The Importance of Learning English at an Early Age

                    Language is one of the most fundamental aspects of human communication.  It is the main medium through which human beings shall present their ideas and to relate the contents of their minds to one another.  Due to this characteristic nature of languages, it has allowed the human civilization to blossom and expand exponentially in many fields of knowledge.  With such germane function, it is very important for children to acquire high language proficiency as early as possible particularly in the English Language.  Why should it be in the English Language one might ask?  According to David Crystal, a world-renowned linguist who had conducted extensive research in the evolution of the English Language, the English Language had in recent years gained significant prominence in multitudes of human knowledge especially in the field of science and mathematics.  It is also one of the most widely and extensively taught foreign languages in many schools in the world.  Therefore, it is quite imperative for the younger generation to acquire a sound mastery of the Shakespeare’s tongue to provide them with the essential equipment for procuring the innumerable amount of knowledge presented through this language.  The next question is why at early age?  Is it not possible for children to obtain a strong grasp of the language at any age and not only when they are still in diapers?  The answers to this question will be the central theme of this article.  Other than that, several practical methods will also be presented and elaborated to allow prospective parents or guardians to apply the theoretical knowledge presented herein.

            At early age, babies and toddlers possess an innate facility which eases the acquisition of any particular language.  This facility is known as the Language Acquisition Device (LAD) which is a theory expounded by Noam Chomsky who is also a reputed linguist.  This postulated congenital device that resides within the brain of human beings during early stages of life enables the quick acquisition of the vast vocabulary and grammatical system of any natural language such as English, Chinese, French and also our national language, Malay.  Even so, researchers have shown that the availability and usefulness of this device declines significantly as the child increases in age and he/she also has the tendency to be more resistant to learning a new language.  This is the primary reason why it was more difficult for an adult to acquire a new language in comparison to a child who is able to obtain it despite the lack of formal language instruction.  

Another theory which supports the importance of learning language at early age is the Critical Period Hypothesis.  In accordance to this theory, there is an ideal window of time during the age of human beings to procure a language in a linguistically opulent ambience.  Even though this theory is quite controversial, it was nevertheless widely accepted by linguists to explicate language acquisition.  The first few years of human life after his or her birth are the most crucial time for language acquisition.  Hence, this is the time wherein sufficient amount of stimuli should be made available to a child.  If a child is unable to experience a linguistically rich environment during these critical periods, he or she might not be able to gain full command of a particular language especially the grammatical system.  This is greatly important in learning the English Language considering its intricate and complex grammatical system.  Irrespective of the complexity of the grammatical system, a child would able to acquire a mastery of the English Language if adequate linguistic inputs are provided during these critical periods.

            Getting a good grasp of the English Language at early age is of more importance now in view of the reversal of the medium of teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics subjects from English to Malay commencing from 2012.  It is even more imperative that one should strive harder to master the English Language especially if one has the intention to further his/her studies to overseas.  Currently, proficiency in the English Language at SPM level is known to be an advantage for any potential applicant for the Public Service Department scholarship for overseas stint.  If one observes, there are two grades for English Language at SPM Examination.  One is for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia and the other one is for the General Certificate of Education (GCE).  It is quite common that a student would score A+ for English at SPM Exam but may only obtain 5C for GCE.  How is this so?  The SPM result is for the overall marks for Paper 1 and Paper 2 whereas the GCE grade is only for paper 1.  Why Paper 1 only?  Paper 1 is the composition and this paper would really reflect the proficiency of a student in the language in a written form.  A student with a strong command of the English Language would score A+ for SPM and A1 for GCE.

There are two forms of language skills.  They are Basic Interpersonal Communications Skills (BICS) and Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency (CALP).  These two concepts of language skills were posited by Dr. Jim Cummins who is a professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto.  BICS is a language skill which is normally utilised in a social ambience such as when conversing with a peer regarding daily topics or when ordering a meal at a restaurant.  It is the first form of language skill acquired by babies and toddlers.  In contrary to BICS, CALP is a language skill which is required for academic work and is cognitively demanding.  It is used when an individual is comparing, synthesising, assimilating or manipulating abstract knowledge. Mastery in this language skill is a prerequisite if one has the intention of performing excellently in an academic endeavour.  This language skill can only be obtained once the individual has acquired a good grasp of BICS.  Thus, if we want our children to prosper academically, it is imperative to expose them to the nuances of the English Language when they are young so that they are able to acquire CALP more effectively in that language.  However, one might contend that after the abolishment of PPSMI (Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English) there is no need for our children to obtain a high level of CALP in the English Language. One should be aware that Mathematics and Science will only be taught in the Malay Language up to Form 5 only.  Thereafter, Science and Mathematics-related subjects will then be taught in English at pre-university and university level.  At these academic stages, the level of CALP required is greater than that of during secondary or primary level.  If our children did not obtain a strong grip in BICS of the English Language during the early phases of their life then it will be strenuously difficult for them to acquire even a satisfactory level of CALP in the English Language particularly if they have the intention of furthering their studies in a science-related field.  Ergo, following the abolishment of PPSMI, it is of greater priority to expose our children to English linguistic inputs at early age considering the decrease in the amount and quality of exposure they will experience once they enter the formal education system.  Even with an increase in the amount of teaching time for English in the school’s formal time table, it can never replace the cognitively demanding atmosphere of a science or mathematics class.

            Children are one of society’s greatest assets especially in terms of quality prospective human capital for our nation.  Without them, it is improbable that our beloved country will ever progress. Hence, it is germane to equip them with essential arsenals to compete in today’s knowledge-oriented world by giving them the gift of the English Language.  Prospective parents who are considering having a child should be prepared to fully develop the language ability of their future child.  One of the earliest language abilities to be obtained is reading.  Parents should designate a small section in their home specifically for the convenience of a child to read.  Purchase several age-appropriate children books and place them in areas of the section where it is easily accessible to the child.  Books authored by Enid Blyton are one of the most popular children books.  The reading area should be decorated with children-themed items and furniture so that the child feels more comfortable being there.  In order to strengthen the emotional ties of the child to the English Language, parents should allocate some time reading a storybook with their child.  Parents should ask questions and opinions of their child regarding the story being read to stimulate the child’s thinking abilities in the English Language.  This allows the child to handle and process information more easily in the English Language later on.

            A pertinent question would definitely crop up among those non-English speaking parents. How could they inseminate the desire of their children to speak the English Language when they themselves could not speak the language?  There are several avenues that they could employ.  Firstly, parents should allow their children to view English children television programmes such as Sesame Streets.  Parents can buy DVD of these children shows so that the child can watch them whenever convenient.  Watching these shows would not only sharpen listening skills but also engages the imagination of the child for proper intellectual development.  Secondly, parents should encourage their children to mix with those children who speak English.  As the child grows older, parents should buy good children English books so that they are exposed early to the beauty of the language.

Parents have a key role to play in increasing their child’s listening skills.  For those parents who could speak the language, they could provide audio linguistic inputs by speaking to them in proper English.  By doing so, the child is able to learn the English grammatical system more accurately.  The child does not need to learn that ‘a’ is an indefinite article and ‘the’ is a definite article.  At this early stage of life, the daily usage of the language is of greater precedence than the explicit knowledge of the grammatical system. Parents should just converse with each other and to the child in a conversational manner.  If sufficient linguistic input is given, the child will attempt to reproduce the English Language by speaking it in its most basic form.  If the child made a mistake quickly rectify it by uttering the corrected sentence in a soft voice. Exempli gratia, if the child says that ‘The woman puted the glass on the table’ then correct him or her by saying ‘Yes dear, “The woman put the glass on the table”.

With the current English syllabus taught in school where the emphasis is more on English communication skills rather than proper English grammar, a student could only acquire proper English grammar through regular reading of good English books.  In view of the changes made to the English Syllabus taught in school, it is even more important that children should be exposed to the language at early age with the hope that they would able to acquire sufficient skill to carry them through in their studies especially at overseas stint.

            Within this article the theories underlying the importance of learning the English Language at early stage have been presented as well as their manifestations through practical means.  Scientia est potentia or knowledge is power.  Hence, we should not deny the rights of the young children to obtain the wealth of knowledge presented through the English Language especially in this K-Economy global society.  Prior to ending this article, it is pertinent to address several matters of grave concern.  Many societies are currently being subjected to linguistic imperialism which is the transfer of a more dominant language to the society and the eventual replacement of the society’s current language with the aforementioned one.  In Malaysian society today, it was perceived that the English Language is considered a great threat to our national language which is the Malay Language due to its greater economic value and global status.  We have to understand that despite the sense of economic power that the English Language induces we cannot afford to lose our cultural identity and allow our minds to succumb to this linguistic form of neo-colonialism.  Each language, whether it is English, Malay, Chinese, Latin or even Kadazan, have their own unique qualities and each of them carries a great wealth of human culture as well as different perception of reality.  Thus, it is absurd to perceive one language to be more unique than the other.  However, it is vividly undeniable that the English Language is the global lingua franca and to be competitive at the world stage, we have no choice but to be proficient in the English Language.  It is also readily perceived that the English Language is the international academics language.  As such, we should not be misled by our patriotism to our native or national language to the extent that we would become uncompetitive at world stage due to our incompetency in the English Language.

Nevertheless, it is greatly advisable that those who were born in an English speaking family wherein English is your first language, strive to learn your mother tongue to maintain your cultural identity. However, for those who were born in a non-English speaking family and your mother tongue is your first language, you are encouraged to strive to learn the English language in order to equip yourselves for your future undertakings.

Language will always and will be the main avenue for human emotional, intellectual and spiritual expression.  Thus, let us use this God-endowed gift for the betterment of mankind and to glorify His name.