[IELTS] Essay about language learning topic

starting learning a foreign language early

Topic: Some experts believe that it is better for children to begin learning a foreign language at primary school rather than secondary school. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

Some educationists think that children starting learning a second language at primary school rather than secondary school is better for them. I completely agree with this view and will give my reasons below.

The first reason is that children learn a foreign language more efficiently. According to biology theory, human brains are developing at younger ages, which means it allows children to absorb a large amount of new information in a short time. Therefore, children at primary school ages are equipped with enough amount of vocabulary and grammar well preparing for the next advanced courses when entering secondary school.

The second reason is that it broadens their horizon more. Most younger people are less self-conscious and more open-minded to adopt novel concepts. Besides, it is unavoidable that when we learn other countries' languages, we also learn about their cultures at the same time. Hence, if people contact a variety of knowledge from their young age, they will have less chance to reject learning unfamiliar things when they grow up.

However, it is true that there still are some disadvantages. One of the problems is that it easily causes confusion in younger learners when they are learning a mother tongue and a second language together. I think this can be made up by well trained teachers. Teachers in primary schools are qualified and know how to correct their students through a series of designed materials and methods.

In conclusion, I believe that starting learning a foreign language at primary shcool age instead of secondary shool age has more benefits for children.

The question is not whether you agree or disagree. The question is whether you believe advantages outweigh the disadvantages. So this is not a comparison essay. This is a single opinion defense discussion. This is accomplished by allowing the writer to mention a perceived advantage as the topic paragraph of the reasoning paragraph, only to explain why this is actually a disadvantage in the end. So the format is:

Sentence 1: Advantage / disadvantage topic (Depends upon what stance you have taken in the response paraphrase)
Sentence 2: Why this is seen as an advantage / disadvantage
Sentence 3: Why it isn't a true advantage / disadvantage
Sentence 4: Example to support the claim
Sentence 5: Additional supporting sentence or transition sentence into the next paragraph discussion topic

The second reasoning paragraph should follow the same format. The conclusion should be longer than just a single sentence. The format is always 3-5 sentences per paragraph, regardless of whether it is a paraphrase, reason, or concluding paragraph. While you did write more than the required minimum, you have to understand that if you do not present the expected discussion, based on the instruction, the essay will have a hard time getting a passing score. Specially since there are existing spelling and grammar errors in your presentation, both of which will lower the final score of the presentation along with the lower TA score.