Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary

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问题 Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school.
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

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答案Traditionally, children have begun studying foreign languages at secondary school, but introducing them earlier is recommended by some educationalists. This policy has been adopted by some educational authorities or individual schools, with both positive and negative outcomes. The obvious argument in its favour is that young children pick up languages much more easily than teenagers. Their brains are still programmed to acquire their mother tongue, which facilitates learning another language, and unlike adolescents, they are not inhibited by self-consciousness. The greater flexibility of the primary timetable allows for more frequent, shorter sessions and for a play-centred approach, thus maintaining learners’ enthusiasm and progress. Their command of the language in later life will benefit from this early exposure, while learning other languages subsequently will be easier for them. They may also gain a better understanding of other cultures. There are, however, some disadvantages. Primary school teachers are generalists, and may not have the necessary languages skills themselves. If specialists have to be brought in to deliver these sessions, the flexibility referred to above is diminished. If primary language teaching is not standardised, secondary schools could be faced with a great variety of levels in different languages within their intake, resulting in a classroom experience which undoes the earlier gains. There is no advantage if enthusiastic primary pupils become demotivated as soon as they change schools. However, these issues can be addressed strategically within the policy adopted. Anything which encourages language learning benefits society culturally and economically, and early exposure to language learning contributes to this. Young children’s innate abilities should be harnessed to make these benefits more achievable.

解析 本例为典型的利弊分析型文章,题目类型是outweigh型,即除了陈述事物的优缺点外,还需要权衡其利弊。读懂题目,题目是对某种做法的评判,即believe后的内容。需要分析的是“孩子在小学就开始学外语要比在中学才开始学好”。本篇范文为剑桥雅思的官方范文,在用词、句型和语句连贯上都非常值得学习,但首尾段的行文方式较为自由,不建议借鉴。
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