| Our school district only offers foreign language courses once students get to high school. This is unlike other schools as I once heard a teacher speaking about how they used to teach it when they were in elementary school as well. I have some friends in Spain who told me that they have been learning a foreign language since they were in their early years of schooling. I think that our school district should implement foreign languages in the curriculum of younger students as it helps to improve both cognitive and social skills. It has been shown in studies that children who learn another language from a young age have higher cognitive abilities. They tend to be better at problem-solving. This is shown through testing as well, as students who began learning another language in elementary school tested better on standardized testing than those students who didn’t. Learning another language also allows people to have more experiences as they are now enabled to have more conversations. They are also able to feel better about their social environment, as they can easily communicate with more people. It can allow them to gain valuable insights into things that would otherwise be lost to them. It can also give them confidence as by speaking another language, they will feel more apt to display that language and speak with others around them. Thus building confidence in their abilities. Learning a new language has many benefits, and it would be better if more students had the ability to learn a language from a younger age. It would help to improve their cognitive and social skills. Also, learning a language from a young age will give them more time to develop it before they get to their adult life, where they may be able to showcase it more. It makes sense to start implementing foreign languages into younger students’ curriculum, and it is something that should be done. |
Category 1: IDEA DEVELOPMENT
* The column adequately develops a position and has a main idea with a focused topic, opinion and reasons for the opinion.
* Columnist states the claim early or strategically in the conclusion..
* The column uses at least two types of evidence to back up its reasons, and all reasons are supported with evidence.
* Provides integrated textual evidence with proper acknowledgement of information.
PRAISE: YOU DID A PHENOMENAL JOB OF DEVELOPING YOUR ARGUMENT AND QUICKLY USING EXAMPLES TO BACK IT UP. I LIKE HOW YOU STATED YOUR CLAIM AT THE BEGINNING.
Category 2: ORGANIZATION
* The persuasive column includes a main opinion at the beginning and a call to action at the end.
* It includes transitions that connect ideas, though they may be formulaic or predictable.
* Writer consistently separates ideas into distinct paragraphs.
* Includes a headline that connects to the main idea.
SUGGESTION: YOU COULD . . . . GIVE A MORE DETAILED CALL TO ACTION. POSSIBLY GIVE A STRATEGY THAT COULD BE IMPLEMENTED IN ORDER TO CREATE MORE FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AT YOUNGER AGES.
Category 3: STYLE
* Uses a tone that supports purpose and audience.
* Writer relates to, connects with, and appeals to their audience with ethos, pathos, and logos.
* Writer crafts persuasion with effective and appropriate rhetorical strategies (antithesis, rhetorical question, repetition, parallelism, juxtaposition).
* Grammar and mechanics are generally free from errors.
SUGGESTION: YOU COULD . . . . ADD IN THE ALTERNATIVE POINT OF VIEW- WHY IS IT NOT IMPLEMENTED? LACK OF TEACHERS? LACK OF RESOURCES? THIS IS OFTEN A SUREFIRE STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN YOUR ARGUMENT AND GIVE CREDIBILITY