中國學生英語學習呈低齡化趨勢

Chinese parents are having their children learn English earlier, according to a survey published by the China Youth Daily.

《中國青年報》近日進行的一項調查顯示，如今，中國家長很早就讓孩子學習英語。

English has been introduced in primary schools, but more parents are starting their children on the second language before the age of five.

英語現在已經被引入到了小學當中，但是越來越多的家長在他們的孩子五歲之前，就已經開始讓他們學習這門第二語言了。

Nearly 70% of the 2,003 respondents reported that their own children or children they know started learning English before age five, mainly due to Chinese parents' fixation on giving children an early advantage, the survey found.

調查發現，2003名受訪者中，近7成人表示他們自己的孩子或認識的孩子5歲前就開始學習英語；中國家長執着於讓孩子"贏在起跑線上"的想法是他們這麼做的主因。

Another major reason is that parents believe it is more effective to cultivate children's language skills at an early age.

另一個重要原因是家長認爲，外語能力從小培養更加有效。

58.3% of the respondents believe that the trend of children learning English at a younger age is obvious. Some 39 percent of respondents said parents pay between 10,000 and 20,000 yuan annually to such institutions.

58.3%的受訪者認爲，幼兒學習英語呈現出明顯的低齡化趨勢。而39%的受訪者表示，家長們每年要向相關機構支付10000到20000元。

Fu Lili, a mother of a four year old, said learning institutions with native English-speaking teachers can charge higher prices.

作爲一個四歲孩子的母親，付莉莉表示，在擁有英語外教的機構中學習，學費會更高。

Yet not all parents have faith in such institutions, as more than 20 percent of the total said they have seen little effect on children's learning.

但是並不是所有的父母都相信這些機構，超過總人數20%的家長就表示，這些機構對孩子的學習效果並沒有什麼影響。

Shi Longwei, associate professor of education at Southwest University, said it is more important for children to have the freedom to grow and develop their own interest. "Even in English-speaking countries, kids in kindergarten are only taught to recognize the 26 letters."

西南大學教育學院副教授石隆偉認爲，孩子能自由成長、培養自己的興趣更爲重要。他說：“即使在以英語作爲母語的國家，幼兒園中的孩子一般也只會被要求識別26個字母而已。”