W hen I was growing up in Los Angeles during the 1950s, the L.A. County Board of Education decided that the children of the city should learn Spanish. While the language was not made compulsory, it was taught to us regularly with the usual visual aids, such as pictures of elephants, giraffes, mountains and apples. I learned how to count from 1-10 and sing "How Much is that Doggy in the Window?" in Spanish.

I still know the numbers, but, alas, the Spanish words to the song have faded from memory. Luckily we lived in a neighborhood full of Mexicans. I was introduced to the delights of tortillas, burritos and refried beans, as well as to a slew of potent Spanish swear words, at a tender age. It was only at university that I came to appreciate the immense depth of Mexican culture, thanks to contact with its music and its wonderful modern painters.

This may sound like a strange introduction to an article about foreign language education at primary school, but I believe that it is relevant. There is a definite movement in Japan today to introduce compulsory English classes in primary schools. The aim is to give Japanese children a grounding in English vocabulary and pronunciation, and presumably familiarize them with aspects of life in English-speaking countries. I cannot help but think that compulsory English-language education at the primary level is a frightful waste of time and resources.