LEBANESE TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS TOWARD THE APPROPRIATE AGE TO INTRODUCE A THIRD LANGUAGE

Public and private schools in Lebanon teach Arabic as a first language and either English or French as a second Language starting from Kindergarten. However concerning teaching a third language there are many arguments that the younger the child is the better in acquiring a third language she or he will be. In this paper, the researchers investigated the teachers’ perceptions of the most suitable grade or age for the introduction of a third language. The study was conducted on a sample that consisted of 21 Kindergarten and Grade Seven language teachers, who had different years of experience, in 6 different private schools in Lebanon. The schools were selected based on their practices in introducing a third language. The researchers used questionnaires to collect data about the teachers’ perceptions of the suitable grade level to introduce a third language in schools. This paper demonstrated the extent to which student age and language acquisition were related according to the views of Kindergarten and Grade Seven language teachers.