ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOLS: EARLY LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

By Elaine Kirn - Rubin and Arthur Rubin

Whether it’s English or another language other than the learners’ mother tongue, immersion in the second language is the method most likely to be effective with young people.  Instead of studying the “target language” as subject matter, children and teenagers learn content – whether it be history, geography, math, science, art, music, or something else - in the target language itself. They also hear and see—and gradually, speak and write—that same language in the course of out-of-class activities. In elementary and middle schools in the U.S. and other countries, there can be found both single-language and dual immersion programs. Building on common characteristics found in eager young learners, both kinds of curricula draw on procedures and methodologies designed to suit the natural inclinations of the recipients. Regardless of students’ individual abilities, interests and learning styles, language acquisition becomes part and parcel of the daily routine.

Whether it is in—or targets—learners’ first, second, or third languages, there are several reasons to provide language instruction in pre-schools, the lower grades and middle schools. First of all, it is during these early years that the brain’s chief learning pathways develop; these include reactions to sight, sound, taste, smell, touch and doing. Therefore, for the young, using sensory stimuli in “enriched environments” and play are likely to be most effective.

Moreover, because the “emotional brain” stores memory, learning is easier if it is fun; after all, the “door to learning is emotion.”  Neurons have to receive stimulation to grow in the cerebellum; if not, they die.  And thinking about and in language develops along with the multiple “varieties of intelligence,” not only the linguistic but also the logical, mathematical, musical, spatial, visual, kinesthetic, social, emotional and natural.  For these and other reasons, youthful language learning works best when it includes visuals, rhythm, movement, touching, relaxation, connecting, reflecting and other life experiences which “turn the whole world into a classroom.”   

Fostering language development in young learners can and should be a joyous pursuit for parents, teachers, tutors and helpers, who, by the way, are themselves likely to improve their language skills during the process.