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
Video by: TED Talk
Video by: Otherwords
by: Judith Thurman
This article from The New Yorker dives into the world of hyperpolyglots—individuals with an exceptional ability to speak multiple languages fluently. It explores their unique cognitive skills, language acquisition strategies, and the numerous cognitive advantages of being multilingual. This fascinating read uncovers the wonders of language acquisition and its profound impact on the human mind.
by: Jaya Padmanhaban
In this study from the New York Times, people who spoke two languages daily in their youth tended to score higher on memory tests later in life, the researchers found.
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
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.
Office: (201) 755-5585 | Location: 720 Monroe St. Hoboken, NJ 07030
