There’s no doubt that the earlier a child is exposed to a foreign language such as French or German, the better chance they have of learning it and retaining that knowledge. When a child is introduced to a foreign language, being introduced to it before the age of 10 is ideal and doing so before the age of five is even better.
In terms of language learning, each language comes with its own pros and cons. There are some languages like English and Spanish that are spoken throughout many countries in the world. But there are others where only a handful of people still speak it.
If you’re looking for language for your child to learn, you can’t go wrong with Spanish. It’s one of most common languages in the world and teaching Spanish for preschoolers for introducing them to beginning Spanish curriculum can have many benefits:
- It’s widely spoken: As of 2016, there were more than 400 million Spanish speakers throughout the world, which accounts for about 17% of the population. As if that wasn’t enough, it’s the official language of 21 different countries. They teaching Spanish for preschoolers, you’re exposing young kids to a language where they are more likely to find people all over that speak the language.
- Sharpening the mind: Another benefit of Spanish for preschoolers is that learning the language can do a lot to sharpen the mind. As children get older and become adults, they can resist the effects of things like Alzheimer’s disease because of the time they spent when they were young learning a second language.
- Becoming more well-rounded: Another benefit of Spanish for preschoolers is that learning a second language can help young kids grow up to become good people. By learning a second language, kids learn important things like social cues and empathy as well as the ability to focus. As if that wasn’t enough, learning Spanish or any other language can help kids learn and better understand cultures that are different from their own.
- Becoming more worldly: Perhaps one of the more positive benefits of Spanish for preschoolers is that as they grow up learning language, they are exposed to a world of rich Hispanic culture. That includes movies, books, art and music that they can engage with and gain deeper insights from.
- It can be quick: The mind of a young child is like a sponge; it absorbs everything. This includes learning a foreign language and a preschool Spanish curriculum can help a child learn and absorb another language very quickly. Children naturally acquire language skills through their first eight years and this is done through repetition, songs and games and imitation. If schools introduce a Spanish curriculum for kids or a Spanish curriculum for preschool, they’re doing so can allow a child to learn a language like Spanish very quickly. It’s estimated that Spanish can take between 450 and 500 hours to achieve fluency; though fluency can also be a subjective thing.
- It makes them more employable as adults: It may seem a long way off when a child is learning a foreign language, but learning a foreign language as a child can help that child become more employable as an adult. Companies who do business internationally can always use folks who are multilingual and there are other places that are always looking for interpreters. Bottom line: learning a foreign language opens up many new possibilities and opportunities as a child grows older.
As you can see, there are many benefits to introducing a child to a foreign language at a young age, whether that’s Spanish, French, German or another language entirely. By enrolling a child in a preschool language program and then reinforcing those lessons at home and by encouraging their language learning, parents can encourage a love of learning in their child as well as exposing them to something that will make them more well-rounded, more worldly and keep their mind sharp.