Bilingualism at Tessa
It’s Smart to Be Bilingual!
It’s Smart to Be Bilingual!
At Tessa, our students become fully bilingual thanks to our full-immersion (preschool) or dual-language (primary school) teaching approach in either Spanish, French or Mandarin. In addition to teaching the language, we teach content in the language. All of our teachers are highly qualified educators from all over the world, and are native speakers in the language they are teaching.
French, Mandarin & Spanish + English
At Tessa, students are immersed in a target language, and they benefit from a truly multilingual environment that fosters their love of languages.
From Nursery through Kindergarten, students are taught 80% of the time in the target language. Specials such as music, library, science, English enrichment and more- are taught in English. The immersion model allows students to build strong, life-long foundations in the language.
Starting in Grade 1, students spend half of the week with their English teacher, and half of the week with their target language teacher. Our educators regularly collaborate to streamline the learning: what is taught in one language is applied in the other language.
We asked our students about their opinion on learning languages and about the different languages they speak themselves.
A bilingual education shows benefits that will be utilized and carried throughout your child’s lifetime. Bilingual instruction is unparalleled to any other learning approach available.
Research indicates that the brain circuits associated with language learning are more flexible at a young age.
That is why at TESSA, we start learning French, Spanish or Mandarin as early as 2 years old with 80% of the communication in the target language.
Why, When and How to teach your child languages? Kathleen Visconti, our Head of School, takes you through the many benefits of bilingualism in her latest webinar. You can download the recording of the session at the following link.
Read More on Bilingualism
by: Cory Stieg
Adults who grew up speaking two different languages can shift their attention between different tasks quicker than those who pick up a second language later in life, according to a new study. This is just one of many cognitive benefits of being bilingual.
by: Casey Schwartz
In this Newsweek article, research suggests that high level use of more than one language greatly improves the brain’s executive function in children as young as 3 or 4 years old. The executive function includes many of the brain’s primary activities like controlling impulses and emotions, flexible thinking, developing your working memory, planning and prioritizing tasks, just to name a few. The key point is that in order for these benefits to be truly realized,both languages need to be used on a regular basis, such as a school environment.
by: Marisa Cohen
Parents Magazine presents an interesting poll in which57% of parents indicated that “speaking a foreign language was the most critical skill for their child to develop for the future.” With an increasing need to speak more than one language, it is surprising that “only 15% of public elementary schools in the United States teach a foreign language.” There are numerous benefits to speaking two languages. The Journal of Experimental Child Psychology found that toddlers as young as 24 months’ old has already developed superior cognitive skills.
by: Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
“Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter.” The New York Times article reports some interesting claims including new research that indicates the cognitive benefits of being multilingual can shield against dementia in old age. Despite age old claims that a second language can cause “interference” in academic and intellectual development; these have not only been proven false, but actually turn out to be “blessing in disguise.” The improved brain function from constantly switching between languages also helps in solving complex mental puzzles, focusing on multiple tasks at once, and more.
By: Sue Shellenbarger
Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Turkish use simpler number words and express math concepts more clearly than English, making it easier for small children to learn counting and arithmetic, research shows.
The language gap is drawing growing attention amid a push by psychologists and educators to build numeracy in small children—the mathematical equivalent of literacy.
by: Lisa Intrabartola
The National Institute for Early Education at the Rutgers’ Graduate School of Education has conducted many studies into the benefits of dual language immersion programs especially with regards to preschool aged children. “That period is considered the critical period where the ear is more in tune to certain sounds. That allows them to learn language as quickly as they do,” Figueras-Daniel said. “It makes sense in pre-school is because 3- and 4-year-olds have not mastered English. They are still experimenting with grammar and the structure of language and are learning new vocabulary every day.”
Check out more articles below to learn about bilingualism and its educational benefits.