Why you should teach your child a foreign language

Why you should teach your child a foreign language?

From: Foreign Language Fun

Children have such amazing brains! They absorb everything around them at lightning speeds. It is important not to underestimate a young child’s ability. As parents, we certainly want the best for our children, allowing them to reach their potential. Teaching your child a second language, even while he is still developing his first language, has some real benefits. It is good for brain and communicative development and will have lasting benefits that will be seen later in life.

Good for development

Teaching your child a foreign language at a young age is good for his overall development. Some think that if you start too young, it will confuse a child, keeping him from learning English correctly. That is simply not true. Learning another language actually enhances children’s linguistic abilities. They tend to learn faster, with more comprehension than a child learning just one language. Children that are learning or have learned a foreign language when they are real young tend to do better in school and on standardized tests. They also tend to be more creative and better at problem solving. It is never too early to start teaching your child another language. In fact, the earlier you start, the more likely it is that your child will become proficient in that language, being able to speak and understand it like a native speaker.

Exposes child to the outside world

Another benefit of teaching your child a foreign language is the exposure to different cultures and ways of thinking it provides. Along with learning a language, your child will certainly benefit from learning about where that language is spoken and what kind of people speak it. As your child gets older, he will have more of an understanding of cultures other than his own. This will provide a much broader perspective of the world around him. And certainly learning another language will give him additional ways to express himself.

Benefits child later in life

Teaching your child to speak more than one language will no doubt have long-lasting benefits. As people immigrate and cultures are spread around the world, your child will have many opportunities to use his language skills. It is not uncommon to come across native speakers of many different languages wherever you are. Traveling will be far more interesting when your child is going to a place where he can communicate with the locals. And job opportunities for bilingual individuals are more plentiful than ever before.

So start while your child is young and give him the advantage of being exposed to another language. It is much easier to teach children at a young age than to wait till they are older.

Many thanks to Louise Baker for guest blogging today! Louise is a freelance blogger who usually writes about accredited online colleges for Zen College Life. Her most recent article ranked x-ray technician degrees.