Parents’ Perceptions On Introducing English As A Foreign Language To Their Children At Their Early Age.

This study aims at investigating parents’ perception toward introducing English to children at early age and parents’ reasons to let their children learn English at early age. In this research, the researcher used purposive sampling in choosing the sample. There were 26 participants chosen in Tarbiyah Faculty of UIN Ar-Raniry who have children around the age of 2-7 years old. The participants consisted of 2 lecturers from each department of Tarbiyah Faculty. The instrument used in this research was an online questionnaire. The researcher found a positive attitude among participants toward introducing English to children at early age. The researcher found five reasons why parents perceive early introduction to English is significant. They were: early introduction to English is fun for children, it is a supporting skill for the children future, it can develop basic communication skills in English, and it makes children at a better level of mastery. There were three ways that all parents chose to utilize when they started introducing English to children. They were: doing repetition as often as possible, providing pictures with English vocabulary at home, and using everyday situations and real objects from around the house to practice the language naturally and in context.