Children pick up a foreign language easily. It is therefore advantageous to introduce them to English at an early age. There are some 1,200 elementary school in the Netherlands that offer their students English lessons from group 1. This obviously ensures a better connection to secondary education as well. Moreover, young children are not afraid to speak another language and do not mind making mistakes. This certainly contributes to a child learning a foreign language faster and also facilitates the learning process.
What is mandatory in elementary school?
In primary education, a few subjects are mandatory, such as language and math. PE and English are also subjects that every elementary school must teach. Elementary school have the freedom to fill in the lessons themselves and decide which teaching materials to use for that purpose. Currently, when they start teaching English varies from school to school. Some schools start as early as grade 1, but there are also schools that start in grade 3. However, the law requires that English be offered at least from grade 7 throughout primary education.
Why English in elementary school?
In our country, English is an important subject in primary education. In fact, a good command of the English language determines to a considerable extent how successful you will be later on the job market. For many employers, it is attractive to choose someone who speaks the language perfectly. This is a great advantage, for example, when leading an international team or project within the company.
In addition, children also benefit during their subsequent education. In fact, later in life, a significant proportion of students choose to go to a country where English is widely spoken because of their studies.
How do children benefit from English in elementary school?
If you start looking at the pluses of introducing children to English at an early age, you will find plenty of them. First of all, learning a foreign language stimulates creative ability. Also, a foreign language increases a child's self-confidence if the child dares to speak out in English.
Furthermore, it is an additional stimulus to the development of thinking skills and also teaches a child to think in a nuanced way. After all, it learns to use different words in the right context. Providing English lessons early contributes to the child's overall language development, and it has even been shown that overall language skills improve when children learn English at an early age.
Learning another language also adds value when filtering information. You learn to separate relevant from less important information. Furthermore, skills such as decision-making also benefit. It has been shown, for example, that people who master several languages are better able to make rational decisions. You can benefit from this in various situations.
What are the learning objectives for English in elementary school?
If you start looking at where in Dutch elementary school the focus is on learning English, you will see that the emphasis is on communication skills. Here you can think of reading, listening and speaking skills. Writing English comes next. Thus, in junior high, children learn listening and speaking primarily. In the upper grades, reading and writing come next.
English in kindergarten classes
You see these days that more and more elementary schools are choosing to start English in kindergarten classes. This helps students gain a better command of the language. Teachers often introduce their young students to English through play. Among other things, they sing songs in English and do various games. Through repetition, students get a chance to already practice the language well and are better able to remember what they are taught. They also achieve a higher language level as a result. Finally, the child develops better pronunciation by being introduced to a foreign language at an early age.
Summercamp understands that elementary schools are not enough to make children fluent in English. That's why we offer in our summer children's camps a unique opportunity for children to take their language skills to the next level. Our experienced instructors use fun and practical methods to bring English to life, with an emphasis on speaking and communication.
