It cannot
be denied that the previous ten to fifteen years have witnessed the advanced
expansion of globalisation and the diversification of our society, this has
ensured that the ability to speak to an additional language is regarded as one
of the most desired skills. This is especially evident in the UK where the number
of individuals with the ability to speak a second, third or fourth language is
the lowest in Europe.
Fortunately
for us native English speakers, our mother-tongue is currently the lingua franca of the world and is one of, if not the most desired language to learn,
which is demonstrated by the numerous English language schools that have
continued to be setup across the World. However, the ability to speak another
language fluently and opening one’s mind to learning about and embracing other
cultures can offer a plethora of overwhelming positive benefits to one’s life.
The ability to express oneself and communicate with others in a foreign tongue
opens up new avenues within both the social and professional spheres. This offers
the ability to live and work in countries around the world; native English
speakers are very much in demand across the globe, especially those with the
ability to speak the local language at a proficient level.
Sadly, as
our years advance it becomes more challenging to learn an additional language,
therefore an increasing number of parents are enrolling their children into
nurseries that offer lessons and dedicated teaching in a foreign language. This
is the case for my granddaughter who attends a nursery in Brighton and is
already beginning to master the basic of the language at such a young age, and
more importantly, as the language is being taught via songs and games, she is
genuinely is enjoying herself.
Exposing a
child to language learning at a young age, especially their pre-school years,
is likely to lead to an enhanced ability to speak additional languages and benefit
from fluency later on in their lives. When they are infants, children are able
to develop enhanced language skills due to the way in which their brains
develop throughout this stage of development.
There is also
the enviable luxury that they do not possess the inevitable self-conscious
trait that us adults develop as the years pass us by and we begin to get afraid
of making mistakes. There is also the important benefit that once they aged
between 8-12, while they possess an enviable capacity to learn and retain
information, children are unable to retain and reproduce new sounds as they
were able to when they were younger – while foreign language acquisition is by
no means impossible to attain at this age, it is considerably more difficult
when compared to the preceding years.
Another
important consideration is that not only does learning a foreign language ensure
that the child is afforded more education and professional opportunities, studies
have also highlighted that those children who learn languages at a younger age
are more likely to attain cogitative advantages over their peers, including
increased skills in problem-solving and creativity.
In
addition, there is also the following added benefits:
·
Enhanced critical thinking skills
·
Better memory
·
They can cope better with the demands of multi-tasking and
possess increased flexibility of the mind
It should not come as a surprise that the aforementioned skills
will assist in enhanced performance in the world of academia. This is especially
with these children developing strong skills in mathematics, as well as having
enhanced proficiency in their native language compared to their peers.
It is evident that in addition to opening up additional opportunities
to live and work in other countries, there are numerous benefits of introducing
a child to an additional language during their pre-school years.
The enhanced ability to retain the new target language will
ensure that by the time they are attending Primary and eventually Secondary
education, the child will be proficient enough in the target language to retain
motivation and continue to develop their language development. There is also
the additional benefit that they will be more likely to be able to cope with
the rigours of the educational system and examinations during the later years
of secondary education.
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