Living History Worldwide

Are you looking for a unique way for your child to learn? Are you looking to expose them to things that will give them a world view beyond their own backyard? Are you looking for them to start learning a foreign language at a young age?

If you said yes to any of those questions, then you might consider language immersion programs for your child. Studies have shown time and again that the earlier a child is exposed to foreign language, the better chance they have of not only retaining what they learn, but becoming fluent in a language beyond their own native tongue. When a child is introduced to a foreign language, being introduced to it before the age of 10 is ideal and doing so before the age of five is even better.

If you’re wondering what language you should pick, there are a lot to choose from between German, Spanish, French and Russian among dozens of others. If you’re looking to pick just one, Spanish language immersion programs might be an ideal choice. Spanish is one of the most common and popular languages in the world—not to mention it’s spoken by more than 400 million people, accounting for about 17% of the world population.

If you’re wondering what benefits Spanish language immersion programs can have on your child, read on to find the positives in exposing your child to Spanish:

• Popularity: Not only do more than 400 million people speak Spanish around the world, its also the official language of nearly two dozen countries. Whether you’re child is enrolled in a program teaching Spanish for preschoolers or is a little bit older and enrolled in more advanced Spanish language immersion programs, your child or children will benefit greatly from learning a language spoken by so many people around the world.
• Better exposure: One of the biggest benefits perhaps of Spanish language immersion programs is that kids get exposed to a world that takes them beyond their city, state or country. By learning Spanish, they learn all aspects of Spanish and Hispanic culture including history, language, books, music and art to name just a few things.
• Getting sharper: As anyone who ever took foreign language classes in high school knows, learning a second language can actually make you more aware of and sharper with your native language. The same is true of Spanish language immersion programs for children. Not only do they keep kids’ minds sharp, but since they’re learning the basics of a new language, they’ll become more aware of how their own language works and how to speak it more clearly.
• Learning quickly: You’ve probably realized this as a parent, but your child’s mind is just like a sponge that absorbs everything it sees, hears and experiences. This makes learning a second language as a child much easier because children can absorb and learn any language very quickly and very easily. It’s estimated that languages like Spanish take anywhere from 450-500 hours to become fluent and children can learn it quickly through games, songs, repetition, computer programs, one-on-one interactions and other ways.
• Becoming well-rounded: Spanish language immersion programs, Spanish curriculums and learning Spanish culture can help kids learn the language, but it also helps them become more worldly. You may not know it, but learning a language teaches kids noun, verbs and vocabulary, but it can also teach them important social cues and help them appreciate learning. Ultimately, this will help make kids more well-rounded because they grow to realize the world is much, much bigger than the town they live in and there are kids around the world just like them.

 
As noted by the examples above, there are numerous benefits to introducing a child to a foreign language or a language immersion program when they are young. It doesn’t matter if it’s Spanish, French, German or perhaps even an older language like Latin. The lessons and knowledge they pick up from a language program will help them master two languages—their native language and the second language—and help them appreciate learning as well as becoming more well-rounded and worldly to better interact with the world around them.