Our world is shrinking. Each day, new developments in technology and modern systems of transportation bring the nations of
the world closer and closer together.
As the world grows smaller, our society and economy also grow more complex. Every day, people of various cultures and
languages interact through life's daily routines: conducting business, shopping - even going to school.
The study of a second language enhances our children's opportunities for future success in both their professional and
personal lives. It prepares them for a society and workplace that require a better understanding of other people and cultures. It
also gives them the ability to communicate through many languages within our state, within our country and beyond its
borders.
Why learn a second language in early childhood?
Studies show the sooner a child begins to learn a second language, the better. This is partially due to the general abilities of
younger children and the importance of stimulation at this stage. At a later age, auditory discrimination and the ability to
imitate sounds begin to fade, but fortunately it is possible to learn a second language at any age. Younger students tend to be
less fearful of making mistakes and are more willing to go with the flow of communicating in another language.
Capture the Critical Period: At about seven months, a baby's neocortex develops to the point that their long-term memory
starts working. This is the beginning of what psycholinguists and neurolinguists call a child's critical period. During this stage,
and until the brain begins losing its plasticity around age 12 or 13, children have their greatest potential to absorb and retain
language skills.
Speak Like a Native. Language is stored in the brain's left hemisphere, with pronunciation and grammar in the Brocas area.
If we learn a word after puberty we will always pronounce it differently than if we learned it before our critical period ends. This
is because by age 13, newly learned words are channeled to a completely different place in the Brocas area.
Youngsters who are exposed to a second language study beginning at an early age usually:
• Achieve a high degree of proficiency in a second language;
• Speak with near native-like fluency;
• Eagerly communicate and are willing to take risks and make mistakes as part of the language learning process; and
• Approach second language learning as an engaging and fun activity.
Children become bilingual in different ways, the two most common being simultaneous acquisition of two languages and
successive acquisition of a second language. A child under the age of three who is exposed to two languages usually
experiences simultaneous acquisition. If the child is exposed to the second language at an older age, successive acquisition
usually occurs.
What are the advantages of learning a second language?
According to educators, students who are familiar with two or more languages tend to:
• Gain a better understanding of the English language;
• Improve their overall learning as they make "connections" across other subjects;
• Improve their overall performance;
• Have higher standardized test scores;
• Be more flexible in their thinking;
• Use critical thinking skills effectively;
• Learn other languages more easily; and
• Have a better understanding and appreciation of cultural differences and social interactions.
Why is immersion an effective second language model?
A great deal of research has centered on second language acquisition in various school settings. Over the past 30 years, due
in large part to the success of immersion programs, there has been a shift away from teaching language in isolation and
toward integrating language and content.
This shift is based on the following principles:
- 1. Language is acquired most effectively when it is learned in a meaningful social context. For young learners, a
curriculum that provides a natural basis for second language learning offers them the opportunity to communicate
about what they know and what they want to know, as well as about their feelings and attitudes.
2. Important and interesting content provides a motivating context for learning the new language. Young children
are not interested in learning language that serves no meaningful function.
3. First language acquisition, cognition and social awareness go hand in hand in young children. By integrating
language and content, second language learning, too, becomes an integral part of a child’s social and cognitive
development.
How will my child understand what to do in the classroom?
In the beginning stages of learning the language the teachers will use exaggerated hand and facial expressions to illustrate
what they are saying. Keep in mind that many, if not all, the other children in the classroom will be in the same position. The
teachers use songs, stories, and activities to help build vocabulary and an understanding of the second language. Language
learning is carefully structured to ensure that instruction is comprehensible. Since our Early Childhood Language Stimulation
program is a parent/child program, parents have the course materials to reinforce the learning at home. Each family will also
have a CD containing the songs used in class and a songbook translating the words to the songs to English allowing the
parent to help the child understand the basic vocabulary used in the program.
Our Children's Language Classes use Whole Brain Learning. Many psycholinguists believe it is critical to link emotion to
learning. Language education for both children and adults is more successful when techniques are used that link the left
hemisphere's skills (logic, math, and literal meaning) with right brain skills (emotion, music and voice melody). We teach
vocabulary in terms that are meaningful to your child through music and play.
What can I do to support my child’s immersion experience if I don’t speak the second language?
Like all parents, parents of children in immersion programs should maintain an active role in their children’s education by
providing experiences that help develop their language skills and enhance their cognitive and affective development. They
should make a commitment to keep their child in the immersion program, and support their children’s use of the immersion
language outside of the class context, for example, by providing reading materials in the immersion language at home and
listening to and singing the songs used in the class at home.
How will learning Spanish affect my child’s English language and literacy development?
Many parents are initially fearful that immersion may have a negative impact on their child’s English language development.
But research consistently has demonstrated that the immersion experience actually enhances English language
development.
