Angie Rabadan
Professor Benshetler
Composition II
December 10, 2018
The Importance of Second Language Acquisition in Elementary Schools
“Though it is estimated that about half of the world’s population is bilingual, the estimate for
the United States is well below 20%” (Grosjean 2010). Being such a massive country that was once called
the melting pot, I find it ironic that such a small percentage speak two languages. We can all agree that
the United States is a highly developed nation. I want to emphasize on the fact that the United States
lacks language courses in elementary schools and should have dual language programs as a mandatory
objective starting with pre-kinder all the way through 12th grade. Schools do not want to pay for the
extra cost of hiring a foreign teacher. Not only taking the given requirements of two years of a foreign
language in middle school but expanding it to all grade levels.
The school system in other countries are completely different. The Swiss, in their early
developmental years of pre-kinder to kinder, generally believe play is the most important part of
learning. My family goes to an all swiss school in Mexico City called Colegio Suizo. It is one of the most
well-respected schools to attend in Mexico. I have seen their teaching techniques and the way they have
their learning structure is far beyond what our public-school system would incorporate.
The process of the Colegio Suizo starts at the young age of three years old. The first language
they begin to learn there is German. They implement linguistics with songs and games in the German
language. The children are not aware that these songs are a difficult language. Because of this, the
children imitate the sounds that they hear and sing along. In Mexico one would think that students will
learn to read and write in Spanish. In this case, the first language students will learn to read and write in
will be in German, following their Swiss school guidelines. German will be the primary language that will
be taught by the teachers. Next during fifth grade it is obligatory to transition and learn the English
language. After middle school they offer the French language. During their senior year for their fifth
language, they can take Chinese Mandarin. That is many languages in just eighteen years of life.
Learning languages at such a young age is considerably much easier due to the brain is still in its
developing stages and has more plasticity. Childs brains are more plastic therefore information is
adapted easier while synaptic pruning occurs. It is crucial to teach languages at a younger age. According
to Lennebergs, Critical Period Hypothesis, “there is a neurologically based period ending around age 12
at the onset of puberty, beyond which complete mastery of a second language is no longer possible.”
(Singleton 1995) Lenneberg’s research showed that after puberty it is more difficult for a foreign
language to be acquired without an accent. This is reasonably accurate, so the question is why are they
