From birth, your child is capable of absorbing an astronomical amount of information. Learning a second language is therefore made much easier during childhood, and many parents want to take advantage of this period to offer their children a bilingual education.
In this article, you can find out about the benefits of bilingual education, as well as some tips on how to make it easier for your child to learn a second language.
The benefits of bilingualism
There are many studies showing the benefits of bilingualism. There are cognitive benefits and social benefits.
The cognitive benefits of bilingualism
Mastering several languages has many positive effects on cognitive abilities. These benefits relate to various aspects of brain function, such as:
- memory ;
- attention and concentration
- the ability to solve complex problems.
In the long term, several studies have shown that bilingualism reduces the risk of cognitive decline and the onset of diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Social and communicative benefits
Mastering several languages brings all sorts of advantages from a social point of view.
It’s essential to understand that people find it easier to express their emotions in their mother tongue, or the one they know best. Being able to communicate in several languages therefore allows you to connect emotionally with more people.
What’s more, speaking a second language develops your open-mindedness and your ability to adapt to change. Fluency in English or Spanish also means you can travel just about anywhere and still be able to communicate.
Finally, being able to express yourself in several languages can be a real professional asset. More and more international companies require their employees to be fluent in several languages. Offering a bilingual education will therefore pay off in the long term and give them access to more professional opportunities than the average.
What strategy should I adopt to teach my child two languages?
As you can see, giving your child a bilingual education will have all sorts of advantages in the short, medium and long term. However, teaching your child a second language can be tedious. Rest assured, there are techniques that can help you do just that!
The ‘One parent, one language’ approach
This is a very popular approach adopted by parents who are fluent in a different language. The idea is, as the name suggests, to speak to your child exclusively in their mother tongue. So if the mother is French, she will only communicate with her children in French. If the father is English, he will only use English. For this method to work, it needs to be extended outside the family sphere to create sufficient opportunities to express themselves in each language. Many experts believe that at least 25 hours’ practice a week is sufficient.
Enrol your children in language immersion programmes
If it’s ideal to move to another country to help your child learn a second language, enrolling them in language immersion programmes can be an excellent alternative. All the classes taught are in the foreign language, supporting practice and learning on a daily basis.
Using teaching materials
There are all kinds of educational games that make it easier to discover and learn a language in a fun way. They are an excellent way of encouraging your child to practise a second language and enrich their vocabulary while having fun.