The Wonders of Bilingualism For Children

The wonders of bilingualism for children are a sensational discovery. What are some of the best gifts you can give to your children? Love, of course… also, toys…holidays…chocolate…etc. These are all nice gifts but giving them the gift of a second language is one they will ultimately thank you for all their life? True, it is not a gift that they can open up but it is a gift that can open the world up for them. The wonders of bilingualism will be one of the most amazing gifts you can ever give to your children.

If their first language is not English, by them learning English at a young age and gradually perfecting it, you have already given them the opportunity to be able to communicate with half of the world’s population; imagine how many doors this will open for them during their lifetime.

Fact:

The simple exercise of them learning a new language, any language, is making them do a form of mental gymnastics as the brain switches from one language to the other and consequently, just as a muscle would, it builds it up and increases its capacity.

So, let’s say you hadn’t thought about this wonderful gift of bilingualism for your children already, don’t worry, get them started now. It doesn’t matter when your child begins to learn. Of course, when they are very young their little brains are like sponges and can absorb new words naturally so the sooner the easier. Do you remember learning your mother tongue? Of course not, it simply happened and the earlier they start, the phenomenon of naturally picking it up jumps into place and you will be amazed at how quickly they can soak up a new language.

Statistics:

Statistically, children between the ages of 2 – 6 years are very receptive. From 7 years, it is going to take a bit more effort unless they already have two languages under their belt at this age which makes learning a third language even easier, (give them time to absorb the 2nd language before beginning a third though). Curiously, the brain can be less apt to begin a new language post-puberty period so try and get them started before.

Now let’s underline some of the wonders bilingualism can bring our children.

Advantages:

they become more creative
have higher math’s skills
their minds are more flexible
become better at multi-tasking
it enhances their memory
their problem-solving skills improve
they learn to speak, write, listen and think in a different manner
the marvel of being able to communicate with more people
the many doors it will open for them during their life

…and

young children are less inhibited to use another language as well as having the ability to learn without their mother-tongue accent.

Just as machines can tell us that we have broken bones, we now have tools that can show us what happens in the brain. When different sounds from another language are heard, they spark off other parts of the brain.

Conclusion :

It seems that there is such a multitude of reasons to offer this gift of bilingualism to our children that it would be crazy for us not to. Yes, it takes time and patience but the best things in life are worth it. Strive to always make it a pleasure with games, stories, nursery rhymes. Songs playing in the background and hearing the same words often will quickly make them become familiar. One day they will thank you for it, what better gift can we as parents wish for than that?

Watch and listen to Robbyne Butter for children in 3 languages:

Celeste the Sugar Angel https://youtu.be/w01Biwu8dBw

In French https://youtu.be/8pr1-kSaD8I

In Italian https://youtu.be/sufWb0Rt-NM

Good free resource: Duolingo