More and more people of all ages are travelling abroad, whether that is for leisure, education or business. As the workplace becomes internationalised, ourselves and our children will benefit and prosper from learning an additional language and embracing different cultures. The importance of gaining this life skill has become increasingly important in recent years.
Learning another language is no easy task, and can seem particularly daunting at the beginning, as you lose yourself in a whirlwind of possessives, plurals and tenses. Learning a completely different set of linguistic structures is extremely difficult but, as with many things, the younger you start to practise other foreign languages, the better.
What are the Benefits of Learning a Language at a Young Age?
Learning another language has numerous benefits, including improving all-around cognitive skills and enhancing soft skills such as problem-solving, empathising with others and critical thinking; all things we are keen to encourage here at our Devon-based preparatory school!
Improved Brain Function
Various studies and research suggest that learning a second language promotes cognitive functions amongst children. The benefits include improved memory, enhanced multi-tasking abilities, impulse control, problem-solving, critical thinking skills and creativity amongst many others.
Better at Gathering and Retaining Information
As a child, acquiring new information appears to be easier than later on in life. The bilingual brain is particularly effective at putting this into practice.
Mia Nacamulli from the World Education Services has spoken widely on the development of children’s brains, stating: ‘Children learn languages more easily because the plasticity of their developing brains lets them use both hemispheres in language acquisition.’
Due to heightened neuroplasticity in the developing brain, learning a language can create strong neural pathways which increase skills such as information retention and recall speed.
Switching between two languages is a mental workout and, much like exercising our other muscles, it’s key to strengthening and reinforcing ‘executive functioning’, which includes adaptable thinking, working memory and organisation. These elements are also used when practising multiplication, another important skill for children to develop.
Encourages Outside-The-Box Thinking
Learning a second language has been shown to increase creativity and problem-solving skills, both of which will help pupils in all walks of life in the future. Acquiring languages helps children to see the world differently, and the ability to consider and understand multiple points of view is an essential part of problem-solving.
Less Likely to Have an Accent
Individuals are much less likely to speak a second language with an accent if they have learnt it at a younger age. This is because an immature brain is more receptive which allows them to adopt new sounds and pronunciation more easily. Those who learn a language while they are still young will accept and retain new patterns of speech and sounds that they hear, mimicking the language being taught, rather than adding the twang of their mother-tongue.
This is providing the language is not taught with an accent and is also dependant on the child’s self-awareness and confidence. Here at St Peter’s French is taught by two native French speakers who are currently in France with our Year 7 children on a week’s residential trip in Normandy. As a child develops inhibitions, they are less likely to embrace the correct pronunciation, which may result in their own accent being present while they speak the second language.
Young Children Learn with Ease
As the saying goes, ‘children’s minds are like sponges’ and this is no different when it comes to learning a language. As we age, our minds become less flexible and this rigidity of thinking can often result in difficulty in learning something new, like a language. A younger brain is continually developing and remains open to creativity and adaption in their thinking which in turn, allows them to absorb and retain a second language with more ease.
This can also be applied to grammar, spelling and sentence structures. As adults, an understanding of a language’s rules regarding grammar and sentence structure can often obstruct the ability to adopt the rules of the second language that they are learning. A child’s naivety to, or inexperience with, the rules of their mother-tongue allows them to embrace and adhere to the rules of the second language.
Appreciation of Other Cultures
When a child is introduced to a language at a young age, their understanding of the world and the cultures within it is enhanced. For many children, it can be difficult to comprehend an environment greater than what is within their individual life. It can be equally challenging for them to grasp that within these unfamiliar environments there are differences in lifestyles, for example, the language that is spoken, climate and development of the country, amongst other factors.
Learning another language from a young age increases the ability to appreciate and comprehend another culture. They will have a better representation of the world and the diversity within it.
Empathy
This broader cultural appreciate can increase a capacity for empathy and understanding of others.
Communication with another person in their native language can nurture friendships and widen one’s social network. Nacamulli also believes learning an additional ‘language in childhood may give you a more holistic grasp of its social and emotional contexts.’
Further studies have shown that children who speak more than one language are more likely to grasp other perspectives and show increased empathy. Language shapes our everyday experience, and so it is unsurprising that learning another language can allow a learner to more readily put oneself in another’s shoes.
Contributes Towards Native Language Skills
The age-old myth that learning a second language is confusing for children is well and truly outdated, with research showing that children who study a foreign language also perform better in their native language than monolingual children.
The conclusive studies also found that children learning a second language began to read at a higher level from an earlier age and were better at identifying grammatically incorrect sentences than non-bilingual children.
Learning more about the rules and regulations of other languages only cements the knowledge of your own and there are, in fact, various cross-country similarities that make things easier.
Fiction Writing and Imagination
One inspirational linguist who is known for his mastery of many languages is the author of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkein. He spoke 35 different languages, ranging from Old Norse to Russian.
Tolkein’s series is famed for uniting myth, imagination and elements of the real world; the author even invented his own Elvish language!
In his own words, the basis for his passion for linguistics was a love of learning; he explained, ‘no language is studied merely as an aid to other purposes. It will, in fact, better serve other purposes, philological or historical, when it is studied for love, for itself.’
Advantage in the Workplace
Adults that are bi/multilingual are typically in higher demand in the job market. For this reason, the opportunities available to them are increased. There is a broad and diverse selection of industries that require their employees to be bilingual or multilingual and the requirement for people with these skills is always increasing. A candidate who can speak one, two or more foreign languages presents an attractive proposition to a variety of industries, whether that is in tourism, law, education, healthcare or communication, amongst many others.
The competitive advantage of the ability to effectively communicate in another language, interpret and translate on behalf of the company you are representing contributes to an invaluable employee, one with greater job security and in all likelihood, a higher wage.
Keeps the Brain Healthy
There have been some studies that prove bilingualism helps to prevent age-related cognitive decline and could delay Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia by four and a half years. Experts hypothesise that by improving the brain’s executive function, those who speak a second language develop what’s known as a cognitive reserve, which in turn delays symptoms of dementia.
How to Encourage Your Child to Practise a Second Language
With all of this in mind, what can you do to encourage your child to enjoy learning a second language at home?
Play Games
One fun, interactive way to encourage your child to practise another language is to play word games with them around the house. You could label items in the fridge such as orange juice or milk, and then your little one has to repeat the word or practise their memory skills by removing the labels one by one.
Nearly all classic games such as ‘I spy’ can be turned into a fun language game! Don’t worry if you’re not fluent in a second language, as this could be a wonderful opportunity to learn alongside and bond with your child.
If you’re looking for time-efficient games, perhaps incorporate the language practice into your everyday routines, for example, practising phrases surrounding household jobs or listening to songs in different languages whilst doing the washing up!
Storytime
Another engaging way to learn a second language is through the magic of storytelling. The initiative One Third Stories does exactly that; the story starts in English and finishes in a different language.
There are even audiobooks to accompany the physical books, meaning your little one can practise before or after you’ve read the book together. Another great resource to read universally well-loved stories in different languages can be found on World Stories.
Local Language Groups
Connecting with others (for whom perhaps your chosen language is their native tongue) is a fantastic way to nurture friendships and cultural exchanges. You could take a look into whether there are any language cafes in your nearby area and whether they host any events for children which you could accompany them to.
Perhaps, under your supervision, you could also look for a pen-pal for your child, and they could practise their written language skills.
Apps
Another fun suggestion for children to learn a new language is to use language-based apps such as Duolingo for kids, DinoLingo and PimTrack. These apps make it easy for kids to track their own progress and present information in an approachable way.
With daily rewards and accomplishments, these apps are likely to support your child’s learning of a second language.
Do you support and encourage your child to be passionate about learning another language? Here at St Peter’s independent preschool, Devon, we aim to inspire children to speak another language and provide a structured learning environment that assists them with doing so.
With Spanish and French classes on offer during the school day, we are sure your child will enjoy learning a language at St Peter’s Prep!
