English
as a
Second
Languag
e in
India
INTRODUCTION
This research note has two principal objectives. The
first is to examine the latest research findings
concerning when is the best time for children to
acquire English as a second language and thus
become bilingual. The second is to describe how
this can be accomplished in a bilingual school
setting. To elaborate further on the first objective: at
what age should schools admit children into a
bilingual programme, if the aim is to assist them to
reach a level of competency in English that equals
or nearly equal s the competency level they are
concurrently acquiring in their first (or home)
language? Included in this research note are key
organisational details, including teaching strategies,
which are characteristic of bilingual schools which
aim to produce bilingual children. First, it is
important to clarify the difference between ‘
language learning ’ and ‘language acquisition’ and
what is the difference between ‘being bilingual’ and
‘being fluent’.
Language Acquisition or
Language Learning?
What is the difference between acquiring a
language, and learning a language? Acquiring a lan
guage refers to an unconscious process, as when
children acquire their home or first language. This
process consists of the parents (or other adults)
communicating with the child through daily
interactions at home and in the community on a
daily basis (Baker, 2006).
That process is natural and unconscious and begins
at birth (Krashen, 1973). However, recent research
reveals that the process actually begins in utero in
the as -yet- unborn child (Moon et al., 2013). The
acquisition of a child’s first language continues
when the child enters a school at age six, or less
formally in a pre-school setting, such as a toddler’s
programme or a kindergarten. Learning a language
is a more deliberate process as when a child enters a
bilingual school. In the case of six-year old children
who are enrolled in a bilingual programme, they are
not only involved in second language studies, they
are also beginning to learn other subjects such as
mathematics and social studies in their first
language and a second language (Lowry, 2015).
Thus, acquiring English as a second language is
rarely a singular activity. However, in the case of
many international schools, English is the medium
of instruction. Of course, in many such schools,
children have the option of studying formally their
own (first) language. In bilingual schools where
English is the target second language, normally the
national language and English would be the two
languages of instruction for core subjects such as
mathematics and science (Piroon, 2016) .
Being Bilingual or Being
Fluent
It takes time to become really fluent in any language
– if by ‘ fluent ’ one means speaking, reading, and
writing at a reasonably good level. Only a minority
of persons can become ‘very proficient’ even in
their first language (Lowry, 2015). And, of course,
the same is true for learning a second language. One
way to describe the difference between being
bilingual and being fluent is in the following quote :
“It is almost like memorizing your times tables. It
can feel like second nature [to some], but . . . . many
experience forgetting what 7 x 8 is.” It is 56.
Similarly, those who are fluent in Spanish, for
example, may need to occasionally refresh
themselves on when to use “por” vs “para” (both
mean ‘or’ in English, but are used for different
situations in Spanish) . But being bilingual means
you can think in either language easily, and
misusing ‘por’ would be akin to saying something
like “ There are fewer snow in Florida than in New
York ” (Norman, 2017). A person fluent in English
may confuse ‘less’ and ‘fewer’, but a native or true
bilingual speaker would not make that mistake.
Norman (2017) makes the point that to be bilingual
is to have mastered two or more languages.
Bilingual speakers have the same competency in
two or more languages as native speakers of those
languages. As such, to become truly bilingual is not
an easy process, but it is possible. Regarding the
matter of being fluent in a second language is to say
that the person has developed good communication
skills in, say, conversation. Or, has acquired strong
skills in reading or in understanding speakers of a
second language. In reality, not many people have
the time to acquire high level skills in all areas of a
second language. It should be noted though, that
such speakers are not bilingual. Their
secondlanguage skills are not as deeply rooted as in
the case of bilinguals . Over time, without numerous
opportunities to practice or refresh those second-
language skills, fluency levels become seriously
weakened. Children who learned English as a
second language will have considerable difficulty in
maintaining their English skill levels in later years.
In order to maintain their earlier skill levels, they
will find it necessary to enroll in refresher courses
or find opportunities to meet regularly with English
speakers, for example (Baker, 2006). In many Asian
countries English is still very much a language of
the few. This can result in an absence of features
such as English signage and street names, and
English TV and radio programmes, for instance.
Thus, the surrounding environment in which
children lead their lives is devoid of any reminders
that there are other languages besides their own.
The authors wonder whether this can result in a lack
of curiosity about other languages, and, thus, a
lower motivation to become bilingual, for example.
Brain Development In order to fully grasp the
process of language learning, it is useful to examine
recent research in brain development. This could “
shed some light ” on when is the best time to begin
the process of acquiring a second language. Kotulak
(1997), a Pulitzer Prize winning author, assembled
scientific findings on how the brain develops in the
early life of humans. Brain research data show that
in the first month, newborns develop new synaptic
connections at the rate of up to three billion per
second. “Everything that a baby hears, sees, feels,
tastes, and touches is absorbed by the brain and
stored in its memory cells.” By 6-8 months,
according to Kotulak’s review of research, the
baby’s brain has about 1,000 trillion synaptic
connections. Later, the number of connections
begins to diminish. And, by age 10, half of the
connections have died off in the average child. P
rior to that the brain has been like a sponge. It is
during this period of brain development that the
foundations have been set for thinking, language,
vision, attitudes, aptitudes and other characteristics.
Kotulak states, “After this stage of development, the
windows close; the fundamental architec ture of the
brain is complete ” (Kotulak, 1997). His conclusion
underlines the importance of beginning second
language learning as soon as possible . Earlier
researchers argued that at this stage (ages 11 or 12)
a child could more easily understand what teachers
are teaching, and therefore would more likely seem
to make progress more quickly than a younger
child. While this may be true, other researchers
point out that a child who is first exposed to a
second language at this later stage (11 or 12 years of
age) will not intrinsically learn it in the same way a
younger aged child would. These later findings
would suggest that ‘earlier is better’; second
language skills will be more authentic, and more
durable (Byers-Heinlein and Lew-Williams, 2013) .
That is why, according to Kotulak, most older
second language learners can never properly roll
their ‘ Rs ’ as Scottish children can, nor pronounce
Xhose (an African ‘ click ’ language), nor
pronounce the ‘ X ’ sound of Chinese, or the ‘Th ’
of English, for example. But, these unique language
markers can be acquired easily by the very young.
In the case of teenagers and adult late learners, those
sounds are extremely difficult (if not impossible) to
produce. More recently, researchers such as
Chapelton (2016). He claims that the window for
language learning closes even earlier – as early as
age 6 or 7. And, they conclude that the best age to
start learning a second language is essentially from
birth, or as early as possible thereafter.
Bilingualism at an Early Age: Impact on
Early Cognitive Development The
possibility
that early bilingualism could affect (negatively)
children’s language and cognitive development was
for many years a concern for parents and educators.
In an earlier time, the prevailing view was that
bilingualism and second-language acquisition early
in life made children confused and actually
interfered with the development of cognitive
functioning. Studies of language development
among children have shown conclusively that such
is not the case. Since 1996, bilingual education is
mandated for Singaporean children. They are
required to begin school at six years of age where
the language of instruction is English. In addition to
English, children in Singapore are required to learn
Chinese (Mandarin) and become proficient in their
family ’ s language, too. Three home languages are
recognised: Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil (the
language of South India).Tho se children whose
families speak Malay must study Malay ; those
whose families speak Tamil must study Tamil.
These languages are taught by native speakers
(Singapore, 2017). Thus, Singapore children are
learning to read and write their home language, as
well as English and Chinese (if these latter two
languages are not their home languages). According
to the 2015 census, only 36.9% of children come
from homes where English is the language most
often used. Because English is the language of
instruction, many nonEnglish speaking parents
choose to have their child attend a local preschool.
Preschools exist everywhere. Parents are keen to
have their children well-prepared to pass the
compulsory English entrance test which is
administered at the beginning of formal schooling.
Thus, a t age six, the majority of Singapore children
can understand and speak English at a level
commensurate with their age (Low, 2013).
Singapore’s comprehensive policy on second
language learning has been in effect for more than
20 years. There has been no reported evidence of a
negative impact on cognitive development among
its children. It could be argued that the impact may
be actually advantageous. Linguistic competencies
of Singaporeans have been increasing. The 2010
census revealed that 79.9% of all Singaporeans were
literate in English, and, 70.5% were literate in two
or more languages (Low, 2013).
PISA and Singapore
The 2016 PISA (Programme for International
Student Assessment) test results revealed that
Singapore had the highest achieving 15-year olds
among more than 70 advanced economies. They had
the highest scores in all three test subjects: math,
reading, and science (Coughlan, 2016). [ The PISA
tests are developed and administered by the OECD
(Organisation for Economic and Cultural
Development), one of the special agencies of the
United Nations. ] This is another example which
appears to confirm that cognitive development of
Singapore children has not been negatively
impacted by learning a second or third language.
Word Mixing: Evidence of Confusion?
Another concern many parents and some educators
have had about early bilingualism is that learners
would become confused. There would be ‘ language
mixing ’, that is, children would use words from the
second language when speaking their first language,
and vice versa. At that time the body of scientific
research on bilingualism in children was relatively
small (Wei, 2000). The question is whether the fact
that bilingual children who mix words from two
languages in the same sentence is ‘evidence’ of
confusion. The research is clear: ‘code’ mixing is a
normal part of bilingual development . Studies have
shown that mixing is also a feature of bilingual
adults (Pearson, 2008). Also, it is important to note
that young children (both monolinguals and
bilinguals) have as yet only limited vocabularies.
Thus, when young bilinguals ‘ borrow ’ words from
the other language could be regarded as being very
resourceful, not confused. Word mixing is a normal
phenomenon of both simultaneous and sequential
bilinguals (Lanza, 2004).
Simultaneous versus Sequential
Bilinguals
The term ‘simultaneous bilinguals’ refers to those
who grew up in a two-language environment, that
is, in a community where they were exposed on a
daily basis to two or more languages. The term
‘sequential bilinguals’ refers to individuals who
learn ed their second language as children, or later
as adults, after having acquired their first or home
language. Byers-Heinlein and Lew-Williams (2013)
report that simultaneous bilinguals “ tend to have
better accents, more diversified vocabulary, higher
grammatical proficiency, and greater skill in real-
time language processing. ” The challenge for
bilingual school educators is to provide an
environment that approximates as closely as
possible the environment of first language
acquisition.
Surround-Sound' and
Acquiring a Second Language
Acquiring a second language, such as English,
happens more naturally, and more easily, when one
is surrounded by that language – especially when
one is very young. This is most certainly true in the
acquiring of one’s first language. It appears to be
equally true in acquiring a second (or third)
language. Thus, if bilingual schools are to succeed
in their mission of helping monolingual students
become sequential bilingual students, it seems clear
that the learning environment should simulate as
closely as possible the environment in which their
student s acquired their first language: a ‘surround-
sound’ environment . It is important to recall that
children, from the time of their birth, are surrounded
by the language of their family, friends, and
relatives. The children’s environment includes
meal-time conversations, TV programmes, visits to
grandparents, chatting with playmates in the
neighbourhood, and pre-school programmes. They
are immersed in their home language. Schools
which aim to provide a truly ‘bilingualrela’
education are thus challenged to provide an
environment that mimics the one in which children
experienced when acquiring their first language
(Schmid, 2016) (Piroon, 2016). The critical time for
second language acquisition is when a child is
young – as young as the ‘toddler’ stage. It is useful
to remember that : • children can spend more time
and effort on learning a second language than
adults, who have many competing demands • the
motivation of young children to comply with school
rules and routines, and to fit in, is much higher than
that of older children • the habits of pronunciation
and word order of children’s first language are less
deeply ingrained, and thus easier to overcome
(Schmid, 2016) . Acquisition of a second language,
such as English, can be achieved by a number of
ways . One way for parents of older children would
be to consider study abroad opportunities. Many
schools in countries such as the United Kingdom,
Canada, and Australia offer study programmes that
include boarding (also known as ‘ home stay’)
options. This way is a viable one for families who
have the financial resources to do so, and whose
children are old enough to live comfortably apart
from their families for an extended period of time –
perhaps 6 or more months. Another way would be
to search for a bilingual school near to the family
home . It is advisable to choose a school which
offers a full range of classes, including an
accredited secondary school programme. The major
ad vantage of choosing such a school is that
transitions between various levels of education -
pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, primary, and
secondary – are less disruptive.
Sequential
Bilingualism:
Some Elements of a Model Nursery School Many
bilingual schools will have a nursery section which
simulates a child’s home environment. This section
outlines and explains the operation of a typical
nursery school, beginning with the all-important
question about the best age for beginning the
process of second language acquisition. Figure 1
shows the learning activities in the Early Childhood
programme at Satit Bilingual School of Rangsit
University.
How old?
Second language learning should start early – as
young as 2 years old . One indicator of readiness
would be when a child is comfortable in a new
environment, that is, one which is different from
their normal, everyday surroundings . The child
would be excited by the prospect of being
transported daily to an entirely new environment, a
school or nursery, that feels warm and safe, and
where the adults are friendly and caring, similar to a
home environment. Established bilingual schools
are recommended, especially if they are in the
vicinity of the family home. It is advisable, too, to
choose a school that offers a full range of classes,
including accredited secondary school programmes.
The advantages of such schools include that of easy
transitions among various levels of education: pre-
kindergarten, kindergarten, primary, and secondary.
Nursery school environment
The nursery section of accredited bilingual schools
will endeav our to create an environment which
attempts to simulate that of one in which children
have been acquiring their first language : no-threat,
warm and trusting. It is important for the child to
feel comfortable and happy. The classroom should
provide space for students to roam around. Less
furniture is better than more furniture. A room with
tables and chairs can be constraining to not only
their body, but the mind as well. Several low round
tables for group work is recommended; no c hairs
are needed. At this age, children can be quite
comfortable sitting on the floor. As the tables are
round, students will face each other, as well as the
teacher supervising such activity. This helps
encourage the social interaction, and thus enhances
their language development. When not needed,
these tables can be moved aside, providing more
free space for other teacher- led activities, or
students’ own activities such as manipulating
building blocks or tracks. This also allows students
to freely walk over to ask for help from a teacher or
from another student . It is common to see children
being close with their teachers – even hugging –
during their free activity time. Lunch time and
playground activities are important for non-
structured language development. Lunch time,
especially when the tables are round in shape, and
when there are not more than 10 or 12 children at
each table is ideal for this purpose. The atmosphere
during this period is when students can converse
freely and even carry on nonsense conversations.
They enjoy chatting with their teachers. It is a time
also for learning the names of food items, table
manners, and even some simple facts about
nutrition. It promotes simultaneous language
learning whereby the English teacher and the Thai
teacher can work together in the dual language
acquisition process. Toddlers will normally be
immersed in a two-language environment for some
6-plus hours per day, or 30-40 hours per week: a
variety of activities, snacks, milk breaks, lunches,
and nap times. Their young brains are acquiring
new vocabulary, expressions, and grammatical
structures in Thai and in English in an unconscious
way. This point has been confirmed in many
studies. See for example, [Link]
ch ild-forget-language-learnt-early-childhood/ The
ratio of native speakers of the target language to
speakers of the children’s home language needs
careful consideration. In the case of a nursery, there
should be both native and English speakers (when
English is the other target language). The question
of ratio in the case of early childhood education was
addressed by Perlman et al. (2017). In a search of
the literature they found that opinions varied from 5
to 14.5 children per adult. They also mentioned that
UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s
Emergency Fund) recommended 15 children per
teacher with a group size of less than 24.
Kindergarten
When children turn three years of age , an
appropriate age for starting a kindergarten
programme, a more formal teaching and learning
environment can be introduced. These young
learners can be then grouped into classes – usually
not more than 24 in size, under the supervision of 3
adults. Thus, dual language learning is gradually
and almost imperceptibly being acquired with the
help of one native English speaker, supported by
two adults who speak the native language of the
children , one of whom should have special training
as a teacher or support staff member.
The
Curriculum
Since the kindergarten ’ s mission is to prepare
learners for the more formal Primary School, the
curriculum is more structured and appropriate to the
age of the children. Leading school systems such as
the Ontario Ministry of Education (Canada)
advocate ‘ play-based learning in a culture of
inquiry ’. This, it is argued, provides the foundation
for acquiring skills in literacy, mathematics,
including problem solving, and in creativity. Full
details are available at
[Link]
program-2016/appen dix-overall-expectations-
related-specific-expectations [Note: Ontario ’ s 15-
year olds scored in the top ten of the world
according to the most recent PISA ranking.] In a
module wherein the focus is on the teaching of
numbers between 1 and 10, the local teacher will
have learners recognize what each number looks
like, review how each number sounds in the
national language , and help them write each
number.
During this time, the second language teacher,
English for example, will be present, helping and
talking to the children. Then, when it is time for the
second language lesson, the English teacher will
teach the sound of each number in English, and play
games using those [Link] local teacher will
help out in the same way as the English teacher did
previously. In this way, both languages are being
incorporated into the teaching of numbers. The local
teacher will use the native language of the children
to communicate with students; the English teacher
will use only English. In this way, students become
accustomed to hearing and using both languages.
The teachers, both the local and English, should b e
welltrained and aware of their role as language
teachers – and should hold appropriate
qualifications . In addition to being conversant with
the kindergarten curriculum, the teachers should
possess high nurturing skills, have a loving
disposition, be patient and understanding, and enjoy
working with young children.
Kindergarten
director/supervisor
The supervisor should be a specialist in
earlychildhood education and knowledgeable about
bilingual education – particularly the processes by
which young children learn second languages.
Another important qualification for the supervisor is
that of being a bilingual person and thus able to
work with the English and the local teachers.
Bilingual supervisors can help resolve issues like
misunderstandings between the two sets of teachers.
Parents
In addition to the supervisor’s work in the
kindergarten itself another very important role is
that of serving as the intermediary between the
kindergarten teachers and the parents. Parents are
often quite concerned about what they can do to
help with second-language learning. It is important
that the Director helps parents understand the
importance of their continuing to provide a
nurturing home environment – along with the
continuing development of the family language.
Unlike so-called ‘International Schools’, bilingual
schools have a dual responsibility: to nurture and
provide instruction in the child ’ s family language
as well as in the target second language. Many
international schools do not offer instruction is a
child’s home language. Children are obliged to use
only the new language, English, for example, both
in class and outside of class . This can result in their
be coming relatively illiterate in their national
language. It is important that the director and
teachers in bilingual schools encourage parents to
continue communicating with their child using their
home language. It is in the home environment that
children participate in family life that includes
relatives and the people in their communities. This
will ensure that bilingual education will proceed
quietly and unconsciously with a minimal risk of
impugning the importance of children’s home
language. For a fuller discussion, on this point
consult.
Some Assurances for Bilingual
Education Professionals
Philosophers and scientists are well-known for
cautioning against declaring something as a
certainty. They argue that there are few (if any)
certainties in the world . However, the research is
clear on when is the best time to begin learning a
second language : ‘earlier is better ’. Education
professionals can be confident in advising parents to
enroll their child in a pre-kindergarten programme,
especially if the parent’s aim is to have their child
become a sequential bilingual, that is, as competent
in the second language as in the first language.
Parents should locate a pre-school where the daily
activities are holistic i n nature, where the
classrooms resemble a second ‘ home’ consisting of
‘ family and friends’ and the environment is full of
the sounds and sights associated with that second
language. Additionally, Parents should continue
using their home language however with more care,
that is, using ‘good quality ’ vocabulary and
grammar with much less use of slang and idiomatic
expressions. (Such aspects of language can be easily
learned on the playground and from listening to
television programmes, for example.). Bilingual
education professionals should advise parents that
their role as parents should continue. No changes.
Acquiring all the nuances of the child’s home
language is very important. In sum, parents should
be encouraged to continue their normal home life
(Byers-Heinlein and Lew-Williams, 2013). It should
be noted, however, that children from lower
socioeconomic backgrounds may lack certain
linguistic experiences in terms of vocabulary size,
and lack of exposure to books, conversation practice
, or first-hand life experiences. Brooke (2017)
argues that such children are significantly behind
their peers in language acquisition and will need
such gaps remedied. Thus, staffing a pre-
kindergarten programme, which caters to such
children, should include competent, trained
personnel fluent in the children ’ s home language,
to begin to remedy such deficiencies.
Balance and Counterbalance
This research project had two purposes: bringing
together some of the more recent findings about
when is the best time for acquiring a second
language. What are some essentials for schools
which provide a bilingual programme. The authors
have tried to do this in a simple, straight forward
manner for easy reading by parents, educators and
others who have an interest in second language
development and learning. Internationalisation is
one of the factors that has intensified the importance
of the new generation becoming competent in least
two languages. Baker (2006) states that ‘ As swift
communication by phone and computer across great
distances has become possible in recent decades,
and as air travel has brought countries closer
together, so the importance of bilingualism.
and multilingualism has been highlighted. ’His
argument is that the ease of delivering information
has increased dramatically, so bilinguals,
particularly those with ‘ English bilingualism ’ have
a distinct advantage in the employment market.
Baker (2006) identifies twelve fields where English
competency is in demand. • Tourism • Marketing •
Retailing • Accountancy • Hotels • Information and
communications technology • Airlines • Public
relations • Banking • Law • Teaching • Secretarial
work Ministries of Education and professional
educators , particularly in countries where English is
not the principal language of instruction, are
challenged to improve and expand second language
learning opportunities for more and more children
especially young children (Setyaningrum, 2007). It
is with this group of children, the very young, where
a significant increase in investment in second
language education will yield the greatest benefits.
The benefits will accrue not only to the children
themselves and their families, but also to the nation.
CONCLUSIONS: SOME ASSURANCES
Several assurances emerge from this review of
research on when is the best time to begin learning a
second (or third) language. Parents can be assured
that it is never too early to begin second language
learning . Early exposure to the second language is
important: very young children learn a second (or
third) language through listening to and interacting
with different speakers – exposure to sounds, words,
and grammars of the language (s) they will use in
the future (Wallin, 2017) . Some parents, who have
the financial means and who wish their child to
begin to learn a second language, such as English,
may opt to hire an English-speaking nanny, or, an
au pair. [Information about au pair agencies in
various countries may be found by consulting the
following: [Link] /aupair-
agencies/[Link] ] Of course, parents may prefer
to enroll their child in a reputable (licenced) pre-
kindergarten programme that offers a second -
language environment. Alternatively, parents may
wish to consider a bilingual school that has a pre-
kindergarten and ‘ nursery ’ unit, preferably within
a larger, more comprehensive facility. Such a choice
would facilitate at least a smoother, less stressful
transition from the pre-kindergarten stage to higher
levels: kindergarten and primary, and from primary
to secondary.