Foreign Language Education
The Earlier, the Better!
There are few things that can give your child a boost and prepare them for a successful future like learning a foreign language at a young age. Young children absorb a second language easily and naturally, while also developing a native-like accent. But did you know that confidence and self-esteem also improve when a child learns another language?
Studies have shown that young language learners have an enhanced self-concept, as well as a stronger sense of achievement in school. They demonstrate improved problem-solving skills, multi-tasking skills, and heightened creativity. They perform better in reading and math on standardized tests in elementary school, and score higher on SATs in high school. These real cognitive benefits promote success in all academic areas, which in turn increase a child’s sense of confidence in any classroom.
“It goes without saying that she is learning Spanish,” says the parent of Leah, a three-year-old child enrolled in a foreign language program for kids. The benefits that Leah’s mother is seeing? Foreign language has “enabled her to blossom and become the self-confident, verbal, and happy child I see today.”
This confidence spills over into achievement in other areas. Children are more likely to try new pursuits and explore the larger world around them via local cultural opportunities, travel, or study abroad opportunities down the road.
According to the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), there is a wealth of academic research supporting the many benefits of foreign language education while young, including the ability to hypothesize in science, and improved performance when young learners reach college age.
How young should children get started? “The earlier the better,” says Karen Gould, Education Director at Language Stars. “The ‘Window of Opportunity’ to build these key skills is strongest between birth and age ten. That’s why we start programs for parents and tots as young as one year old.”
The benefits extend far into life. According to ACTFL, there are also numerous research studies connecting bilingualism or multi-lingualism to improved memory skills, greater cultural sensitivity, and the delay of age-related cognitive losses. In short, foreign language learning is great exercise for your brain that you should start as early as possible and keep up throughout your life in order to keep up your brain.