Disadvantages to Children Learning a Foreign Language

It has become almost conventional wisdom that all children should learn multiple languages early in life. There is certainly some reasoning supporting this idea, including the point that young children pick up languages more easily. However, there are also some reasons why it might be disadvantageous.

Lack of Resources

With the constant budget cuts that many schools face, it is sensible to ask if your school has the financial and physical resources it needs to properly teach a child a second language. If the school lacks the audiovisual, computer and other equipment that is often required to properly teach languages, it might actually turn the child off the concept of learning a foreign language.

Lack of Trained Teachers

A corollary of the lack or resources argument is that there is a shortage of teachers trained to teach children a second language. You can't just take a teacher trained to teach adults Spanish and drop him among first graders and expect that his approach will be as effective. In addition, since most schools will want to offer the parents more than one language to choose from, the school will need teachers fluent in multiple languages. And they won't come cheap.

Unfocused Learning

One problem that might result from trying to teach two languages and actually use them in the classroom setting is that it will cause the overall learning process to become unfocused. It might even dilute the efforts to teach basics like math, English and writing, since time, effort and limited resources now have to be devoted to teaching this separate language.

Wrong Language

One significant problem with teaching a child a second language early in life is that the teachers and parents are making this decision, rather than the child. While this might work out, it also might be that they choose a language that the child never finds any use for. Worse, the child may have to go through the entire process again in college if he prefers a different language.

References

• Education Purpose: Advantages and Disadvantages of Bilingual Children