TOEFL  - Speaking
Question 2
<<<Previous    IBT Q2, TOEFL IBT Sample 2    Next>>>

Directions: In this question, you will be asked to give your opinion about a familiar topic. After you hear the question, you will have 15 seconds to prepare your response and 45 seconds to speak.

Some people say that when a child moves to a new country, he should only be taught in the native language of his new country. Others think that it is better to teach in a bilingual method to help the children adjust. Which method do you think is better? Use details and examples to support your opinion.

 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Answer

I think it is better to teach a young child only in the native language of his new country. But, the older a child is when he first arrives in his new country, the harder it is going to be for him to learn the new language. Because it is safe to assume that a child who has recently arrived in a new country with his parents will speak his first language at home, that child should speak and be surrounded with his new language as much as possible everywhere else so that he will quickly and more efficiently pick it up and be able to function with it. When a child who moves to a new country is a little older, I think a bilingual teaching method would be better to help them adjust to their new language. Maybe a child past third grade should have bilingual education to adjust, and a child in a lower grade could be put straight into their native language class.