Children Should Begin Learning a Foreign Language as Soon as They Start School - IELTS Task 2 Band 9 Sample Essays

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Model Essay 1

Many educational systems now debate whether foreign-language instruction should begin as soon as children enter school. I strongly agree that introducing a second language at the start of formal education is beneficial, provided the approach is developmentally appropriate and well resourced. In the body I will argue that early exposure exploits neuroplasticity and produces broad cognitive and social advantages, and then explain why pedagogical quality and careful implementation are essential to secure those benefits.

Young learners possess heightened phonological sensitivity and neural plasticity, which makes early years uniquely favourable for acquiring pronunciation and intuitive grammar. Beyond accent and fluency, early bilingualism cultivates metalinguistic awareness, enhanced working memory, and superior problem-solving skills—capacities that transfer to mathematics and literacy. For example, children who engage in simple, meaningful conversations and songs in another language internalize grammatical patterns implicitly, reducing the need for laborious rule memorization later. Moreover, early multilingual exposure normalizes cultural plurality, fostering empathy and pragmatic communication skills that are increasingly valuable in globalised labour markets. These cumulative cognitive and social dividends argue strongly for beginning instruction at school entry.

However, starting early is not a panacea unless matched by effective pedagogy and sufficient resources. If instruction defaults to rote grammar drills or relies on undertrained teachers, children may develop fragmented knowledge and lose motivation. Successful programmes pair immersive, play-based activities with trained native or near-native teachers, integrate language across the curriculum, and use assessment that rewards communicative competence rather than isolated translations. Policymakers should therefore prioritise teacher training, realistic class sizes, and curriculum design that makes the foreign language a living medium for learning and social interaction rather than an abstract subject.

In summary, early foreign-language instruction yields significant cognitive, social and long-term advantages, but only when delivered through child-centred, well-resourced methods. I therefore support beginning language learning at school entry, coupled with strong pedagogical safeguards.

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Model Essay 2

Many argue that foreign-language instruction should begin the moment children start school, yet this assumption overlooks several developmental and educational complexities. I completely disagree with the statement, as premature exposure can hinder foundational learning and strain young learners unnecessarily. This essay will show, first, that early compulsory language study can disrupt core cognitive development, and second, that beginning later actually leads to more efficient and sustainable language acquisition.

The principal concern is that introducing a foreign language too early may divert cognitive resources away from essential skills such as literacy and numeracy. At ages five or six, children are still consolidating phonemic awareness, symbolic recognition and basic reasoning; adding an unfamiliar linguistic system can overwhelm limited working memory. For instance, if a child is simultaneously grappling with learning to decode letters in their mother tongue and memorising foreign vocabulary, their processing load increases sharply, often reducing accuracy and slowing progress in both domains. Furthermore, early language classes frequently become superficial—centred on songs and isolated phrases—because children lack the cognitive maturity to understand grammatical structures or maintain long-term focus. As a result, instruction may generate the illusion of progress without building real proficiency, while subtly undermining confidence in core subjects.

Equally important is the fact that older learners often achieve faster, deeper, and more purposeful foreign-language mastery. By the upper primary or early secondary years, students possess stronger analytical abilities, richer vocabularies in their first language, and greater capacity for abstract thinking—all of which allow them to grasp grammar, context, and nuance more efficiently. They can engage with authentic texts, reflect on cultural subtleties, and set personal learning goals, turning language study into a meaningful intellectual pursuit rather than a passive classroom routine. Additionally, educational systems with limited resources risk diluting overall quality when they expand language programmes prematurely; concentrating instruction at a later stage enables schools to employ specialised teachers and use curricula that genuinely build communicative competence rather than merely entertaining young children.

In conclusion, compelling children to study a foreign language from their first years of schooling can compromise foundational learning and produce shallow outcomes, whereas beginning at a more developmentally suitable age leads to richer engagement and stronger proficiency. For these reasons, I firmly reject the claim that earlier is necessarily better.

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