Just over a month after school started, four students in grade one of a primary school in Nanjing transferred to another school. The reason is that there is no English class in grade one. "Many primary schools have English classes in the first grade. Our children start to learn in the third grade, isn't it very backward? " A parent who is going through the transfer formalities told the reporter that she has spent 30,000 yuan to transfer her children to a school offering English classes in the first grade.

[event]

There is no English class in grade one, and students are out.

Teacher Wang is the head teacher of Grade One in a primary school in Nanjing. After the National Day holiday, two students were transferred to her class. "On the day of registration, some parents put forward their opinions, saying why there is no English class in senior one, and children learn English in kindergarten, but it will be broken in primary school." A month later, two children in the class transferred to another primary school, which is less than 100 meters away. English classes have been offered in that school since grade one. "The two children are from our school district, and their families are very ordinary. They have to pay a school selection fee of 30,000 yuan for transfer, but parents still choose to transfer. " The reporter learned that in addition to Mr. Wang's class, students in Grade One and Grade Two of this school have also transferred to other schools in the past two years. The main reason is that English teaching in schools is "weak".

Ms. Zhou, a citizen, just found a relationship and spent 30 thousand yuan to transfer her child to another primary school nearby. "Our children's kindergarten is a bilingual kindergarten. Small class began to learn English. Now they have some simple English conversations. I didn't expect to start English classes in the third grade of primary school. We also inquired about the teaching quality of this school before, and the reputation was good, so we didn't consider choosing a school, and we didn't expect to ignore English teaching. How important English is. In the future, Xiao Sheng will rely on English when he takes the exam in Nanwai. It is also for this reason that children will start learning in kindergarten. " Ms. Zhou finally tried her best to transfer the child away.

[investigation]

Many schools promote English teaching by themselves.

The reporter learned from the education department that primary schools in Nanjing have basically started to offer English classes in grades three to six. However, the reporter found in the interview that many schools have advanced English teaching. Taking Gulou District and Xuanwu District as examples, every provincial experimental primary school offers English classes in grade one. Teacher Wu, who has taught English in primary schools for six years, told reporters that there are 500 words in the syllabus of primary schools, and the average number of words mastered by each student is about 300. With such a pitiful vocabulary, it is basically impossible to understand and understand English, so it will be very difficult for Xiaoshengchu to take the foreign language exam. "English is a language subject, and it takes time to accumulate and cultivate interest. If they are exposed to English from the first grade and learn one word every day, they can master at least 250 words every year. After six years, they can learn 1500 words. By the time they graduate from primary school, their vocabulary is quite good, which is beneficial to their lifelong learning. "

The education department does not require English for the first and second grades.

It is understood that the education department of Nanjing has no requirements for English teaching for children in Grade One and Grade Two, and it is mostly an optional action of the school to offer English classes in advance. "The first-grade English class is very simple. The purpose is to make children speak and cultivate their interest." In the interview, the principals of some schools said that English classes in the lower grades were also "forced". "Many parents have a growing awareness of early education. Kindergarten began to enroll children in English training classes outside. If schools don't pay attention to English teaching, they will have opinions. In fact, once a week in grade one, what children can really learn is very limited, but it shows an attitude of the school in English teaching. "

There is a shortage of English teachers, so the school invites volunteers to make up for it.

In the interview, the reporter learned that some schools that don't offer English classes in Grade One are mainly short of English teachers, which is quite common. "Most of the teachers who graduated from English normal schools go to middle schools, and those who specialize in primary education are running. Real primary school English teachers are still relatively scarce. If you take English classes from grade one to grade six, it won't work. " An English teacher in a primary school revealed that there are four English teachers in their school, each of whom is basically responsible for one grade and has no energy to teach another grade. The reporter also learned that some schools claim that oral English classes are taught by foreign teachers, but in fact, the cost of studying in Nanjing is much lower than that of regular foreign teachers. In fact, these foreign teachers have no educational experience, and some people's spoken English is not pure. Judging from students' acceptance, there are hidden worries. "

[opinion]

Expert: Learning at a young age also has "side effects"

Lin Taichang, a special English teacher, tried an experiment of English teaching for children in the first and second grades of primary school. "The effect is not good. It is not until the third grade that the child's mental maturity can keep up. " Teacher Lin believes that sometimes studying at a young age will not only fail to meet parents' expectations, but also bring many negative effects.

Jin, a family education instructor in Nanjing, said: "How can there be a completely flat starting line? Every child's talent is different, and parents should treat the starting line correctly. " Jin believes that English learning should be as early as possible, but there should be a limit. It is very early to learn English in grade three. "Parents can't prematurely instill something beyond the child's ability. Many children who study in advance are too difficult to keep up, and their self-confidence drops sharply, which is very unfavorable for long-term English learning. "