You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Learning a foreign language offers an insight into how people from other cultures think and see the world. The teaching of a foreign language should be compulsory at all primary schools. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this view?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Sample Answer 1:
To be very honest, being a bilingual has an enormous positive impact on individual personality & confidence. As it gives you more and more global view of different cultures, at the same time one can relate things better in various geographies.
On contrary to this, learning multiple languages, may not provide the relevant cultural aspect of the nation. For instance, I had learned English as a language subject in my school, apart from my native language “Hindi”. In a broader aspect, it doesn’t help me understand British culture at all and their mindset for others.
However, to gain the cultural aspect, one should study their history & given a chance, live in the country to undergo their society thought process & thinking for others.
To support this view, one may assume that, if you learn any language different from your native one, you knowingly/unknowingly go through the history and society needs of that country to make your learning of language easy to remember.
At the same time, the thought of making is mandatory for everyone to learn one additional language is certainly a curriculum based need. It will definitely boost the analytical skills of students, as they think & learn in both languages. The best part is learning any other language, which is being widely used globally by people, will help you to work & live in the most part of the world. Like, I had learned English in my school & I can work & live in the most part of the world.
To conclude, knowing multiple languages is an addition to your personality & work profile, but it does not give much insight of others society and viewpoint unless one study their history or live there for some time.
[ Written by – Rahul Choudhary ]
Sample Answer 2:
I believe learning of a foreign language for all students should be compulsory at all primary schools. I would like to highlight the advantages it will have and the potential benefits it will offer if the teaching is made mandatory.
In primary school students actually get the chance to learn new and variety of subjects. Primary school is the best place for a student to learn any new skill or language because their mind can be moulded easily at that time. This new language will eventually become their second natural language like other natural activities like brushing their teeth or riding a bicycle.
I believe learning a foreign language offers an insight into how people from that culture think and see the world from different perspective. In India, there are around 29 states and around 42 languages are spoken by people from diversified culture and religion. English was a foreign language to Indians once but this is very commonly used nowadays. A common language could help people of India to understand the insights from different culture/ religions and express and share their own views. They later emphasised to include English in the curriculum in the primary itself. Sooner it became the most commonly spoken language in India which all could understand and comprehend. This has immensely helped in development in India as a nation.
Speaking and understanding a foreign language not only helps in exchanging thoughts and ideas without any hassle but also helps in solving problems and fight global issues with ease. Let’s say China has a global problem of high population and major unemployment. The USA is facing the problem of high manufacturing cost. They need people who can work for less money in manufacturing their goods like iPhone at low rates so that the US can earn more profit. To solve this issue if people of china can negotiate and comprehend in English they have bigger chance to solve their problem of unemployment and Secure the deal compared to people who don’t speak & understand English. This Thing will not only help the US to earn more profits but will also help china to increase their GDP once the US invests in China.
Studying and learning something a foreign language at an earlier age is the best time to learn and retain information for a longer period of Time. Skill in a foreign language not only helps people securing better job opportunities, global exposure and getting a perspective from people across the world but also help them bridge gaps in understanding their problems and providing solutions and vice versa.
I agree and highly recommend studying and learning a foreign language at the primary level should be mandatory for better and bright future of Children, Families, Nations and The World.
[ Written by – Gaurav ]
Sample Answer 3:
It is true that by learning other country’s language, we could learn various types of new traditions and cultures. Therefore it is believed that the study of foreign language should become a compulsory course at all elementary schools. I personally agree with the statement as it would become a valuable asset for the children, and the following essay will discuss it in details.
Learning new foreign languages would be an exciting activity for elementary students since it will not only focus on the grammar structure and the vocabulary. Some audio-visual tools that are usually made for the children to learn, and they commonly show about the country’s cultures. Therefore, students will not only learn the language, but also learn about the daily activity of the local people, and some of the cultural places in the country.
And then, as we are living in the globalisation era, more and more people are doing international trade activities these days. As a consequence, it is important for business people to able to speak in another language, besides their mother tongue language. Trading activities are mostly dominated by countries such as the US, Japan and China nowadays, and as a consequence, it is essential for the future generation to learn these countries’ languages. Therefore learning one of these international languages should be a compulsory course in all primary schools.
In conclusion, studying foreign languages become an essential thing these days, as it brings many benefits for the people. One of the advantages is that we could learn another country’s tradition and civilisation. I personally agree with the statement and I strongly recommend students to learn new languages from the earliest level.
[ Written by – Darwin Sugiharto ]