Education minister said promoting plan to start teaching English in preschool

Proposal would see kids spend 15-30 minutes a day on activities tied to the international language

By ToI Staff 11 February 2022, 10:12 am 2

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Children at a kindergarten in Moshav Yashresh, September 5, 2021 (Yossi Aloni/Flash90)

Education Minister Yifat Shasha-Biton is promoting a plan to start teaching English as early as preschool, Channel 13 reported Thursday.

Currently, English studies in Israel begin in third grade. The network noted that in Europe, children often get their first exposure to English during preschool.

The new plan would see kids spend 15-30 minutes a day on activities tied to English studies. According to the network, the program has various challenges to overcome, among them training teachers to instruct in the language.

The Israeli population generally has a high English proficiency level, with most people being able to conduct at least basic conversation in the language. Jobs in the burgeoning tech industry in the country usually demand good English skills.

In addition, a good amount of the entertainment Israelis consume is in English, also helping acquaintance with the language (unlike the practice in many countries, movies and television shows for adults are not dubbed).