5 Benefits of Learning a Second Language at an Early Age

Do you speak more than one language? If you do, did you know it makes your brain healthier and can make you think clearer? 

Perhaps you’ve considered teaching your child a second language. Below, we’ve compiled a list of the top five benefits of learning a second language at an early age and why you should encourage your children to learn one. 

5 Benefits of Learning a Second Language at an Early Age

1. Children Learn Language Easier Than Adults

There is a window in which children more easily learn languages. Here are the main stages of language acquisition:

• 0-6 months: has minimal comprehension of words. 
• 6 months-1 year: has limited comprehension and produces one to two-word responses.
• 1-3 years: can comprehend the language and produces simple sentences, though s/he will make grammar errors.
• 3-5 years: has excellent comprehension and makes very few grammatical errors.
• 5-7 years: develops a near-perfect level of speech.

Children thus learn most of a language before the age of five! In fact, according to linguist Dr. Naja Ferjan Ramirez, babies’ brains specialize in processing whatever language(s) are present in his/her environment! That means that children more easily learn a language than adults do.

When adults learn a new language, for example, they often have to filter the new language through their native language. In other words, they might translate the new language in their mind before speaking. On the other hand, when a child learns two languages at once, s/he learns to process both the same way. Rather than processing two separate concepts, both languages become one concept. 

You might think, “Well, adults and children can both learn languages, and they can both become fluent in those languages. So does it matter if children learn when they are young?“

The fact is that children learn a language much easier than adults do. Children’s brains are hardwired to learn a language. In fact, because their brains are still developing, they are more susceptible to language acquisition. Adults, on the other hand, are more fixed in their cognitive function. Their brains have less plasticity, meaning it simply isn’t as easy for them to learn a language as well as a child.

Therefore, the first benefit of learning a second language at an early age is it will be much easier than learning it at a later age.

2. Improves Cognitive Function

Many bilingual children get better test scores than monolingual children, having a high academic performance as they get older.

However, some people believe that when children learn two or more languages at once, it slows down language acquisition. This is, in fact, a myth!

Bilingual babies produce their first sounds and first words at the same time monolingual babies do. Similarly, bilingual babies’ vocabularies are the same, if not bigger, than a monolingual baby. That means that even if your baby is learning two languages at once, they will learn the two languages at the same rate as they would if they were only learning one!

Additionally, each language has different grammar rules. When children learn multiple languages, they will broaden their understanding of language rules. Even if children switch between two languages in the same sentence, they will follow specific grammar rules when doing so. Interestingly, children as young as two years old can switch between languages depending on the person they are speaking with.

When children switch between different languages, they exercise the brain the same way a person might exercise their muscles at the gym. This, in turn, improves the cognitive function of a person. In fact, it can improve the cognitive function of a baby’s brain even before they begin talking! 

Much of these studies come from Dr. Naja Ferhan Ramirez’s research of bilingual minds in babies.

3. Promotes a Healthier Brain

According to the Alzheimer’s Society, having a bilingual brain can delay dementia and Alzheimers by as much as five years.

How does this work? 

The Alzheimer’s Society explains that people who have been bilingual for all or most of their life have increased connectivity in certain areas of the brain, protecting those people from dementia. In other words, the more you exercise your brain, the healthier it is! 

4. Changes the Way You Think

Studies show that the language you speak can change the way you think. In fact, it can change the way you think about time, the physical space around you, and how you view others. When children learn more than one language, it psychologically broadens the way they see the world around them. 

Moreover, children who learn more than one language often become more culturally aware. For example, an American child who knows both English and Spanish is going to be much more connected to the Mexican or Spanish culture than an American child who only knows English would be. 

5. Opens New Opportunities

Last but not least, learning a second language at an early age will provide many opportunities for children later in life. For example, many jobs prefer to hire bilingual speakers to monolingual speakers. Some of those jobs include customer service positions, businesses that deal with international communications, and more. Similarly, many bilingual speakers have chosen to become translators or interpreters as a career.

Find an Education Program that Teaches a Second Language!

With so many benefits of learning a second language at an early age, it’s no wonder that the number of bilingual children in the United States continues to rise! However, not every family speaks more than one language at home. So what’s the best way to learn a language outside the home?

The best place for children to learn a second—or even third—language is to learn one at school. However, in Arizona, most bilingual programs fall short. For the most part, these classes don’t teach children to be conversational in a foreign language, let alone fluent. Therefore, if you want your child to experience all the benefits of learning a second language at an early age, you will have to enroll them in a quality school that has a great foreign language program. 

Schools like that aren’t easy to find, though. So what’s the best option?

Academy of Math and Science (AMS) is a hands-on, STEM-based curriculum that teaches a variety of subjects in innovative ways. In fact, their foreign language program teaches Russian and Mandarin to all grade levels. Not only are the teachers fluent, but the classes expose children to the food, music, videos, and literature of Russian and Mandarin-speaking populations. 

In the end, AMS knows that learning a second language is an essential part of any education because it enhances both language skills and logical thinking capabilities. 

To learn more about enrolling in an AMS campus near you, find the location closest to you!