Children should be introduced to English at an early age, educationists say, citing their natural language-learning abilities and the need to lay a strong foundation for future fluency.
Independent scholar Sharifah Munirah Alatas and Parent Action Group for Education (PAGE) chairman Noor Azimah Rahim both agreed that children are capable of acquiring multiple languages simultaneously.
They said early dual-language exposure would foster stronger linguistic competence.
Munirah said children up to the age of seven are capable of absorbing a second language almost as naturally as their first — as they were curious, eager to learn new things, and less self-conscious than older children and adults.
She said the task of creating conducive language-learning environments should not be left solely to schools, and urged parents to play a similar role at home.
She also called on politicians and policymakers to actively promote the idea, especially among urban households, to help normalise bilingual communication.
“It is unfortunate that in the Malaysian context, whenever this issue of language in schools — of English versus Malay — crops up in the media, the role of parents is under emphasised,” she said.
Azimah agreed, adding that early bilingual exposure is backed by scientific research, with decades of studies disproving claims that bilingualism confuses children or delays speech development.
She said delaying English instruction until children were older would put learners on a steeper and more difficult path to mastering the language.
Late learners tend to think in their native language and translate into English, said Azimah, making their speech slower and less fluent.
These students are likely to struggle in university when confronted with English-language textbooks, journals and online resources, she added.
“A child who learns two languages from a young age often develops two separate ‘language systems’ and can think directly in either language,” said Azimah.
“(Late learners) miss out on the neurological advantages of early childhood and face the risk of struggling academically, falling behind their peers, and developing a negative association with the language.”
Azimah said the first three years of a child’s life were a crucial window for learning languages.
In homes where one parent uses Malay and the other English, children often learn both languages naturally — attaining bilingual fluency without formal instruction.
Azimah said the age of between three to seven was often regarded as the ideal time to begin formal language learning.
At that age, children’s brains are still highly flexible, allowing them to grasp pronunciation and grammar patterns naturally, she said.
Children remain capable language learners as they grow older, said Azimah, and can manage structured lessons in a second language if they have already developed thinking skills and literacy in their first.
However, by the age of eight they tend to become more socially aware and sensitive to making errors in front of their peers, she said, adding that it may lead to a reluctance to speak English.
“The goal of introducing English early is to build a strong foundational familiarity — a basic vocabulary, an ear for the sounds, and a positive attitude — so that when the formal academic demands increase, the child is not starting from zero.
“They are building upon a base, which makes the entire process smoother, less stressful, and more successful.”
