Pros and Cons of Learning a Second Language in Early Childhood

In my opinion bilingualism plays a major role in the educational development of children. This is because research has shown that children who are fluent in their home language are more successful in learning a second language. Furthermore, being bilingual offers greater sensitivity to language, more flexibility in thinking and better ear for listening. It also improves a child’s understanding for the native language. Moreover, knowledge of other languages increases a career of opportunities offering several job options.

After watching this, I now feel that it would be very beneficial for a child to learn a second language because like the video says, it opens up more future opportunities for the child. In the article, “Chinese, English, Spanish” by Tom McArthur, it talks about how English is one of the most popular languages today, and how variations of English can be heard or read almost everywhere. Although English is a very popular language, it is always an advantage to know other languages. In the video, it states that knowing just English is actually a limitation in life because so many jobs want bilingual

Second benefit is improvement of social skills. Knowing a different language helps children to adapt easily to a new environment, increasing his/her self-esteem and self-confidence. How would you feel if someone asks you a question and you don’t understand? I know that feeling. Children feel more confident and secure and will never feel humiliated by not being able to communicate.

We may see teaching our children different languages as a means for them to communicate with our extender family and pass on our cultural heritage or as extender knowledge for the child. In addition to the aforementioned reasons to learn more than one language, research indicates there is

Learning a second language can help children maintain attention despite outside stimuli better than children who only know one language. While this might add more hours in the school day, learning a new language will help keep the brain young, which means it can delay dementia by several years. Dementia is huge category of brain diseases that cause decrease in the ability to think and remember. Sacrificing one more hour in school can lead to the possibly you will never have dementia. Another benefit to learning a new language you have significantly better cognitive abilities (general intelligence and reading) compared to people who do not know a second language.

Once you learn a second language well enough, it is said that learning a third or fourth is easier (2). Two languages are better than one. Also, luckily for second language learners, two significant by-products of bilingualism are better cognitive skills and longer attention spans (4). Having those two elements would greatly help with testing, especially standardized exams. Knowing more than one language also increases your job opportunities. Employers are constantly showing interest in bilingual workers. Its beneficial because not everyone who lives in the United States speaks English. It appeals to employers because it makes you seem smarter. Also, as stated above many high schoolers don’t retain the language. Since the 1960s, studies have shown that the best time to begin the study of a foreign language is in elementary school (3). Because children at this age show a better mental flexibility, more creativity, divergent thinking skills, and improved listening and memory skills, kids are able to process language early

Imagine living a life in Spain, then one day the job gets transferred to Texas in the United States of America. Now getting accustomed to this job may be hard because of the new environment, but adapting to the culture may be even harder. Well this problem can be eliminated because bilingual education should be required in all American kindergarten through twelfth-grade school systems. Not only should students be required to take one class a year, there should also be alternative elective courses of foreign languages. There are many benefits of learning a language that is not profound to a specific person. One is that learning a new language is a great way of meeting new people and making friends. Another possible positive outcome is that new language is an excellent source for traveling and could benefit a person’s employment opportunities. The United States should provide bilingual education to students in kindergarten through twelfth-grade because learning another language is good for meeting new people, traveling and expanding employment opportunities.

To begin, I am going to summarize the video of “Does learning languages make kids smarter?” of the program “Your voice” which you can find it in the following page multilingualliving.com.

Babies and young children pick up languages easily. They can learn how to speak just by listening to adults. When babies learn two languages they do it just as quickly as it would take them to learn one language. Bilingual babies could tell the difference between two words at the same time. Their brains were trained to do this because they had been exposed to two languages at home. Being bilingual makes the brain more flexible and strengths your ability. It is easy to learn a language before age 7.

According to a study by the University of Phoenix Research Institute, “demand for American workers who speak foreign languages- particularly Spanish and Chinese- will rise over the next decade”(“Rising Demand for Bilingual Workers among Employers”). As the United States continues to diversify, being bilingual or multilingual is becoming a key part to be successful in life. A student’s school education, beginning at the first day of kindergarten, is supposed to build and prepare a student for the future, so why is properly learning a new language not a priority from the start? The teaching of a foreign language should begin elementary school because learning at an earlier age is optimum for an easier and effective learning process and provides significant benefits that can last a lifetime.

Summary Statement: Language is the one contributes essentially in your life, your career. And learning a second language could someday helps you to find your dream job, improves your life, and prevents diseases, also connects you with people around the world.

Society has raised false beliefs or misinforms people when it comes to educating a bilingual child. People have a lack of information about language acquisition and how the brain is a powerful organ with the ability to learn multiple languages. Today 's adults have different opinions when is time to make the decision if they should raise their children in a bilingual home or not, and at the end they do not know what to do. The advances in science have given us more information on early childhood and how children are capable of learning in different ways. Also, has proven how a young child can learn two or more languages at the same time. However, a question that has been asked by parents multiple times is what are the benefits of raising a

them. They are not only introduced to new cultures and experiences, but they learn to appreciate their own culture as well. A second language creates for a well-rounded child who has an eagerness to learn and gain a broader view of the world.

Children acquire language since they were born. They communicate with their parents. Furthermore, children and parents interact with each other using a language that we often call the first language or mother tongue. At an early age, children are only learning one language that is the mother tongue. By age and speech development, children improve to acquire a second language from the school or the environment around them. In terms of speed of langgauge acquisition, children are factorized by both the child and the child’s learning environment. Therefore, it is important to understand how children acquire second language. This paper is provided

Language is one of the valuable gifts which have been passed to children. The first language is significant and builds the basis for all later language progresses. Parents, family members and early childhood professionals have very important role on the development and maintenance of the first language. Studies shows that knowing one language can assist the child to comprehend how other languages work. First or home language is