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Today I taught two and three year olds English. Let me just repeat that two years old Japanese children take English lessons. At an age where they are barely able to speak Japanese, I am teaching them how to say stand up, this is red and she is a girl in English. I have said again how disgusting I think it is that in England we don`t learn a foreign language until we are 11 at the minimum and I`m sure that if we all made an effort to learn other people`s languages and integrate ourselves and understand other people`s cultures better then the world will be a better place and we can all go flower picking in the sunshine together. This is mostly tongue in cheek but you get the idea.

There are many levels of proficiency in a language - beginner, intermediate, advanced, fluent and native level. In my opinion you can`t get to a native level of a foreign language (or concert level in an instrument) without one of two things:

Learning from as soon as possible after being born (ideally before 4) or living in the country for five years or more. This is why I was so impressed with the children today. Good luck to them all..

It makes me angry that English speakers say there`s no point in learning a foreign language as everyone speaks English. That is an excuse not a reason. England especially is a bad case.

Of course teaching two and three year olds is difficult. Their parents were present with them and their harsh and unblinking stare when I asked their precious firstborns difficult questions was unnerving. I also taught two girls and then two boys with little and great success respectively. I sang songs. “Do you know the clean up song?” she asked me before the lesson started. No (of course I don`t.) Do you?