Should We Learn English from Primary School?

　　Nowadays, many primary schools give English courses from the first grade. It is commonly believed that the earlier children begin to study a foreign language, the better they can master it, so the English class in primary schools is necessary. What's more, studies show that schoolchildren are more likely to cultivate an interest and love in English learning rather than to study it as a boring task.

　　But others take a negative attitude. They don't think language study in early age could foster the top language master. On the contrary, if children begin to study English too early, their study of Chinese would be interfered, and the result is that both their mother tongue and English would be poor. It is true that many children in the first grade always confuse English letters with the Pinyin.

　　Consequently, I have to agree that English class in primary school is good for children in language learning, but we should not ignore its weak points. So English class in primary schools is good and the class beginning from the fourth grade would be better.

　　参考译文：

　　是否应该从小学开始学英语?

　　现如今，很多小学从一年级起就开设了英语课。因为人们普遍认为孩子学习外语时年纪越小，就会学得越好，所以小学的英语课是十分必要的。此外，有研究表明小学生更容易培养出对英语学习的兴趣和喜爱，而不会把英语学习当成枯燥的任务。

　　但也有人持反对的观点。他们认为从小开始学语言并不见得可以培养出语言大师。正相反，孩子们过早学习英语会严重影响到他们的中文学习，其结果会是他们的母语和英语掌握得都不好。的确，不少小学一年级的孩子都经常分不清英语字母和汉语拼音。

　　因此，我必须承认小学开设的英语课程对于孩子的外语学习是有益的，但我们也不能忽视它的缺点。所以说，小学开设英语课程是没有错的，如果能从四年级开始学习的话会更好。

(实习编辑：王晓晓)