2021年1-4月 雅思口语 Part 3 Topic 18 第一次用外语

At what age should children start learning a foreign language?

I think the sooner the better, or at least before going to primary school. Ifs easier for children to learn a foreign language if they are exposed to it early. For instance, children who go with their parents to foreign countries at a young age are more likely to have little accent. I know a friend’s child who is like that—she went to the United States with her parents when she was seven, and now she sounds like she was born there.

Which skill is more important, speaking or writing?

They are both important. If I have to choose, I think speaking is more important in everyday life, because one of the crucial functions of language is communication. Speaking makes it possible to communicate with friends from other cultural backgrounds. In other words, it ⁵ s a more direct manner to show that you have a grasp of the language. It also makes it more convenient for you to accumulate information in that language. Writing is more important in the academic field.

Does a person still need to learn other languages, if he or she is good at English?

That depends on interest and objective. If he or she wants to study in a country where the mother tongue is not English, then ifs better to learn the local language. For instance, I think learning French is necessary in France, because few French people are fluent in English. Or if a person has higher interests, for instance, to read original Latin texts, then of course English is not enough. But I think in most circumstances, for instance studying in the UK and not in the field of literature, English would be enough.

Do you think minority languages will disappear?

It’s highly possible if we do not make efforts to preserve them. Take our dialects as an example, when the older generation gradually leave us, the dialects will probably die with them. Younger people nowadays do not have enough exposure to minority languages, and they don’t have the motivation to either. We must be aware of the importance of preserving minority languages, because they are an important part of our culture.