by Beth Butler
I cannot imagine anyone choosing to intentionally subtract something beneficial from the life of his or her child. Given the choice to add something to the daily routine of a child that has the potential to enhance their future years, I am certain most of us would choose to do just that. Let us explore the what, why, when and how of this addition choice.
Have you ever given thought to how different your life might be if your parents had chosen to enroll you in that summer enrichment program, that fall football camp or that study abroad during your school years? Often times simple decisions such as those shape who we become in our adult lives. I recall a good friend of mine who chose to live in Spain for a year of her college study. She met a native Spaniard and continues to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning a bed and breakfast in that beautiful country!
I myself had the great fortune to live as a exchange student during the summer of my junior year in high school, and now I own a company that utilizes the second language skills I acquired during those three valuable and life changing months. Allow us to use our imagination as our children so freely do to think back on a time in our lives when, choosing to add something to our life, could have truly changed the shape and direction of our futures.
As parents and teachers we often are faced with the challenges of communicating with others in various world languages. Many Americans are not bilingual and find that skill set something they wish they had concentrated on during their schools years. What if I told you that you have the tools and resources at your disposal to give your own children, your own students the gift of learning a second language before their elementary school years kick in?
First of all, you might be wondering when the best time is to introduce a second or third language to your child. Experts advise us to begin the second language journey as soon as possible in the early years. I have even heard about pregnant moms listening to music CDs that showcase two languages so that the child will be born recognizing the sounds of both! Imagine getting such a head start on a lifetime language skill.
What if I told you that should you choose to introduce a second (and third and fourth) language to a special young child in your life he will experience early reading skills along with advanced cognitive development. Simply stated, that young child will be smarter than his monolingual peers. It is a fact that many studies have explored and proven again and again. Being raised bilingually leads to higher standardized test scores, an increased ability in problem solving along with excellent communication skills.
The above pretty much covers the what, why and when. You should expose young children to world languages beyond their native language as early as possible because it increases their brainpower and will help them become lifetime language learners. Allow a young child to learn a new language before the age of eight to ten, and chances are that child will speak the target language with native or near native pronunciation. As we adults struggle with accent issues throughout our adult years we realize this is truly a gift we should give our young children.
Let us now explore the how to add in a language instead of subtracting language from the lives of our young children. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a parent exclaim that they will not allow a new language to enter the mind of their little one until she has mastered her native language. They come up with all kinds of myths, from she will be language delayed if she listens to bilingual music to she will be confused if we read to her in two languages.
Please let us clear the air now! All of those well meaning relatives, all of those trained pediatricians and all of those school staff members do not intentionally mislead us as parents and teachers. It is simply that there are two very divided schools of thought on this subject, and their beliefs rest in myths that are continually dispelled with recent research.
Truth is that you should add a language into the routine of your home or classroom from day one. Children need daily exposure to languages, both native and new, in order for the languages to become part of their natural speech. Meaning that allowing the child to hear both native and new languages within the same song, the same movie frame and the same book page provides for neural pathway connections that are part of successful language acquisition.
Your child should be allowed to hear the word bread and pan both so that she becomes comfortable with the flow between her native English and her new Spanish. This methodology is called a bilingual method that allows for a seamless flow between native and new languages. It works for any two languages you choose in introduce in a side-by-side manner. Try it! You will like it!
Not only does it allow your child to continue learning his native language it allows you, the adult in his life who may not know a lot of the new language, to feel a high level of comfort with the way in which the new language is being introduced. I know most of my peers who are parents and colleagues who are teachers much prefer having their native English in the picture as they begin to explore learning a new language with their children.
The answer to the how is to find products and programs that use a bilingual approach, an addition of the new language to the native language. Other methods insist on subtracting the native language out of the world of a young child for an hour, a song, a half-day and allowing her to hear only the target language. This method, often referred to as immersion, removes the point of reference for the child. Often times this method can lead to anxiety in the young child, illness or a sense of rebellion; thus finding the parent or teacher frustrated at the lack of performance on the part of the child.
Put yourself in the position of a young child who is having his native language subtracted from the picture of language learning. Do you really feel he is going to be excited about this new language when he is being forced to speak only in that language for an entire hour or an entire morning? Chances are that child will experience feelings of nervousness about the language-learning environment or, as the Boston Globe reported, even begin to lose sleep over the situation and experience negative medical side effects.
Choose the program and products that are right for you and your family. Listen to your gut! Most often following your instincts with parenting and teaching is the right way to go, and it's no different when it comes to second language learning!
About the author: Wife, Mother, Teacher, Entrepreneur, Speaker. Creator of award-winning Spanish/English bilingual educational resources for children for use as early as birth. Visit www.BocaBeth.com to sample the music and movies for free.
I cannot imagine anyone choosing to intentionally subtract something beneficial from the life of his or her child. Given the choice to add something to the daily routine of a child that has the potential to enhance their future years, I am certain most of us would choose to do just that. Let us explore the what, why, when and how of this addition choice.
Have you ever given thought to how different your life might be if your parents had chosen to enroll you in that summer enrichment program, that fall football camp or that study abroad during your school years? Often times simple decisions such as those shape who we become in our adult lives. I recall a good friend of mine who chose to live in Spain for a year of her college study. She met a native Spaniard and continues to fulfill a lifelong dream of owning a bed and breakfast in that beautiful country!
I myself had the great fortune to live as a exchange student during the summer of my junior year in high school, and now I own a company that utilizes the second language skills I acquired during those three valuable and life changing months. Allow us to use our imagination as our children so freely do to think back on a time in our lives when, choosing to add something to our life, could have truly changed the shape and direction of our futures.
As parents and teachers we often are faced with the challenges of communicating with others in various world languages. Many Americans are not bilingual and find that skill set something they wish they had concentrated on during their schools years. What if I told you that you have the tools and resources at your disposal to give your own children, your own students the gift of learning a second language before their elementary school years kick in?
First of all, you might be wondering when the best time is to introduce a second or third language to your child. Experts advise us to begin the second language journey as soon as possible in the early years. I have even heard about pregnant moms listening to music CDs that showcase two languages so that the child will be born recognizing the sounds of both! Imagine getting such a head start on a lifetime language skill.
What if I told you that should you choose to introduce a second (and third and fourth) language to a special young child in your life he will experience early reading skills along with advanced cognitive development. Simply stated, that young child will be smarter than his monolingual peers. It is a fact that many studies have explored and proven again and again. Being raised bilingually leads to higher standardized test scores, an increased ability in problem solving along with excellent communication skills.
The above pretty much covers the what, why and when. You should expose young children to world languages beyond their native language as early as possible because it increases their brainpower and will help them become lifetime language learners. Allow a young child to learn a new language before the age of eight to ten, and chances are that child will speak the target language with native or near native pronunciation. As we adults struggle with accent issues throughout our adult years we realize this is truly a gift we should give our young children.
Let us now explore the how to add in a language instead of subtracting language from the lives of our young children. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard a parent exclaim that they will not allow a new language to enter the mind of their little one until she has mastered her native language. They come up with all kinds of myths, from she will be language delayed if she listens to bilingual music to she will be confused if we read to her in two languages.
Please let us clear the air now! All of those well meaning relatives, all of those trained pediatricians and all of those school staff members do not intentionally mislead us as parents and teachers. It is simply that there are two very divided schools of thought on this subject, and their beliefs rest in myths that are continually dispelled with recent research.
Truth is that you should add a language into the routine of your home or classroom from day one. Children need daily exposure to languages, both native and new, in order for the languages to become part of their natural speech. Meaning that allowing the child to hear both native and new languages within the same song, the same movie frame and the same book page provides for neural pathway connections that are part of successful language acquisition.
Your child should be allowed to hear the word bread and pan both so that she becomes comfortable with the flow between her native English and her new Spanish. This methodology is called a bilingual method that allows for a seamless flow between native and new languages. It works for any two languages you choose in introduce in a side-by-side manner. Try it! You will like it!
Not only does it allow your child to continue learning his native language it allows you, the adult in his life who may not know a lot of the new language, to feel a high level of comfort with the way in which the new language is being introduced. I know most of my peers who are parents and colleagues who are teachers much prefer having their native English in the picture as they begin to explore learning a new language with their children.
The answer to the how is to find products and programs that use a bilingual approach, an addition of the new language to the native language. Other methods insist on subtracting the native language out of the world of a young child for an hour, a song, a half-day and allowing her to hear only the target language. This method, often referred to as immersion, removes the point of reference for the child. Often times this method can lead to anxiety in the young child, illness or a sense of rebellion; thus finding the parent or teacher frustrated at the lack of performance on the part of the child.
Put yourself in the position of a young child who is having his native language subtracted from the picture of language learning. Do you really feel he is going to be excited about this new language when he is being forced to speak only in that language for an entire hour or an entire morning? Chances are that child will experience feelings of nervousness about the language-learning environment or, as the Boston Globe reported, even begin to lose sleep over the situation and experience negative medical side effects.
Choose the program and products that are right for you and your family. Listen to your gut! Most often following your instincts with parenting and teaching is the right way to go, and it's no different when it comes to second language learning!
About the author: Wife, Mother, Teacher, Entrepreneur, Speaker. Creator of award-winning Spanish/English bilingual educational resources for children for use as early as birth. Visit www.BocaBeth.com to sample the music and movies for free.
