Advantages of Bilingual Learning
When my family and I moved to the Palouse (or returned to the Palouse after going to college here over a decade ago), we had a one month old baby boy. One of my postpartum/Covid lockdown hobbies at the time was searching for what school my son and future kids would go to in this area once they were old enough. Since I was working so hard to teach them Spanish when Spanish is technically my 3rd language, I felt that a bilingual school would be ideal so that my kids don’t lose their Spanish after all we went through to speak it to them as their first language (more on that later).
Turns out there wasn’t a single group, school, program, class, library resource, nothing! The only such thing we’ve found is a library run “Spanglish club” in Colfax (about 25 minutes away) that we’ve attended, and it was about 5 people (mostly seniors) wanting to practice their Spanish, nothing specifically for kids. This left me confused.. how is there no bilingual learning of any language, for any age group in this area??
Below you will see the list of reasons why no bilingualism baffles me:)
Benefits of learning a second language at an early age:
Improves Memory: Learning another language improves both short term and long term memory. It engages memoization skills such as learning new words and rules, as well as recall. There are also studies that show learning a second language helps prevent Alzheimers disease!
Career Advantages: Starting with a second language or more than one language at an early age makes it more likely the child will be fluent, because they are “little sponges” when they’re young. Their brains are language learning machines when they’re little, therefore if they continue practicing the target language throughout life, they will have a HUGE skill to add to their resume for any job, setting them apart from the other candidates, and with college applications too.
Boosts Brain Function: Our brains are a muscle, and learning another language forces children to flex brain muscles that otherwise wouldn’t be flexed, improving their brain development in many different ways including areas in the brain we use for planning, problem-solving, concentration, and multitasking.
Stronger Communication Skills: There is evidence that learning another language boosts empathy and is a key trait for success in learning a second language. (I know that is true for me, I have more than enough patience for anyone with a thick accent or broken English, because I have been that person in other countries with my broken Spanish:) '
More creativity: Bilingual children exhibit more creativity in problem-solving and flexibility. This possibly results from the thought processes involved in translation, language switching, and a willingness to learn and adapt.
Convinced yet? :)
We’re here to help you give your child the opportunity to learn some Spanish at a young age, so they can benefit from all of the above! I know from watching my own son, that it is seriously amazing to see their language skills develop in multiple languages. He’s currently just starting to form sentences in English after speaking and hearing Spanish the first 3.5 years of his life, and watching him figure out the formulas of the language, and how to translate from Spanish to English is mind-blowing. He amazes others everywhere we go too! I’m so proud of him, and I know you’ll feel proud of your little one too!
