A foreign language is one of the best gifts you can give your child, children have the innate ability to learn several languages and acquire a native pronunciation in a natural and simultaneous way.
Learning a language is a great way to keep your brain healthy and sharp.
Studies conducted by the University of Toronto have concluded that bilingual preschool children have greater cognitive flexibility —that is, a superior ability to deal with conflicting visual and verbal information. When a bilingual child tries to communicate, the languages in the brain “compete” to be activated and chosen. The child should select one and suppress the other, which requires attention and the ability of the brain to be flexible, which is possible at this early age. Interference forces the brain to resolve internal conflicts, giving the mind an exercise that strengthens its cognitive muscles.
Don’t be afraid that learning two languages confuses or distracts your child. Remember, your brains are flexible, and the skills that develop in addition to learning a second language is immeasurable. Bilinguals outnumber the monolinguals in their reading skills.
With regard to thinking skills, the cognitive benefits of Bilingual Education are numerous; a study by psychologists Ellen Bialystok and Michelle Martin-Rhee found that bilingual youth was more successful in classifying objects by shape and color versus their monolingual peers. This suggests that the bilingual experience improves the brain command center, thus giving them the ability to plan, solve problems and perform other mentally demanding tasks.
Being bilingual is not merely being able to express an idea in two languages, but also having the opportunity to be immersed in other cultures to become a global citizen. Global citizens are people who are open to the rich diversity of our global community while still proud of their own culture and heritage.
A bilingual child learns early that one thing can have many names, which contributes to the development of more open and flexible minds in his or her thinking. Cultural intelligence is one of the main traits of a global citizen: one who accepts and embraces our differences as something to value.
If you want even more information about bilingualism in children and babies, check out this TedX Talk titled Creating Bilingual Minds by Naja Ferjan Ramirez.
She discusses why babies and young children have the ability to master two languages at the same time, as well as the benefits of growing up in a bilingual environment.
Viviane Brykcy Vicente Pereira
Pedagogical Director
Holds a degree in Pedagogy and English Languages -Portuguese. Postgraduate in Educational Law and specialization in Neurosciences at the School. Holds also a Certificate (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and Diploma (Diploma in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from the University of Cambridge. He has 16 years of experience in education, with emphasis on Modern Foreign Languages.
