Spanish teachers, preschool and elementary administrators and curriculum department heads, school district curriculum department heads, and home school parents are becoming increasingly aware that young children have remarkable language learning abilities. At the ages of five and six years old, they are literally hard wired to learn languages. Not just one language but several. Preschool Spanish lessons are based on this ability and help parents and teachers to give children the lifelong advantages of bilingualism.
Are there any advantages to bilingualism?
There are strong cultural and emotional reasons for teaching children a second language. There are also very sound practical reasons, because bilingualism and multilingualism offer many advantages in the workplace as well.
Researchers have found that it is easier for children to learn a third language if they already speak two languages. In the workplace, too bilingualism is an advantage, and employees who speak two languages have higher salaries on average, earning 20% more hourly than those employees who work only one language.
Why teach languages to children?
Very simply, it’s a good idea to teach children languages because it’s easier for them to learn at an early age. Researchers have found that actually the earlier children are introduced to new languages, the better. Ideally it should be done before they reach the age of ten years, or even better, before they are five years old. Preschool Spanish is a good way to help children acquire language skills at the right age.
Children around the world are introduced to second and third languages at an early age. The Summer Institute of Linguistics reports that than two-thirds of children around the world speak more than one language. In the U.S., by contrast, less than one person in five or only 17% of the total population is bilingual. Preschool Spanish lessons take advantage of the capacity of young children for language learning to help them learn a second language the natural way.
Why learn Spanish?
With over 387 million native speakers, Spanish is the second most commonly spoken language around the world and has more native speakers than English. It is the official language of 21 countries, and is one of the official languages of the United Nations.
In most countries around the world, children begin learning second languages by the time they are eight years old. In the U.S., they have to wait until high school to learn a second language, losing years in the process. They also lose the crucial period when children have the natural ability to learn language, before they are ten years old.
How does it work?
A Spanish curriculum for children introduces language to them in a way that is fun, natural, and age-appropriate. With Spanish storybooks, music, lesson activities, games, art, and drama, children learn the culture along with the language.
Preschool Spanish lessons use the natural ability of children to acquire language skills during their first eight years. A Spanish curriculum for kids teaches language the natural way, through imitation, repetition, songs and games.
Preschool Spanish lessons build on the natural capacity of young children to learn new sounds and absorb new grammar rules before the age of six years. By introducing young children to a second language at an early age, parents and teachers can give them the advantages of bilingualism.
