Your child is born with the ability to communicate and learn many different languages. Research consistently shows the benefit given to children who are exposed to a second language and the specific ways in which the second language learning positively impacts a child's potential.
Children who learn a second language in settings where they are able to learn in both their mother tongues and in the second language simultaneously are given many linguistic and cognitive benefits across many key learning domains.
The effects and benefits of second language acquisition are long lasting and include the following:
Children who learn a second language in settings where they are able to learn in both their mother tongues and in the second language simultaneously are given many linguistic and cognitive benefits across many key learning domains.
The effects and benefits of second language acquisition are long lasting and include the following:
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Bilingual children are better able to focus their attention on relevant information and ignore distractions. Executive functioning, used for planning, judgment, working memory, problem-solving, and staying focused on what’s relevant is stronger in bilinguals. During speech, both languages are active, and the brain has to work to suppress one language while the other is being used. Bilingual children in dual-immersion schools have been shown to score higher on both verbal and math standardized tests conducted in English and also display stronger logic skills. |
Bilinguals have increased mental flexibility and creativity. When a child learns that there is more than one word for an object, it stretches her mind in new ways, producing greater mental flexibility and creativity by creating two windows through which the world can be viewed. Lev Vygotsky stated that “bilingualism frees the mind from the prison of concrete language and phenomena." The brain's effects of aging are diminished in bilingual adults. Understanding another language may decrease the incidence of Alzheimer's disease in later years. |
How does the brain learn language? What is importance of the mother tongue?
Language development starts before birth when the child hears his first sounds and associated emotions from his mother. From that moment onward, the child uses this language to express his thoughts and feelings. Successful attainment of language greatly impacts his ability to read later in life. Understanding the environment, the relationship with others, and the development of thoughts as well as concepts at a later age, all happen through the first language - the native language or the ‘mother tongue.' The mother tongue is an essential instrument. During identity development, the mother tongue assists a child in developing his relationship with his parents, family members, extended family, friends, his past, future, and even his own culture. The mother tongue provides a foundation for managing other languages. Learning a second language happens through the mother tongue.
When do children begin to learn a second language at Cambridge?
Learning a second language begins the day your child enters our school. While we remain a "mother tongue" focused school, we do believe that increasing exposure to a second language in healthy proportion to the mother tongue makes for solid language foundations in both languages. A child in our infant program will have a daily ratio of 90:10 mother tongue (MT) to second language (SL) while a child in the Rising Three's classroom may be ready for 50/50 MT:SL and a Pre-K student might be learning at an 80:20 level depending on when the child began at the school and their appetite and abilities in language. We treat each child individually in order to meet his/her to meet unique needs and aptitudes.
What happens in the classroom?
Parents want to know HOW we introduce a second language to their children, and the answer is simple - the same way a child learned his mother tongue. A visitor to our school will not find a group of students conjugating verbs or memorizing words. Our teachers understand that the more we learn through songs. games, interesting and interactive conversations the more language the child will learn. Reading books, singing, playing word games, and simply interacting with children around a common interest builds vocabulary and comprehension while providing increased opportunities to enhance listening skills. Children learn by engaging in daily, cumulative interactions and experiences that involve rich vocabulary and exciting activities. By the age of 5, many children enter kindergarten programs, making language competency vital for navigating and participating in the classroom community. Our creative ways of encouragement and our implementation of both languages often result in dual-language proficiency and fluency when a child attends all five years of the program..
Language is the vehicle for instruction in all our classrooms across all learning domains. No matter how much second-language exposure you decide is right for your child, we will help ensure that he or she meets his or her learning and developmental goals equally in both languages.
Language is the vehicle for instruction in all our classrooms across all learning domains. No matter how much second-language exposure you decide is right for your child, we will help ensure that he or she meets his or her learning and developmental goals equally in both languages.
What if my child doesn't seem to want to learn a second language?
At Cambridge, learning is always fun, challenging, and rewarding. Teachers of young children understand that children communicate their knowledge using the safest method possible. This may mean children use the language spoken at home, the second language, or a mixture of both. We recognize that there will be children who are more interested in speaking and learning in their mother tongue - however, this does not mean they are not learning the second language. Children enjoy listening, aquiring knowlege and often showing their abilities when they feel confident in the growth process. Those children who do not yet communicate in the second language are always learning and display their compentency when they feel safe to do so and when they feel comfortable.
We also know that children are easily persuaded when the learning experience is unforgettable, meets them where they "are" developmentally, and provides them with a feeling of personal accomplishment. As with all of our learning experiences, we focus on the individual child's developmental needs first and create provocations and experiences to help promote the acquisition of the second language in tandem.
Typically, once an English-speaking child is easily conversant in his mother tongue and has attained sufficient vocabulary in Spanish, Spanish is spoken more readily and openly and with more confidence. Our biggest goal and responsibility is to help your child learn, love to learn, and succeed as a learner of all things, Spanish language is an added bonus!
We also know that children are easily persuaded when the learning experience is unforgettable, meets them where they "are" developmentally, and provides them with a feeling of personal accomplishment. As with all of our learning experiences, we focus on the individual child's developmental needs first and create provocations and experiences to help promote the acquisition of the second language in tandem.
Typically, once an English-speaking child is easily conversant in his mother tongue and has attained sufficient vocabulary in Spanish, Spanish is spoken more readily and openly and with more confidence. Our biggest goal and responsibility is to help your child learn, love to learn, and succeed as a learner of all things, Spanish language is an added bonus!