A Baby Can Do It
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Over the recent years, there has been an increase in the number of academic journals, newspaper and magazine articles, and television programs that have reported on the significant benefits of learning a foreign language at a young age. Reporters and journalists for The Washington Post newspaper, Newsweek magazine, Time magazine, Dateline NBC have all reported on these benefits, encouraging families to expose their children to a foreign language as early as possible. For children who learn a foreign language beginning in early childhood demonstrates certain advantages over children who do not. Learning another language opens up new opportunities and gives children new perspectives.
In fact, according to Parents magazine, “the earlier you introduce a second language, the easier it will be for your child to pick up its unique sounds” (1). Erika Levy, Ph.D., assistant professor of speech and language pathology at Columbia University Teachers College in New York states that children “can learn to understand new words in two different languages at an incredibly fast rate.”
Coming from a bilingual education, I can myself relate to this topic. I was born in a bilingual environment. My mom taught me Spanish when I was still in her stomach. When I turned six years old, I started to attend an International school. Half of my classes are in Spanish, the other half in French. A third language is required in middle school and a fourth in high school. English and Russian were my two choices. I conducted a Facebook survey to find out what my friends, who attend the same school, opinion was on this topic. The results didn’t surprise me. Out of 67 bilingual teenager, 90 percent agree that they are fortunate to be bilingual and that it is going to open up a lot of opportunities. Indeed, 95 percent of those people are counting on teaching their own kids a foreign language. Only two percent said that a second language did not have any benefits at all or/and confused them.
In fact, a lot of people wonder whether the exposure to two different languages causes confusion for the child. As stated by Margaret Warner in a debate on bilingual education, “exposure to more than one language would confuse young children and could lead to developmental delays” (1). However, psychologists like Ron Unz say that “command of two or more languages bolsters the ability to focus in phase of distraction, decide between competitive alternatives and disregard the irrelevant information” (1). Others like James Lyons also say that the ability to switch back and forth between languages, “sometimes called code-switching is a sign of mastery of two language systems,” not a sign of language confusion, and that kids as young as two years old are able to “code switch in socially appropriate ways.”
Tamar Gollan, a professor at University of California, San Diego, has found a vocabulary gap between children who speak only one language and those who grow up with more. “On average, the more languages spoken, the smaller the vocabulary in each one.” she says. Gollan's research suggests that although that gap narrows as children grow, it does not close completely.
Studies have shown repeatedly that the younger the kid, the easier it is. The baby brain is like a sponge that absorbs tons of information. There is a critical window during early development in which language skills are acquired and the human brain is hardwired for learning multiple languages. The sounds that kids hear during this time period are essentially establishing their language ability. After the age of five, this “critical window” begins to close, so it gets much harder to learn a new language with a good accent.
What I have noticed here in the United States is the little importance that is given to foreign languages. Most students do not know how beneficial it can be for them and therefore do not care. Unlike in Europe, in the U.S, or at least in Michigan, foreign languages are a choice. However a lot of students choose to take these classes because, as stated by Maryline Girroy in Bilingual Education on the Edge, “Foreign languages, of course, can be a leg up for college admission and a résumé burnisher” (2). In addition, a lot of parents have “embraced the bilingual education passionately as a mean of ensuring their children’s academic success” according to Bilingual Babes: Teach Your Child a Second Language.
From personal experience, I have to say that teaching me Spanish when I was a baby is probably the best idea my mom has ever had. Never have I had to think about odd grammar, about the difference between “ser” and “estar” or deal with gendered nouns.
In conclusion, the results of this study provide some fascinating insights to the effects of learning a second language. In today’s world, the demand for languages skills are continuously growing as business builds relationships with foreign countries. Once again, the later you start learning a new language, the tougher it gets. Learning a foreign language is not that hard -- a baby can do it!
Works Cited
Cohen, Ilisa. "Bilingual Babes: Teach Your Child a Second Language." Parents Magazine.
eLibrary. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.
"Editorial: Children Can, and Should, Learn More Than One Language." Houston Chronicle.
25 Aug. 2008. eLibrary. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.
Farwell, Carol B. "Words and Sounds in Early Language Acquisition." Language. By Charles
A. Ferguson. Vol. 51 419-439. Linguistic Society of America, Jun, 1975. eLibrary. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.
Gilroy, Maryline B. "Bilingual Education on the Edge." Education Digest, The 01 Jan. 2002:
50. The Education Digest . eLibrary. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.
Schwartz, Casey. "Why It's Smart to Be Bilingual." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast,
07 Aug. 2011. Elibrary. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.
Unz, Ron and James Lyons. "Debating Bilingual Education." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Ed. Margaret Warner. Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Sept. 1997. eLibrary. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.
In fact, according to Parents magazine, “the earlier you introduce a second language, the easier it will be for your child to pick up its unique sounds” (1). Erika Levy, Ph.D., assistant professor of speech and language pathology at Columbia University Teachers College in New York states that children “can learn to understand new words in two different languages at an incredibly fast rate.”
Coming from a bilingual education, I can myself relate to this topic. I was born in a bilingual environment. My mom taught me Spanish when I was still in her stomach. When I turned six years old, I started to attend an International school. Half of my classes are in Spanish, the other half in French. A third language is required in middle school and a fourth in high school. English and Russian were my two choices. I conducted a Facebook survey to find out what my friends, who attend the same school, opinion was on this topic. The results didn’t surprise me. Out of 67 bilingual teenager, 90 percent agree that they are fortunate to be bilingual and that it is going to open up a lot of opportunities. Indeed, 95 percent of those people are counting on teaching their own kids a foreign language. Only two percent said that a second language did not have any benefits at all or/and confused them.
In fact, a lot of people wonder whether the exposure to two different languages causes confusion for the child. As stated by Margaret Warner in a debate on bilingual education, “exposure to more than one language would confuse young children and could lead to developmental delays” (1). However, psychologists like Ron Unz say that “command of two or more languages bolsters the ability to focus in phase of distraction, decide between competitive alternatives and disregard the irrelevant information” (1). Others like James Lyons also say that the ability to switch back and forth between languages, “sometimes called code-switching is a sign of mastery of two language systems,” not a sign of language confusion, and that kids as young as two years old are able to “code switch in socially appropriate ways.”
Tamar Gollan, a professor at University of California, San Diego, has found a vocabulary gap between children who speak only one language and those who grow up with more. “On average, the more languages spoken, the smaller the vocabulary in each one.” she says. Gollan's research suggests that although that gap narrows as children grow, it does not close completely.
Studies have shown repeatedly that the younger the kid, the easier it is. The baby brain is like a sponge that absorbs tons of information. There is a critical window during early development in which language skills are acquired and the human brain is hardwired for learning multiple languages. The sounds that kids hear during this time period are essentially establishing their language ability. After the age of five, this “critical window” begins to close, so it gets much harder to learn a new language with a good accent.
What I have noticed here in the United States is the little importance that is given to foreign languages. Most students do not know how beneficial it can be for them and therefore do not care. Unlike in Europe, in the U.S, or at least in Michigan, foreign languages are a choice. However a lot of students choose to take these classes because, as stated by Maryline Girroy in Bilingual Education on the Edge, “Foreign languages, of course, can be a leg up for college admission and a résumé burnisher” (2). In addition, a lot of parents have “embraced the bilingual education passionately as a mean of ensuring their children’s academic success” according to Bilingual Babes: Teach Your Child a Second Language.
From personal experience, I have to say that teaching me Spanish when I was a baby is probably the best idea my mom has ever had. Never have I had to think about odd grammar, about the difference between “ser” and “estar” or deal with gendered nouns.
In conclusion, the results of this study provide some fascinating insights to the effects of learning a second language. In today’s world, the demand for languages skills are continuously growing as business builds relationships with foreign countries. Once again, the later you start learning a new language, the tougher it gets. Learning a foreign language is not that hard -- a baby can do it!
Works Cited
Cohen, Ilisa. "Bilingual Babes: Teach Your Child a Second Language." Parents Magazine.
eLibrary. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.
"Editorial: Children Can, and Should, Learn More Than One Language." Houston Chronicle.
25 Aug. 2008. eLibrary. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.
Farwell, Carol B. "Words and Sounds in Early Language Acquisition." Language. By Charles
A. Ferguson. Vol. 51 419-439. Linguistic Society of America, Jun, 1975. eLibrary. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.
Gilroy, Maryline B. "Bilingual Education on the Edge." Education Digest, The 01 Jan. 2002:
50. The Education Digest . eLibrary. Web. 11 Mar. 2012.
Schwartz, Casey. "Why It's Smart to Be Bilingual." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast,
07 Aug. 2011. Elibrary. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.
Unz, Ron and James Lyons. "Debating Bilingual Education." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Ed. Margaret Warner. Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Sept. 1997. eLibrary. Web. 12 Mar. 2012.