Article Type: Research Article Article Citation: PhD Maria-Gabriela Drăghici.
(2020). PARENTS’ VIEWS ON LEARNING FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN SCHOOL. International
Journal of Research -GRANTHAALAYAH, 8(8), 250-255. https://doi.org/10.29121/granthaalayah.v8.i8.2020.1004 Received Date: 06 August 2020 Accepted Date: 31 August 2020 Keywords: Foreign-Language Learning Foreign Languages Parents Parent-Pupil Relationship Motivation Foreign-Language Teacher Family is the social institution where a child is born, develops cognitively, socially and empathically, and which contributes to the child finding his/her place in the society of the future. Family helps a child form, learn, understand and develop basic aspects of his/her conduct out in the world until the he/she is introduced to the first education institution in his/her life, namely kindergarten. A pupil’s success and efficiency take shape only if the relationship between school and family is very solid. If parents are involved in school and after-school activities, then they can even support foreign-language learning by donating teaching materials, textbooks, storybooks, games in foreign languages, puppets, etc. to the school library. They can work together with foreign-language teachers to organise field trips, camps, programmes, workshops, exchange courses abroad. Parents’ involvement in school activities is a necessity for both the present and the future. Our article presents a survey of 290 pupils and 51 parents regarding the latter’s views on studying foreign languages, which is promoted as part of current public and private educational offers.
1. INTRODUCTIONViews on the
complex cognitive and emotional development required by today’s society
are capitalised on by the public and
private educational system by promoting the European Union’s principles
regarding the learning of a foreign language at an early age. Even though
primary-school teachers claim that the age of 6 is less suitable for learning
foreign languages, as a child that age is not familiar with the alphabet of
his/her mother tongue, foreign-language teachers know that, by employing the
appropriate strategies, methods, techniques and procedures, while also bearing
in mind the process of developing the child’s mother tongue, pupils can learn
foreign languages starting at any age and do it at their own pace. Just as the
methodics and didactics of the child’s mother tongue promote activities based
on communication, symbols, images, objects, so can a foreign-language teacher
apply such methods for the efficient teaching of foreign languages. Starting to learn
a foreign language early represents a remarkable attempt for some parents,
while, for others, it constitutes an unsuppressable fear. Some parents wish
their children to start learning a foreign language early on due to it being
necessary in the future, while others are sceptical, seeing foreign languages
as a hindrance to their child’s complex development, as they allegedly make it
harder for the child to learn the basics of his/her mother tongue. The desire to
learn a foreign language requires scrupulous examination, which is why the
parent is going to have to go through several questions in order to overcome
his/her fears. ·
To
what extent does my desire as a parent match that of my child? ·
How
motivated is my child to learn a foreign language? ·
What
is the extent of my correct involvement in my child’s education with respect to
learning foreign languages? 2.
MATERIALS
AND METHODS
By ensuring the
confidentiality of names, the questionnaire-based research method was
convenient and enabled us to obtain honest answers. Through our
research, we managed to document the views of 290 pupils and 51 parents on
children learning foreign languages in school. Our ideas were centred on the
efficiency of didactic competences as compared to pupils’ and parents’
expectations and on parents’ and pupils’ attitudes towards learning foreign
languages. Thus, the
questions we set out to answer via our research are the following: ·
Which
foreign languages do parents seek for our pupils? ·
What
is the children’s knowledge level in the foreign language at the time of
surveying the parents? ·
Which
are the factors motivating our pupils to learn foreign languages? ·
What
requirements do they have as to the consolidation of their knowledge of foreign
languages? ·
What
were the parents’ reasons for choosing their preferred options for the previous
question? 3.
DISSCUSION
AND RESULTS
According to our
research, parents and pupils are open to the learning of foreign languages
thanks to permanent access to information in foreign languages through
mass-media or the internet, but especially due to the offers provided by public
and private education institutions which promote the learning of two or more
Western or Eastern foreign languages. As parents wish
for their children’s social and financial status to improve in adulthood, they
encourage their children to learn at least two foreign languages. Learning one
foreign language is an attempt, while learning two becomes a challenge. Even
though English remains one of the most sought-after foreign languages to learn
due to currently available digital instruments, websites and online games, Table and Figure no. 1 also show us the language combinations which are the
most desired by parents for their children: German-English, English-French,
German-English-French. These
combinations of two or three foreign languages imply multiple controversies. As
far as the pupils are concerned, each of them feels that the language he/she
prefers (for various reasons) is easier. Among the reasons governing their
preferences we can find: the sonority of the language, the similarity of the
foreign language to the child’s mother tongue or to another favoured foreign language. It may also be that the manner in which the child perceives a foreign
language has been influenced by the opinions of the parents. Our experience
has revealed the following types of parents: ·
those
who encourage their children to learn at least one foreign language, leaving
the choice of language to the children; ·
those
who force their children to learn English because German is difficult; ·
those
who force their children to learn Chinese/Japanese/Korean or German/Dutch/Swedish
because these are difficult, yet sough-after foreign languages; ·
those
who force their children to learn French because it is the language spoken in
their family, yet do not exclude the other foreign languages taught in school; ·
those
who have their children learn Italian or German with a private tutor, as such
languages are useful later on for admission into a (high) school where they are
studied at mother-tongue level; ·
those
who force their children to learn German because one of the parents is away in
Germany working at a German company; ·
those
who force their children to learn German because it is a language which one of
the parents had the chance to learn as a child, but did not. Table 1: The languages
studied by the children of the surveyed parents
Figure 1: The languages studied by the children of the surveyed
parents Such opinions and
many more can apply to other foreign languages as well. The ideas above show
that parents’ desires are influenced both by the usefulness of the foreign
language being studied and by their own lack of access to a certain foreign
language during their school years. However, the question is: to what extent
are parents’ views important? According to the pupils surveyed, the
motivation for learning a foreign language stems from the external factors they
are exposed to daily during their years in school. Table and Figure no. 2
show the motivational factors perceived by pupils learning foreign languages: Table 2: Motivational factors perceived by pupils
learning foreign languages
It only takes one
glance to see what pupils think. Parents (39.2%) have the greatest capacity to
influence children, which is a positive aspect that reveals their involvement
in children’s education. Still according to pupils, the schoolteacher (32.2%)
is the second most influential person for them, while some pupils have
difficulty deciding whether the greater influence over their decisions belong to
the parents or the teacher. The opinions of other pupils point to their private
tutor (16.1%) and to their classmates (2.4%), while 0.6% of the pupils rely on
any motivational factor. Figure 2: Motivational factors perceived by pupils
learning foreign languages As far as the
actual learning of a foreign language is concerned, the pupils’ level of
knowledge does not constitute a reason for worry for some parents; on the
contrary, they keep supporting the teaching of foreign languages (see Table and Figure no. 3). Why is that? Table 3: The language level of the children of the
surveyed parents
Figure 3: The language level of the children of the
surveyed parents Parents are aware
that, thanks to the basic knowledge (A1) acquired, children will be able to
independently acquire the basic knowledge for each level in time and through
constant practice. Level A1 proves how important it is for a pupil to start
learning a foreign language irrespective of his/her age, while also revealing
parents’ wishes as to their children’s stage of development on the social
ladder. Parents’ appreciation for learning foreign
languages, consolidating the knowledge taught and especially advancing from one
level to another is also highlighted in Table
and Figure no. 4 illustrating the
reasons why parents opt for additional classes (either free ones organised at school
or paid ones at home) for their children. Table 4: Reasons for supporting
after-school foreign-language classes
Figure 4: Reasons for supporting
after-school foreign-language classes Parents are of
the opinion that two hours of foreign languages per week at school are not
sufficient for children to learn them. That is why, for 66.7% of parents,
additional classes are meant to give teachers the opportunity to clarify the
notions taught during regular classes, while 16.7% wish for their children to
have special classes for reading in foreign languages at the school library.
12.5% of the parents do not want additional classes, as they find the
children’s schedule much too busy. However, parents
opt for additional foreign-language classes for pupils for a set of
well-defined purposes (see Figure no. 5),
but also in order to facilitate foreign-language learning through diverse
teaching, learning and evaluation styles. Figure 5: Reasons why parents have opted for additional
foreign-language classes 4.
CONCLUSION
Our research has
revealed that one thing is certain: parents are the motivational and decisional
factors when it comes to children’s education, as they have a tendency
to influence the children’s future by recommending the fields of study they
should go into as adults in order to have a financially secure and stable work
place. As for the
learning of a foreign language, as parents, people aim for their children not
only to learn a foreign language, but also to perfect their knowledge in order
to attain a higher social status both inside and outside the school. At the
same time, some parents determine their children to learn a foreign language to
probably compensate for their own lack of opportunity to learn one as children. As teachers are
aware of the importance of parents’ constant participation in pupils’
education, they will encourage them to get involved, while helping them
understand the efficiency of a parent’s consistent emotional presence in the
teacher-pupil-parent relationship and in the teaching, learning and evaluation
processes during a child’s school years. That is why we
recommend that even uneasy parents, who regard learning foreign languages at an
early age with scepticism, should be encouraged and not judged by teachers.
Each parent knows the limits of his/her child, as well as his/her own limits
depending on available opportunities. What is certain is that foreign languages contribute to the child’s social and personal shaping and development, as they give him/her confidence in his/her intellectual and emotional skills. That is why, by virtue of his/her competences, a teacher is obliged to develop the ability to advise and help parents make relevant decisions for any context, as well as the ability to manage direct and indirect conflicts between parents and pupils, thus contributing to the honing of parents’ wishes – for their role is most necessary in a child’s education – and to outlining a path for undecided pupils. SOURCES OF FUNDINGThis research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. CONFLICT OF INTERESTThe author have declared that no competing interests exist. ACKNOWLEDGMENTNone. REFERENCES
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Dumitriu, G.
(1998). Comunicare și învățare [Communication and Learning]. Published
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