Children learn a new language best when they are young than when they get older and therefore one would be giving them a head start by teaching them one during this malleable stage. The situation is as such since while young, they use the same part of their brain that learns their mother tongue, which is ready to make more mistakes than adult minds. According to the author, acquisition of a second language at this age assists them to develop a greater ability to solve problem since they have a larger perspective to meet any challenge (Bialystok, 2011). This is especially true for children who use language as a tool for thought as opposed to visual thinkers who use images. Acquisition of a second language during the early years does not only improve problem-solving abilities but also memory and multitasking abilities (Kempert, Saalbach and Hardy, 2011). This is because the children have to remember two different ways of thinking and apply them simultaneously. Be that as it may, there are other multiple reasons for teaching your child another language as will be shown herein.
Becoming multilingual during youth also helps their socialization thereby widening one’s scope of thought and consequently enhances one’s social skills from a young age. This helps children to pick up useful skills about how to associate with different types of people. A study associating bilingualism and academic performance found that children who have more than one language score an average of 140 points in each section of the exam (Bialystok, 2011). This shows that acquiring another language during youth increases aptitude and the ability to perform well in aptitude tests. Another study associating bilingualism and attractiveness show that those who had already acquired a second language were more likely to appear more worldly and smarter; characteristics that potential dates found alluring (Thomas and Collier, 2003). This study shows that it is not only academic tests that bilingualism helps with but also tests about how others gauged if one was a suitable match for dating. However, the merits of bilingualism span way beyond the academic and the social into the professional, as will be shown next.
Bilingual people stand a better chance of landing that job that they are in pursuit than those who have a single language in the modern workplace. The reason for this occurrence is because cultural diversity, of which bilingualism is indicative, has been extremely proliferated in the current professional setting inmost world regions. A study proved this assertion by showing that bilingual job applicants are among the first to be shortlisted for interviews after a variety of people apply for a prospective employment post (Thomas and Collier, 2003)s. This is not surprising seeing as there is currently a great need for people who can bridge the gap created by language barriers in the contemporary professional setting. Another study in the same lines sought to uncover the monetary benefits of bilingualism and concluded that it increases one’s paycheck size by four percent (Kempert, Saalbach and Hardy, 2011). The findings of this study was moreover unsurprising seeing as bilingual employees are placed in roles that have more responsibility than the average worker since they associate with individuals from different cultures through helping them connect. Therefore, it is official that learning a second language while still young improves one’s ability to comprehend it better, in the process improving one’s problem solving abilities, memory and multitasking skills; traits that when compounded elevates one in academic, social and professional circles.
References
Bialystok, E. (2011). Reshaping the mind: the benefits of bilingualism. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie expérimentale, 65(4), 229.
Kempert, S., Saalbach, H., " Hardy, I. (2011). Cognitive benefits and costs of bilingualism in elementary school students: The case of mathematical word problems. Journal of educational psychology, 103(3), 547.
Thomas, W. P., " Collier, V. P. (2003). The multiple benefits of dual language: Dual language programs educate both English learners and native English speakers without incurring extra costs. Educational Leadership, 61(2), 61-64.
