Lane Cove has a bit of a latin feeling about it at the moment, with many new residents coming from South America. Spanish Teacher Carolina Posadas from InSpanish tells us why learning a second language is a good idea. Did you know that your child does not have to master a language to receive the benefits of a bilingual mind?
7 clear and tangible facts why YOUR CHILD will THRIVE LEARNING A SECOND LANGUAGE
More and more studies are showing the advantages, apart from the communication perspective, of learning a second language as a child. Research shows there is no need to reach a bilingual level to get some of these benefits. So, if your child learns or gets exposed to more than one language that will show you results too. This is good news for parents who are not bilingual themselves, yet want their children to enjoy some of the benefits of their children learning a second language.
So let’s take a look why it is worth it:
- INCREASES SOCIAL SKILLS: a recent study shows that if your child is exposed to a second language she/ he will be more empathetic and better at understanding what the speaker meant, by being able to see things from their perspective. Also your child’s self-confidence, self-esteem, resilience, and tolerance are increased.
- IMPROVES COGNITIVE AND ANALYTICAL SKILLS: if your child learns two languages in early childhood a whole host of cognitive abilities will improve, making the brain more adept at switching between tasks, focusing in a busy environment, and remembering things. Also, your child’s critical thinking is increased along with their ability to transfer skills across languages.
- INCREASES ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: if you child gets exposed to a second language he/she learns about how languages work and their literacy skills are enhanced because a clear link exists between learning another language and literacy development in English.
- MAINTAINS BRAIN HEALTH: Speaking more than one language helps the brain stay healthy throughout life. Being fluent in two or more languages is one of the best ways to keep the brain fit and keep away from degenerative disorders like dementia. So the earlier your child starts the better!
- ENHANCES CULTURAL AWARENESS: It is important for a child to know about the world and learning a second language is excellent to increase cultural awareness. If you would like your child to be open-minded and feel connected to other cultures and to the world giving him/her the opportunity to learn another language it is a great way to do it.
- INCREASES CAREER OPPORTUNITIES: your child’s work possibilities will be greater in an increasingly globalised market. Bilingual or multilingual managers are also increasingly valued and sought after. Recruiters and industry leaders consider them to be better equipped to manage both global business relationships and teams.
- IT IS EASIER TO LEARN AS A CHILD: if you give your child the opportunity to learn a language as a kid he /she will use both parts of the brain. If children learn a second language before the age of five, more neural connections are created in their brains, enabling them – among other things – to more easily differentiate between the sounds of different languages. That is the reason why it gets harder as you get older.
In conclusion, you are truly giving your child a gift for life if you give them the opportunity to learn a second language.
Why not book into one of InSpanish lessons? Spanish is what we call a “Romance” language, meaning that it is based on Latin. Many English words are also of Latin origin, and so when he/she learns vocabulary in Spanish he/she will simultaneously be expanding your English vocabulary. Spanish uses the same alphabet as English (with the exception of ñ only in the Español alphabet ). Most of the letters are pronounced the same as in English. It is also phonetic which means that if you know how a word is spelled, you can almost always know how it is pronounced.
Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language in the world (excluding English). It is the official language of 21 countries and a few others have a bilingual population where Spanish is also widely spoken.
Spanish music, books, movies and gastronomy from South America to Spain are great things to learn about. And as they grow older appreciate literary (from Miguel Cervantes to Gabriel Garcia Marquez), and arts (from Goya, Picasso, and Dali). Spanish is a passionate language. Spanish speaking people use a lot of gestures while talking and children love expressing themselves using their whole body which also makes it easier to learn.
Where? Lane Cove Library. To check class days and times visit: www.inspanish.com.au
Contact: Carolina Posadas:
[email protected]
Phone: 0408 559 300
This is a sponsored post.
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