6 Reasons Kids Should Learn a Foreign Language

Kids learning a foreign language is a serious trend in both parenting and classroom learning methodology. In Europe, it’s commonplace that children speak many languages, and now in America, we’re seeing a rise in teaching children languages starting from toddler age in preschool.

We’ve also seen an incredible development of all sorts of fun tools to help kids learn a foreign language. There are tons of toys and apps that teach kids a foreign language in a way that’s both educational and entertaining enough that kids don’t even realize they’re learning!

So why the recent push for teaching kids a foreign language? We’ve created a short list of our favorite, most convincing reasons kids are learning to speak other languages. And we think by the end of reading this article, we’ll have you saying ‘si’ as well…

  1. Study after study suggests that speaking a second language boosts cognitive, memory, and listening skills. Simple as that, learning and speaking multiples lessons build stronger brains.
  2. You’ve heard it a million times, but it’s true: toddlers are like little sponges, easily absorbing all the information they’re given. “The older the child gets, certain windows close in terms of language acquisition, but so long as the child learns the language before puberty [age 12 or 13], the child should be able to speak with a native accent,” says Caryn Antonini, creator of Early Lingo. It’s an incredible gift to give a child access to many languages, and the best time to begin to teach children languages is right now.
  3. You don’t need to speak a language in order to teach your children. Luckily, there is an infinite number of children’s learning apps, CDs, books, movies, games, and more to give your children the opportunity to learn in a way that simply wasn’t possible for you.
  4. Learning another language is beneficial for your child’s future career. Many of the largest companies and corporations have offices all around the world, teaching another language to your kids means opening up infinite doors. Your children will have a serious advantage if they have access to the entirety of the global market.  
  5. English grammar and vocab improve when children learn a second language. By understanding how grammar and vocab function in other languages, toddlers learn more about how their own grammar rules through comparing and contrasting.
  6. Learning another language expands perspective. Many parents teach children the language of their ancestors in order to give them an important look into their heritage. But understanding another language, any language also means kids feel empowered to explore a more global, diverse life.