Do you think foreign languages help us? Research shows that beginning languages in elementary school makes it easier to learn and remember. I think learning a foreign language in elementary school would be a wonderful idea.
Languages can help us learn; for instance, Latin helps us learn English better. I think we should learn a language in elementary school, because when you are younger you can absorb the language better and more quickly. Also, if you start a language when you are younger, you will be able to speak it fluently when you get into high school or maybe even middle school. If you can speak it fluently, you could go on a school trip where they speak the language you learned.
Research shows that kids who take foreign languages improve their math, science, social studies and language arts grades. In addition, foreign languages improve you listening, memory, creativity and critical thinking skills. You can boost your grades on the state tests. Foreign languages help you solve more complex problems and give you more job choices. Research also shows that it changes the way kids look at the world.
Many districts are trying to hire more foreign language teachers and offer more languages.
In Saratoga, about 3,100 kids in K-fifth grade will be taking a language starting in September. If you are in kindergarten through fourth grade, language classes would meet for 20 minutes twice a week. If you are in fifth grade, a language class would meet for 30 minutes twice a week. If you are in sixth grade, a language class would meet for 40 minutes every other day.
I think kids in elementary schools should have the opportunity to take foreign languages. This would help everyone do better in school right now, and lead to a better future for today’s children.
Allison King is a fifth-grader at Otke Elementary School in Clifton Park.
Categories: Uncategorized
