Spanish is the most popular foreign language offered in America. There are some amazing proven benefits to learning a second language, especially as a young child, so many parents are interested in how to find good preschool Spanish curriculum lessons for their tots to set them on the road to success. Keep reading for why to look for in preschool Spanish curriculum lessons for your child.
- Why is learning a second language important for young children? All language, from the first language to the second, third, or even fourth, is easier to learn the younger a person is. Starting before the age of 10 is crucial. If you can start Spanish for preschool, before a child is five, that’s even better. Just look at how easy it is for your child to learn to speak compared to how arduous things have been for you if you tried to study a foreign language as an adult!
- What benefits are there for a child who learns another language? Preschool Spanish curriculum lessons are more than just busy work. They’re a way to set your child up for long-term success. Bilingual employees are making 20% more on average than employees who speak only one language. Children who learn a second language gain mental flexibility, too, which allows them to learn more languages even faster, later.
- How does America compare to the rest of the world in language learning? Not well, unfortunately. Lots of nations require their children to start studying a foreign language by the age of eight. Meanwhile, American students usually don’t start until their later high school years. The average American kid has had only four years of study when they graduate, while kids worldwide are getting more like 10 or 12 years of foreign language instruction. More than two-thirds of the rest of the world’s children are bilingual. Only 17% of Americans can speak a second language.
- Why study Spanish curriculum? Any second language will benefit your children, but there are some really good reasons to go for preschool Spanish curriculum lessons in particular. Spanish is spoken in 21 different countries, with lots of travel destinations and even job opportunities in them. Spanish is the second most-spoken world language with 387 million native speakers. More people on the Earth speak Spanish than speak English!
- Should I really be thinking about language learning as young as preschool? You should absolutely be looking for Spanish for preschoolers. Before the age of six, kids have an incredible capacity to pick up new sounds and absorb, rather than painfully memorize, grammar rules. Somewhere between the ages of eight and 12, kids lose their fantastic ability to reproduce new sounds. At that point, anyone can still learn a foreign language, but it becomes much harder. Before age eight, kids learn by imitation, songs, games, and repetition. This makes something like a Spanish storybook not only fun for them, but an almost effortless way to introduce them to another language.
Good preschool Spanish curriculum lessons will set your child on the road to success, give mental flexibility that will benefit them for their whole lives, and introduce them to a world beyond the one they know. So your kids a favor and start them early on learning a second language!