5 Benefits of Teaching Your Child a Foreign Language

Adults who know two or more languages since they were young often take this skill for granted. They often consider it as a norm, especially when communicating with family or close friends.

But being bilingual or multilingual actually has lots of advantages. Even more so when this is learned since childhood. If you have kids but don't have any multilingual relatives, we encourage you to send your kids to a foreign language class. Not fully convinced yet? Here's why you should:

Culture-awareness and Appreciation

Developing awareness of cultures in your child from an early age is essential to helping them be better at interacting with people around them. A foreign language will teach them that there is more to the world than what they see or live in; there are various cultures and races on the planet, and it is one’s responsibility to recognize and respect them. 

Better Understanding of Native Language

Learning a foreign language trains the mind to better understand one’s first language. This is why letting your child learn as early as they can helps add another style of communication into their knowledge. They will learn to compare and contrast grammatical rules and enhance their cognitive abilities.

Future School and Work

Here's the fun part: when it's time to pick a language class for school, your child has the upperhand if they choose their second language. Or, they can choose to learn a new one! Initial knowledge of a foreign language will allow them to have an easier time approaching further language studies.

Additionally, language proficiency helps boost job qualifications and builds them a career in international relations or PR! Of course, the specific field can depend on what language your kid knows, but knowledge in a foreign language is already a valuable asset in itself.

Healthy Hobby

Learning a language is arguably one of the healthiest hobbies you can develop in your kid. After all, children tend to get into trouble when left with too much idle time. 

Letting them learn a foreign language will do a lot of wonders for their developing brain, especially when they get too restless, as this will be the perfect time to engage them with specific instructions.

Make sure that they comfortably feel like they are discovering a new world instead of plain studying. This will exercise their brain, and there is probably nothing more satisfying for a parent than to ensure their kids have healthy brains. 

Higher Brain Plasticity

Children are known for their still-developing minds and greater capacity for new knowledge. As they take in the world around them, they absorb necessary information and skills and toss aside those that are not. 

As a human grows older, this plasticity of the brain decreases, and it becomes more difficult to acquire fresh knowledge easily. Because of their high brain plasticity, children will have a great time learning any foreign language without much effort. They are able to pick up a specific language more fluidly and organically. 

This is also the reason most learning software programs for adults use an approach similar to teaching kids, which is through the use of context and imagery. Still, actual children can learn better.

Aside from those already mentioned above, another benefit of teaching your child another language is it can be a fun activity they can enjoy with the rest of your family!