Taiwan has been awash in English fever. Learning English as a foreign language (EFL) has been a national craze for years. Parents want their children to learn English as early as possible -- preferably before elementary school -- as evidenced by the ubiquity of language schools. More than 30 percent of all elementary school students study English at some form of language school.
This phenomenon is largely based on the assumption that kids naturally pick up languages more effortlessly than adults do. Although having children start to learn English at an early age seems to be the sole means of enhancing the nation's English proficiency, many English teachers might still feel that younger learners do not necessarily perform better than others. Research has also shown no significant difference between the two groups in terms of final ability.
The popular assumption of "the earlier the better" is highly plausible. Since almost all of us acquire our first language successfully, we reasonably assume that if a person starts to learn a foreign language at an early age, then that individual can attain the same results. Ample scientific evidence indicates that EFL learners beyond puberty do not acquire a native English accent. Of course, there are exceptions like the late David Wang (
But statistically speaking, the chances are slim for anyone starting to learn a second language post-puberty to achieve a "scientifically verifiable" native accent. Our "the earlier the better" assumption might be more valid if we define "success" as having a native accent. And although not a guarantee, early English learning does improve the chance to attain that objective.
However, many linguists indicate that accent or pronunciation is neither the only nor the most important criterion. Many non-native speakers of English do not have a native accent or pronunciation but their fluency surpasses that of many native speakers. Former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger speaks English with a heavy accent, but most would agree that he is clearly more eloquent than many English-speakers.
Hence, using a native accent as the only yardstick to judge a person's level of English proficiency could be misleading.
Moreover, in the era of globalization, diverse accents have become increasingly acceptable. After all, the communicative purposes of English are often far more important than having a "perfect native" accent.
So, aside from a better chance to acquire a native accent, do children truly learn English effortlessly and more rapidly than adults? It does not appear so.
First, children's successes in learning English are mostly enormous subconscious efforts devoted to learning tasks. According to one renowned professor in second language acquisition, a major difference between children and adults (defined as beyond the age of 13) is that children's attention to language forms, such as grammar and structures, is mostly subconscious, unlike adults.
But efforts include not only direct attention to language forms, but also cognition and affection. Children have to exert a great deal of cognitive and affective efforts to acquire both first and second languages. This process does not make children effortless learners. Thus, the statement "kids learn English effortlessly" is true only if the effort refers to direct attention to language forms.
Second, adults might not be that unsuccessful. With first language literacy and knowledge about the world, adults learn English faster than children do. Not only can adults learn and retain more vocabulary items, they may spend less time learning grammatical and other linguistic concepts because of high abstract thinking capabilities.
Therefore, the popular assumption is not necessarily accurate. A super-early start in learning English is not really necessary. Some experts view eight or nine as the optimal age to learn a second language because subject matter knowledge and literacy in the first language can accelerate second language acquisition.
The earlier the better holds true in many aspects of learning, but it does not mean that young kids can acquire English entirely devoid of efforts. There are no shortcuts and learners of all ages have to pay their dues.
Perhaps the issue of how early EFL students start to learn English is not that pivotal. The crux of the matter is whether or not the students will continue to acquire English after school. I've interviewed numerous adult learners who began to learn English after 13 and now have a native-like proficiency. The one thing they have in common is that they use English every day, whether it be watching TV programs or movies, reading English newspapers or popular novels, or other methods.
Therefore, English teachers need to ponder a more crucial issue: how to make their students still willing to involve English in their lives after leaving school.
Kao Shih-fan is an assistant professor at Jinwen University of Science and Technology.
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