The Government's approval of the Project to enhance foreign language teaching and learning for the 2025-2035 period, including the pilot content for preschool children to get acquainted with Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, has attracted public attention.
First of all, it must be affirmed that this is a major policy, with a long-term vision, reasonable and necessary in terms of orientation.
In the context of extensive integration, the need to use foreign languages such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean is increasingly increasing, directly linked to the labor market, investment, trade, and tourism.
Diversifying the foreign language ecosystem, not only focusing on English, is in line with the general trend as well as the country's development practices.
In fact, getting preschool children familiar with many foreign languages is not a strange thing in the world. Many studies have shown that the early stages of life are the time when children are naturally susceptible to sounds and language.
If organized properly, through games, songs, simple communication... then early acquaintance can help children form a "language skills" (the ability to recognize and reflect language sounds), creating a foundation for learning later.
However, from the right policy to the right practice, efficiency is a big gap. The first issue to be wary of is the fragile line between getting used to and teaching early.
Without clear professional guidance, quenching can easily be turned into learning letters, learning words, doing exercises, and even being evaluated. At that time, the comprehensive development goal of preschool education will be distorted, creating unnecessary pressure for children and parents.
Another important issue is the teaching staff. Currently, the implementation of the Project "Bringing English as a Second Language in Schools for the 2025-2035 period, with a vision to 2045" has just been approved by the Prime Minister, and the whole country is also lacking more than 22,000 English teachers. Now with Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, the problem for teachers can be said to be a "question".
In addition, teaching foreign languages to preschool children requires dual abilities. Teachers must be fluent in foreign languages and have a deep understanding of the psychology and methods of preschool education. If we only focus on "knowing the language" but take the pedagogical profession lightly, or use teachers who are not properly trained, the consequences will be very unpredictable.
The Project has set out the requirement to develop the teaching staff, including foreign teachers, but controlling the quality of teachers in practice will be a huge challenge.
The Government has approved the Project to enhance foreign language teaching and learning for the 2025-2035 period, so the issue now is not whether or not to do it effectively.
Follow the spirit of piloting, volunteering, no pressure; strictly control content, time, teachers and learning materials; absolutely do not turn kindergarten into a foreign language race... are prerequited conditions.
Only then will getting used to a foreign language early truly become an opportunity, instead of a new concern in education.
