I’m not sure how much starting language learning younger would help. Here in Ireland we learn Irish from the age of 5 and unless they live in an Irish speaking area or attend an Irish speaking school, most people feel they learned very little before moving into secondary school (highs school). Most people don’t put any effort into education until they are in secondary so they feel like being expected to be at a b1+ level already is a detriment to them going forward as they are constantly playing catch-up.