Nearly 80 percent of parents in Taiwan think that it is necessary for pre-school-age children to start learning English, according to a survey released yesterday.
Nearly 50 percent of respondents also said that they have children who began studying English before the age of three.
The survey, conducted by a Eastern Broadcasting Corp between Sept. 9 and 11, collected responses from 1,079 parents who have pre-school-aged children, defined as being six years old or younger.
According to the poll, 79.7 percent of the respondents said pre-school-aged children should learn English, while 14.2 percent said the opposite. The remainder either declined to comment or said they did not have an opinion.
When asked when children should begin learning English, 48.2 percent of respondents said they should start as early as three years old or younger.
"It's always a good thing to learn a second language," said Su Hsueh-yu (蘇雪玉), chairwoman of the Fu Jen Catholic University's family and children studies department, at a news conference yesterday held to publicize the survey. "However, parents must ensure they do not pressure their kids to do so."
The survey found that parents felt their children should start their English studies early to beef up their competitiveness since English is the most useful language internationally and in order to keep up with trends.
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