Source


Teach English to four-year-olds, schools told
Thursday 19 June 2008

The independent educational council (Onderwijsraad) is recommending that primary school children begin learning English as soon as they start school at the age of four.


A spokesman for the council confirmed a report on the recommendation to news agency ANP on Thursday.

Most primary school children currently get some English lessons from the seventh grade, two years before they go to secondary school. But this is much too late because the younger children learn languages the better, the council says.

The best way to learn a foreign language is by 'total immersion', the council says – meaning entire lessons should be given in the other language with an emphasis on speaking rather than grammar and spelling.

Upping the English quota at primary school would require major improvements in teachers' language skills, however, the council points out.

The Dutch are behind the times on this.&nbsp; I believe that Finland starts very early with English.<br><br>

whats going in favour of the dutch in regards to ESL, and it supports school learning of english, is the saturation of english in the envrionment. In fact with so much of it around I am genuinely surprised to find that not everyone here knows english. I wonder if they live in a bubble and miss it all!

Re teaching it from grade one - the earlier the better! Might also help remove the predjudice that seems to exist here regarding immigrants speaking their mother tongue at home - most of that prejudice is based on the (incorrect) idea that kids can only learn one language at a time. By teaching a second language from the start parents will soon see that the first language does not 'suffer' and vice versa. Kids are amazing