This is a short anecdote about two boys, 5 and 7, whom I taught in Beijing. They were not very interested in learning, but we managed to cover all the phonics, and both students performed exceptionally well, when they could be bothered.
The older boy picked up my Ph. D.-level econometrics book, opened it at a random page, and read the first paragraph flawlessly. I was amazed, the kid was 7! and exceeded my expectations. His mother looked at me and said, "But he doesn't understand it!" I couldn't help but smile; I answered that I didn't understand any of it until I was thirty. She completely missed the fact that a 7-year-old can read a Ph.D level text on a subject that is non-trivial in language use.
Anyway, we were all on holiday in Portugal when some kids came to stay in the villa next door, and I swear to you, the boys' English improved more in that one week than in all the years I had been tutoring them. From that week on, they were as close to native speakers as you could imagine. The message in this tale, it's the usage experience the learner has that makes their interest levels increase and teachers and parents need to organize more events where cross language opportunities are available.
