, 2001). Introducing second language at this stage may lead to confusion which might affect the ability of the child to even understand other critical subjects. In case the issue is not handled effectively, these interventions might affect the growth and development of the child. Learning involves four critical skills. These are speaking, listening, writing, and reading. When children are learning the first language, they start by listening and speaking. This is through listening to what people around them saw and imitate it. Therefore, if they are to start learning the second language in the elementary school, they should start with listening and then speaking just like what happens with the first language. This is because these children are at the best stage to master different languages. However, in an elementary school setting, there are only few people whom the children can learn from. This makes it very hard for them to understand the second language (Lally, 2001). Teachers end up teaching them how to write before they can even listen. This turns out to be a tedious task especially putting into perspective that they have other subjects to cover. Teaching students a second language during when they are in elementary school makes them to be poor in listening. This is because at this stage they are first taught how to write the language before they can hear it from another person. Therefore, exposing children to these techniques may force some of them to be poor listeners later in life. This might affect their level of education as they may fail in their respective classes due to poor listening skills. Besides helping the students drive change in the instructional practices in the middle school, learning second in junior high enable the students to build their basic skills. These serves as a foundation for advanced learning study in the long run (Lally, 2001). Research indicates that students who begin world language courses during junior high are able to develop their learning skills. Some of these include paying close attention to context clues, guessing, repeating sounds, and memorizing hard vocabularies. In addition, they are able to recall conversations and interpret sounds. This is very significant in not only understanding the second language but also mastering other subjects. Beginning learning second language by the students in junior high is significant in enabling them to build potential for higher achievement in the discipline. This is creating an opportunity for the students to be proficient users of the target language (Lally, 2001). At this stage, the students have begun to move the previous concrete approach to learning into a more analytical approach. Furthermore, middle school is the best time to learn second language because the students will not only analyze the language but also learn through using it. Starting learning the second language in junior high provides the students with an opportunity to continue the sequence in high school. This plays a significant role in enabling the students to reach high levels of proficiency. Middle school is not a merely continuation of elementary school. Instead, it is an entity which is unique and with its own mission (Lally, 2001). Junior high is characterized by exploratory courses. These are courses that give the students an opportunity to explore new ideas. Therefore, introducing the second language at this stage is very significant in enabling the student to explore various aspects related to the language. In elementary schools, students spend most of their day with a single teacher. On the other hand, in high schools, students follow individual schedules with approximately six to seven teachers. However, in middle school, students are organized around interdisciplinary teams (Lally, 2001). The teams consist of four to five teachers who teach one hundred to two hundred students. The schools that have included a second language at this stage have recorded satisfactory results. Secondary school is a platform where students learn the second language in detail. At that stage, students are taught hard vocabularies which play a significant role in enabling the students to understand the language. Many teachers have attested that students who were introduced the second language while in junior high through songs, limericks, and games, learned the language faster. At the same time, those who were introduced the language while in elementary school showed no interest in learning the language. This is because they were burdened by the new task of learning the new language while they were still learning the first language (Lally, 2001). In addition, they feel that they know too much about the language, an aspect that lowers their interests on learning more about the language. The resources in elementary schools are not adequate to support the learning of the second language. Learning a second language requires books, teachers, and other critical resources. However, there is intense pressure at this stage to introduce the young minds in the learning process. As a result, elementary schools lack the necessary platform to teach the students the second language (Lally, 2001). However, this is not the case with junior high where students spend a lot of time interacting with their teachers. In conclusion, elementary schools do not have the capacity to handle two languages at the same time. In addition, the students are at a growing stage and need to be handled with care. Therefore, the best time to introduce a second language in the curriculum is in junior high. References Lally, C. G. (2001). Foreign language program articulation: Current practice and future prospects. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey. Read More