When is the Ideal Age to Start Children's English Education? About 40% of Parents Answer "4 to 6 Years Old (Preschool)"

■ Actual Survey on Awareness and Starting Age of Children's English Education

As globalization advances, an increasing number of parents are taking an interest in their children's English education.

With English education starting earlier in schools, families frequently ponder "when is the best time to start."

On the other hand, many may feel uncertain, wondering "is it really necessary?" or "isn't it too early?"

Therefore, we conducted a survey jointly with Seiha English Academy, a children's English school, targeting 300 parents to understand the "actual awareness and starting age of children's English education."

* When citing the contents of this press release, please ensure the following:

- State that the source is a "survey by NEXER Inc. and Seiha English Academy."

- Provide a link to Seiha English Academy (https://english-academy.seiha.com/).

Survey Overview on "Awareness and Starting Age of Children's English Education"

Survey method: Internet questionnaire

Survey period: May 1 to May 11, 2026

Target audience: Parents with children

Valid responses: 300 samples

Questions:

Question 1: How important do you think children's English education is?

Question 2: Please select the reasons why you think children's English education is important. (Multiple answers allowed)

Question 3: Please select the reasons why you do not think children's English education is important. (Multiple answers allowed)

Question 4: When do you think is the ideal age to start English education?

Question 5: Please tell us why you think so.

Question 6: Are you currently providing or have you provided English education to your child?

Question 7: Do you think your child's English proficiency will broaden their future choices?

Question 8: Please tell us why you think your child's English proficiency will broaden their future choices. (Multiple answers allowed)

Question 9: Do you have any concerns or worries about your child's English education?

Question 10: What kind of concerns or worries do you have? (Multiple answers allowed)

* As a general rule, figures are rounded to one decimal place, so the total may not exactly equal 100%.

■ 72.6% Answered Children's English Education is "Important"

First, we asked how important they consider children's English education to be.

The results showed that 28.3% thought it was "very important" and 44.3% thought it was "somewhat important," meaning a combined 72.6% of parents answered it is "important." Meanwhile, 18.7% answered "cannot say either way," 4.7% "not very important," and 4.0% "not important at all."

It is evident that the necessity of children's English education is widely shared among the parenting generation.

■ 60.1% Cited "Necessary in a Global Society" as the Reason for Importance

Next, we asked those who answered that children's English education is "important" about their reasons.

The most common reason was "Because I think it's necessary in a global society" at 60.1%.

This was followed by "Because I think it will broaden employment and job choices" (59.6%), "Because I think it will be useful for higher education" (43.6%), and "Because it's easier to learn while they are young" (40.8%).

While practical perspectives looking toward societal changes and future careers occupied the top spots, answers focusing on the starting age, such as "easier to learn when young" and "early exposure prevents developing a dislike," also ranked highly.

This indicates that "when to start" is a major theme in English education.

■ 50.0% Cited "Few Opportunities to Use English in Japan" as the Reason for Unimportance

On the other hand, we also asked those who answered that children's English education is "not important" for their reasons.

The most common response was "Because there are few opportunities to use English in Japan" at 50.0%.

This was followed by "Because I want to prioritize Japanese first" (46.2%), "Because other experiences and abilities are more important than English" (38.5%), and both "No need to force learning from childhood" and "It's fine to wait until they show interest" at 30.8%.

The reasons for not considering it important reveal that rather than denying English itself, many voices prioritize "what to put first" or "when to begin."

■ 39.4% Consider "4 to 6 Years Old (Preschool)" the Ideal Starting Age

Next, we asked those who answered that children's English education is "important" about the ideal age to begin.

The most common answer was "4 to 6 years old (preschool)" at 39.4%.

This was followed by "early elementary school" (29.4%), "0 to 3 years old" (18.3%), and "late elementary school" (8.7%). Only a minority selected "junior high school" (2.3%) and "high school or later" (1.8%).

It is clear that many parents who value children's English education believe starting early, between preschool and early elementary school, is ideal.

We also asked for the reasons behind their answers, and here are some examples:

Those who answered "0 to 3 years old"

- I think it's beneficial to expose them to it just like their native language. (Female in her 30s)

- Making it familiar removes the feeling of "studying." (Female in her 30s)

- I believe earlier is better to achieve native-level conversation skills. (Female in her 40s)

Those who answered "4 to 6 years old (preschool)"

- I feel this is an optimal time for language learning when the brain is flexible. (Male in his 30s)

- I think learning before they recognize it as "studying" prevents them from disliking it. (Female in her 40s)

- Starting right after they learn Japanese prevents either language from being half-learned. (Male in his 40s)

Those who answered "Early elementary school"

- Even without reading and writing, they should get used to listening. I want to build interest in foreign countries and remove resistance. (Female in her 40s)

- I think early elementary schoolers have less resistance to new learning. (Male in his 40s)

Those who answered "Late elementary to junior high school"

- I think there's less confusion after the native language is firmly established. (Female in her 30s)

- I believe building a foundation in Japanese, the native language, is most important until the end of elementary school. (Female in her 30s)

While answers emphasizing the high-absorption period like "brain flexibility" and "before developing a dislike" were prominent, many cautious voices also emerged, such as "native language foundation first" and "so neither language ends up half-learned."

■ 39.4% Answered They "Are Providing or Have Provided" English Education

Lastly, we asked those who answered that children's English education is "important" if they are actually providing it to their children.

The results showed that 8.7% "are providing it" and 30.7% "have provided it," totaling 39.4% who have experience in engaging in children's English education. Meanwhile, 28.4% "have considered it" and 32.1% "have never considered it."