Before the age of 15 is the golden period for children to learn languages

“From the first years of life to under 15 years old is the golden period for children to learn languages. Therefore, learning and improving English during this time is an advantage to help them develop languages in both English and Vietnamese”.

That is the sharing of Dr. Thu Phan – Executive Director of Scotch AGS in the seminar “Explore Australian Primary and Middle Schools at Scotch AGS” which took place on the morning of April 1st, 2023.

Main activities in the seminar:

• School tour and experience learning
• Information seminar “Explore Australian Primary and Middle Schools at Scotch AGS”

Currently, many parents want their children to have access to the international education environment from an early age, especially at primary and secondary levels. However, there are many concerns that their children will not have enough foreign language ability (English) to attend an international school if they are transferred from a public school.

About this problem, Dr. Thu Phan said this was the common situation of many students when entering a new language environment. However, this is not a concern for parents because the period before the age of 15 is still the time students can strongly promote their language ability to make a breakthrough in the future.

According to lots of research in the world, from the first years of life, children can grasp and absorb language, especially when they begin to speak and have more awareness of the world around them. At Kindergarten and Primary School, learning and improving foreign languages is very easy because children can imitate and pronounce correctly. From there, students can build a strong foundation for the secondary level, when they already have certain learning strategies for themselves.

As Dr. Thu Phan has shared in a previous seminar that if parents decide to choose a monolingual international program for their children early in primary or secondary school, it means that the core program students will learn is 100 % English. They approach and use English through communicating, studying and interacting throughout a day at school. This helps children’s English skills be improved significantly even though they have never or rarely attended foreign language training courses before.

Especially, at Scotch AGS, each class is handled by 2 teachers (1 native teacher and 1 Vietnamese teacher). Vietnamese teachers do not play a role as translators of English into Vietnamese for students. They will reinterpret the English texts, simplify the words of native teachers and spend more time with children in need of support than with other students. Thanks to this cooperation of both teachers, students will gradually get used to learning and thinking in English as well as not being dependent on means of translation. Therefore, they can improve their English ability.

In addition, Dr. Thu Phan said that the Scotch AGS curriculum for primary and middle students is designed according to the Australian National Curriculum (ACARA). Students are taught according to the Australian standard with a unified and rigorous pathway from grades 1-9. Moreover, some Vietnamese subjects were added to the training program to help students absorb the quintessence of the international curriculum while preserving the values of Vietnamese identity.

In conclusion, the seminar “Explore Australian Primary and Middle School” gave parents a comprehensive view of Australian education. Through this event, parents deeply understood the Australian National Curriculum (ACARA) – the main program for Primary level and Middle level at Scotch AGS as well as had the answers about their child’s language development to easily participate in the international training curriculum. As a result, parents can choose and invest in the right educational environment for their children.

“Explore Australian Primary and Middle School at Scotch AGS” is a series of information seminars organized by Scotch AGS school with the desire to provide useful information to parents and students about the Australian education, training philosophy and curriculum for Primary and Middle levels at Scotch AGS. Register to attend the seminars to learn more about useful educational information and easily to choose a learning environment for your child.