The Different Types of Preschool Bilingual Learning

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by Tori Galatro

You may already know that bilingualism can have a hugely positive impact on your child’s future. You may also know that the best time for your child to learn a new language is when they are young. However, there are many ways for children to become bilingual, and many factors that can influence the speed of their language education. When a child reaches preschool-age, from three to five, immersive language learning can be extremely helpful for children that have been exposed to two languages from birth, as well as children who’ve only ever heard one.

The following are common ways researchers distinguish between the differences in early language education. Learning these approaches may help you to think about how your child’s preschool language education can introduce, promote, or supplement their previous experience with bilingual learning.

The Six Models of Childhood Bilingualism

The Huffington Post recently published an article outlining the various ways in which children can learn languages at home, at school, and in their community. The article outlines six different models of bilingual language acquisition.

  • Model Example #1: Both parents speak a language at home, while a different language is spoken by the child’s school and community. Such parents may have moved from a different country, or simply wish their child to learn a different language than the one spoken at home.
  • Model Example #2: One parent speaks one language exclusively, and the other parent speaks the language of the school and community. In this model, the child would benefit from supplemental help during preschool in the first parent’s language, as they are getting only limited exposure, but would more readily absorb the community language.

The six language models referenced in the article are different variations on this general concept: the child’s preschool education should vary according to where, when, how often, and by whom each language is spoken. However, this research was published back in the 90s and many studies have since developed these models further.

The Two Types of Early Bilingualism

The models of childhood bilingualism mentioned above have also been grouped into two categories by researchers: simultaneous and sequential.

  • Simultaneous bilingualism occurs when a child is exposed to two languages equally, from birth.
  • Sequential bilingualism occurs when a child is introduced to one language after the other, during childhood.

Both are considered to be great methods of bilingual language education. Both methods fall under the category of “early bilingualism”, which means both languages need to be acquired roughy before the age of five, during the normal period of language development.

Children who learn sequentially, or learn their second language after the age of three, but before the age of five, actually learn the second language completely fresh, rather than using their first language for guidance, as older children might. This gives them an advantage since these younger children are less likely to rely on the grammatical patterns of their first language for support. They also tend to have a period of adjustment to the new language during which they may stop speaking in the environments where only the new language is spoken. They may use hand gestures only, until they begin to test out their new language. After that point, they have a high potential of becoming just as competent in their new language as a native speaker.

Understanding How Bilingual Preschool Education Can Help Your Child Learn

Your child is capable of becoming multilingual at a very young age, and speaking each language with the competency of a native speaker, but they are going to need the proper level of exposure, before the age of five. A child won’t become fluent in a new language by watching a foreign language TV show once a week. Their exposure to the new language must be consistent, immersive, and meaningful. Children don’t understand the long-term benefits of language learning, but they do have an innate desire to communicate and be understood. That’s why the new language must be more than a casual activity. It needs to be integrated into a meaningful and consistent environment for the child to truly care about listening and learning.

At Tessa International School, we create an environment where language learning is not just fundamental, but also enjoyable. Contact us today to enroll your young child in an immersive bilingual learning program, and encourage language learning that has already happened at home, or start completely fresh.

Fine and Gross Motor Skills of Preschoolers: What Parents Can Expect as Children Grow

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As the parent of a preschooler, you will want to compare your child’s motor skills to the average developmental skill level to gauge their growth and development. Motor skills are the motions that occur as a result of a child’s brain, nervous system, and muscles working together. Although each child develops different skills at different rates, it’s helpful to get a basic idea of the milestones they should be reaching at each stage. Since motor skills are supported by many areas of the body, they are a helpful guide for parents to access their child’s development early on. It’s also a great way to tell if your child in naturally inclined towards any physical skills, so you can encourage them to develop their unique talents.

Here’s what you need to know about fine and gross motor skills for young children and the average ages these skills start to develop.  

Fine Motor Skills

Fine motor skills involve using smaller muscles and movements, such as grasping small items or holding utensils. It’s important that small children develop fine motor skills, so the small muscles of their hands, fingers and toes can become strong and dexterous. These skills also include the small muscles of the tongue and lips necessary for language. As fine motor skills in preschoolers improve, young children are able to do simple tasks, such as feed themselves.

Fine Motor Skills: Milestones for Children from Ages 2-3

  • Creating things, using their hands, such as building towers using wooden or plastic blocks.
  • Scribbling with crayons.
  • Molding Playdough or clay into simple shapes.
  • Inserting shapes into matching holes, such as placing round pegs into round holes.
  • Preferring one hand over the other one, which can signify if a child is right or left handed.

Fine Motor Skills: Milestones for Children from Ages 3-4

  • Showing more independence in trying to dress or undress themselves.
  • Manipulating zippers, snaps and other garment fasteners.
  • Starting to use round-edged or blunt scissors.
  • Using spoons and forks.
  • Being able to use large crayons, markers and other types of thicker writing tools.
  • Twisting off lids from jars.
  • Opening and closing doors by turning door knobs and pulling handles.

Fine Motor Skills: Milestones for Children from Ages 4-5

  • Continued refinement of fine motor skills, such as being able to unbutton or button clothing without help.
  • Improved artistic abilities, such as drawing simple shapes and stick figures.
  • Drawing large letters.

Gross Motor Skills

Gross motor skills don’t require as much precision as fine motor skills do. Besides involving movement, gross motor skills entail arm and leg coordination, in addition to moving other large parts of the body, such as crawling, running and swimming.

Gross Motor Skills: Milestones for Children from Ages 2-3

  • Running, hopping and jumping, which typically occurs after toddlers start to walk smoother, faster, and with more confidence.
  • Throwing and catching large balls.
  • Using the feet for pushing themselves when maneuvering a toy car.

Gross Motor Skills: Milestones for Children from Ages 3-4

  • Improved upper body mobility, which enables children to catch and throw large balls.
  • Hitting a stationary ball from a tee.
  • The onset of stair climbing, although somewhat awkward—At this age, climbing stairs is usually done cautiously, in which both feet land on a step together before proceeding to the next step. Parents need to assist their kids in stair climbing to prevent falls. They should especially be on hand when their kids descend stairs
  • Hopping and jumping higher because of stronger leg muscles with some children being able to hop on a single foot.
  • Starting to ride a tricycle due to the improvement of overall body coordination.

Gross Motor Skills: Milestones for Children from Ages 4-5

  • Ascending and descending stairs without assistance.
  • Skipping.
  • Spinning the body when throwing a ball.
  • Riding tricycles or even bikes with better control at faster speeds.
  • Running faster and smoother.

Considerations and Warnings

  • Toddling, which is a movement, which pertains to a wide-legged posture that resembles robot-like motions, can be a clue that walking will soon begin.
  • Before most young children start kindergarten, they’re able to totally dress and undress themselves without assistance even though it can take a while.
  • As parents, you can help your preschoolers develop their fine motor skills at home, such as showing them how to cut and paste, use a zipper, clap their hands, build with blocks, do simple puzzles and manipulate crayons and pencils.
  • Once young children learn how to twist off lids, it’s critical that parents keep containers containing harmful substance out of reach.

Do you have a child who will soon be old enough for preschool? Maybe you’re a new mom. If so, it’s not too soon to start thinking about preschool and giving your son or daughter a quality early childhood education. Besides helping preschoolers with basic motor skills and developing their cognitive and social abilities, at Tessa International School we also introduce them to other cultures and languages, which can prepare them to be leaders of the 21st century. Please contact us and learn more about our exceptional preschool in Hoboken, New Jersey.

Interesting Facts About Childhood Bilingualism That Might Surprise You

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by Tori Galatro

Cognitive development in children is a fascinating subject. Children have an incredible ability to absorb information. Parents who expose their children to multiple languages at an early age give their children a unique advantage in their language development. New research is coming out everyday on the subject of cognitive development in children as it relates to bilingualism and multilingualism. Yet there is still so much we don’t know. Below are some recent findings on the subject that may surprise you.

Children “Code Switch” Just Like Adults Do

Jumping between multiple languages in the same sentence or conversation is known as “code switching”. There are many reasons to code switch, and it is a natural part of being bilingual. Code switching can show emphasis, help clarify meaning, or evoke the cultural associations of a particular word. Bilinguals may simply prefer a phrase in one language over its translation in the other. Bilingual children also code switch. Parents of bilingual children often assume this indicates confusion or struggle, when in fact, it’s a natural part of language learning. In some cases, children may use another language to substitute for vocabulary they don’t know. Parents ought to make sure their child knows the correct word in both languages. Other than that, there is nothing to worry about, and code switching is perfectly normal.

Children Have the Unique Ability to Sound like Native Speakers

The term “bilingual” usually describes someone who is conversational in two languages. More than half of the world is said to meet this criteria, but only a small percentage can speak two languages as if they were a native speaker, with native pronunciation. Most people can only achieve this if they start at a very young age, which is why early childhood bilingualism is so fundamental to language learning. It is much easier for a child to learn the phonetic sounds of multiple languages before the age that they become too accustomed to the sounds of only one.

Children Will Follow the Language of the Community

Language dominance is a very common phenomenon among bilinguals. Very few bilingual adults and children speak two languages with exactly the same frequency and skill. Different languages are often used in different contexts, or different spheres. For example, one language may be spoken at home, while a different language may be spoken at school or in the community. It is common for children to gravitate towards the language spoken by their peers, rather than their parents, as they get older and embrace the community language as their dominant language. It is advisable to supplement the non-dominant language with classes and extra conversation.

Children Derive Non-Linguistic Cognitive Benefits from Being Bilingual

Years ago, parents and researchers believed that bilingualism was bad for children and slowed their development. Modern research has repeatedly shown that the opposite is true. Of all of the studies on childhood bilingualism, none have shown any negative effects, and several have shown positive effects, even in areas of the brain not related to language development. Some studies indicate that bilingualism can improve focus, attention, and selectivity. Others indicate that it can improve reading ability in cases where both languages share a common alphabet. Bilingual children may initially have a decreased vocabulary in each language, since less time is spent with each, so the more language, communication, and expression in their lives, the better for their language learning.

 

At Tessa International School, we use proven methods, creating an immersive bilingual learning environment where parents can take advantage of this special time in their children’s lives, helping them to develop their minds while having fun. Contact us today!

How Children Learn Languages Naturally Through Immersion

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Immersion language learning may sound like something that can only be done living abroad, but this is absolutely not the case. Even monolingual people have experienced the central premise. If you’ve ever made a new group of friends who use a phrase you’re unfamiliar with, then find yourself using it constantly in a week or two, you’ve already been through a very minor form of language immersion. Parents who want their children to learn a second language during their early linguistically-adaptive years can understand why their preschoolers won’t learn a language by rote memorization of vocabulary sheets and grammar rules, but instead through immersion.

Immersion and Fluency

When babies are learning to talk, we don’t start them off with written flashcards. Instead, they start experimenting with phonemes (the smallest audible parts of a word like “ba” and “ko”) that sound like the sounds the adults around them are making. As they start to speak, they also pay close attention to how others around them speak and the responses they get from their new words. Eventually, they form meaningful sentences to express needs based on their understanding of what the words they are using mean by experience and observation. In other words, all children learn their first language through immersion. Learning their second language is no different.

family, children and people concept – happy mother and daughter drawing and talking over green background

The Bilingual Household

‘Naturally’ bilingual children are simply applying that adaptive language learning stage to two different language sets. Bilingualism occurs when a child is regularly exposed to communication in both languages. This can occur at home or at school, as long as the exposure is consistent and immersive.

In the Classroom

You don’t have to have a multilingual family or travel with a toddler to give your child the gift of additional languages at a young age. Immersion can easily be created in the classroom simply by changing the linguistic context of the lessons and conducting them in the second language for the majority of the school day. This gives students, not only the opportunity to self-motivate, but also the desire to do better. In an immersive classroom, the children are asked to think, listen, write, and speak primarily in the target language, helping them learn how to interact comfortably with each other and the instructor while learning the language together.

Tessa International Preschool

Tessa International School is an immersive bilingual preschool that emphasizes bilingual language learning  We take pride in our successes bringing bilingualism to our students. In our classrooms, the children learn from their native speaking teacher and teaching assistant, and from each other. Parents are consistently surprised by the speed and completeness with which their very young children can learn a new language. Children naturally learn language through immersion, and your toddler can start learning their second, third, or even fourth language right away with us. Whether you’re a classic monolingual English speaking family or your toddler speaks your native language better than the local one, Tessa International School will be proud to teach your child Spanish, French, or Mandarin in an environment that nurtures, challenges and provides educational excellence in a wonderfully rich learning environment. For more information about how children learn language or to schedule an interview with us, please contact us today!

Skills to Teach Preschoolers That Will Help Them Later in Life

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Many of the skills children learn at a young age stay with them throughout their lives. If you want to help kids develop into happy, healthy, social, and self-sufficient adults, it’s important to encourage certain habits and ways of thinking at an early age. Let’s look at some of the best skills to introduce to children in preschool that will help them later in life.

Language Skills

Language skills are fundamental to a great deal of what children learn throughout their lives. Learning how to read and communicate verbally lets kids absorb all types of information, ask questions, and develop their own ideas. Evidence shows that literacy is not only about developing language skills but contributes to a variety of life skills. Experts disagree about how early children should learn how to read. At the very least, however, preschoolers can learn the alphabet and start to develop a varied vocabulary. There are a variety of ways to foster language skills in children. One of the best ways is simply by talking to them. Having a designated storytime each day is also important. Don’t rely on media such as TV and the internet to give children language skills. While they have their place, they are more passive and don’t encourage thought and interaction as much as a direct conversation. Giving kids pencils, chalk, shaving foam, wooden letters, pens, markers and much more with which to scribble and start experimenting with letters and words helps them foster early writing skills.

Social Skills

Social skills are essential for many areas of life. To some extent, these overlap with language skills but only to a point. People who are proficient with language and have extensive vocabularies may lack essential social skills. Learning to get along with others involves listening as well as talking, the willingness to share and self-manage emotions. These abilities don’t always come naturally to young children. Teaching children to take turns, share toys, and consider the needs of others helps lay the groundwork for functional personal and professional relationships later on. It’s equally important for shy children to speak up and learn to be assertive when necessary. Games, sports, and group activities requiring cooperation help children learn such essential social skills.

Motor Skills

Physical skills, such as gross and fine motor skills, are essential for helping children navigate their way through life, feel confident, and learn to use tools. These types of skills are useful in a variety of fields, such as technology, engineering, cooking, sports, the arts, and many other areas. Hand-eye coordination is also necessary for writing and drawing. Many activities that children naturally enjoy, such as running, arts & crafts, playing ball games, swimming, riding bikes, and climbing help to develop these abilities. Today, children often get tethered to electronic devices at an early age. It’s important to make sure they stay active, spend time outdoors, and engage in physical play. In addition to helping them develop motor skills, this helps them learn healthy habits.

Reasoning and Problem-Solving Skills

Many problems in life, both professional and personal, require reasoning and problem-solving abilities. If children in preschool start to develop these skills, they’ll be more resourceful and self-sufficient as they get older. Many games and puzzles that are fun for children also help them think their way through problems. You can foster these abilities by talking to children about problems that arise in everyday life or theoretical questions, such as “how do plants and trees grow?” “how can we fix this broken table?” or “what’s the best way to get to the shopping center?”. This gets kids accustomed to using their minds to solve problems and empowers them to know that they can.

Creativity

In addition to introducing children to specific skills, it’s also important to encourage their creativity. Kids are naturally creative. The only question is how much the adults who supervise them allow them to express their creativity. A certain amount of free play helps them develop their imaginations. Artistic activities such as drawing, painting, building with blocks, play dough, and singing are all great for fostering creativity.

At Tessa International School, we help students work towards International Baccalaureate accreditation. This curriculum framework provides so much in the way of giving children life skills at a young age that will be useful throughout their entire educational journey and their lives. Qualities such as care, respect, empathy, and much more are emphasized daily, preparing children to be leaders of the 21st century. Not to mention happy world citizens, as they are immersed in another language and other cultures. To find out more, contact us.

 

How Interactive Whiteboards Help Children Learn

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When many of us grew up, having a white board with colorful markers seemed part of an exciting wave of innovation. No more dusty erasers! Now those are giving way to interactive whiteboards.

These fantastic teaching tools help children learn in many ways:

Interactive White Boards Allow for More Interaction and Customization

Each lesson, teachers can prepare slides, similar to a PowerPoint presentation. However, the software for interactive whiteboards allows teachers and students to annotate what has been written directly onto the screen. For example, if a teacher wants the whole class to solve a math problem, the equation can be typed by the teacher on a slide. Then in class, a student (or group) can go up to the screen and work on solving it using a special inkless “pen”. If there is a mistake, the student can erase it. Unlike an overhead projector, the screen projection can be very large and there is no fumbling around with strange angles. If something is erased by mistake, there is an easy “undo” button that can simply be clicked. If teachers would like to use a hardcopy of a student’s work as an example, they can simply print it out.

Teachers Can Transition Seamlessly Between Topics

The slides can be created and saved by topic for a day, a week, or an entire unit: it’s all up to the educator. If a child misses a day of class, all the teacher needs to do is print out the slides and provide some additional notations. When students struggle with a concept, it is easy to go back over previous slides to make certain that they understood the previous material. Having an interactive whiteboard allows teachers greater organization techniques that everyone will be grateful for.

Objectives Can Easily Be Incorporated into Slides

In a classroom pressed for space, it can be hard to find additional areas to present the day’s objectives amidst the artwork, student work, calendars, and weekly schedules. However with an interactive whiteboard, teachers can post the lesson’s objectives anywhere on the slide. For example, the phrase “analyze the descriptive language in a poem” could be placed on all slides pertaining to that lesson, so that students remember the ultimate objective. This, in turn, will help students develop metacognitive skills so that they are aware of their own academic skills as they develop them.

Links Can Be Integrated into Slides

Today, there is so much supplemental educational material available on the internet, it’s extremely helpful if educators have an efficient way to share it with their students. Whether it’s a video of an inspiring speech or of penguins protecting their eggs, teachers can link to it directly through a word or picture. There is no time lost running over to a computer.

Teachers Can Control Boards from Anywhere in the Classroom

With a special remote accessory, teachers may walk around the classroom as students work while simultaneously annotating the slides and progressing through the lesson. This tool provides teachers with the ability to look at student work to ensure that students are indeed internalizing what is being taught. Furthermore, it allows teachers the ability to manage the whole classroom and see that everybody is on task.

Allows for Interactive Games and Activities

Teachers can create slides that allow students to click on possible answers during review games. This demonstrates if children have learned the material, and allows students to have fun going over what they have learned. Once teachers learn the different functions the software allows, the possibilities seem endless. Students enjoy going up to the board to work, and teachers can keep these games or amend them in the future. Younger students can also problem solve with puzzles and so much more. The possibilities are endless!

Interactive Whiteboards Can be Mobile

Schools can purchase mobile boards that move from room to room. Not every school has teachers fixed in permanent rooms, but there is no reason why technology can’t adapt to meet their needs. As long as the software is on a teacher’s computer, they can use any interactive whiteboard for any lesson.

Interactive whiteboards are, without a doubt, a great feature for a school to have. Students will have more exposure to technology, which is essential in our ever-changing technological world, feel more connected to the material, and teachers can feel better organized with their lesson plans.

If you have any questions about our teaching methodology at Tessa International School, please contact us.

3 Games You Can Play at Home to Help Teach Your Child a New Language

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Support your child’s academic language learning with fun games at home! Little ones respond best to homework when it is made into a game. Playing language games with your child is not just a great way to help them retain and build on their language learning, it is also an opportunity for you to learn the language with them, complete with a study buddy to practice with! Here are three fun language games to play with your child at home that will help them remember, absorb, and begin to actively use their new language skills.

Game #1: Clap Rhymes and Songs

“Cho-co-la-te, Cho-co-la-te, bate, bate, el chocolate”

Nothing sticks in the brain better than the combination of rhythm, rhyme, and clapping in time to a beat. From jump-rope games to circle rhymes, children have been learning this way for decades, if not centuries. One of the best ways to help your child become familiar with speaking a new language confidently is to practice saying it in rhyme with the aide of a fun clap pattern or even a little dance. Find children’s songs and chants from the language’s culture of origin and teach them to your child at home or use their vocabulary lessons to make up rhymes of your own. To help the meanings of the words sink in, use an English version as well and practice them side-by-side.

Game #2: Story Time Mad-Libs

“Once upon a time there was a prince whose favorite fruit was …”

Young children can get bored of normal flashcards quickly, but they make excellent props for games instead. If you have a set of simple color, noun, and verb flash cards, make up a story with your child that frequently uses these words. Let them fill in the blanks with their own ideas, as long as they’re in the new language, or use the flashcards to give them a clue what you’re thinking. You can also take turns making up lines in the story and using the flashcards to remember the right foreign language vocabulary word.

Game #3: Name That Snack

Then, of course, you can always use snacks as the motivation and inspiration that they so often are for young children. Traditionally, this game is played with colored candies, asking your child to name the appropriate color before they get a treat. You can make the game healthy instead with fruits, veggie chips, and other snack foods. When your child can ask for their favorite treat in the new language they’re learning, be sure to grant it to them (within reason). This activity can then open the door to further foreign-language conversation around the breakfast and dinner table. Inspire inquiry by showing your child how to lookup a word you both don’t know.

Practice at home is a great way to help your child retain and expand on a new language they’re learning in school. The more they stretch their minds to use the new vocabulary with familiar and fun concepts, and practice naming and talking about things in the new language, the more confident they’ll become. For a strong academic foundation for a preschool bilingual education, please contact us today!

Spanish Language Learning: Bilingual Programs Build Connections

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Dual language programs, starting as early as PreSchool, introduce bilingualism and diversity into the classroom, exposing youngsters to different languages, cultures and experiences. Children’s brains are like sponges and they soak up other languages more quickly when they begin learning at young ages. This ability decreases with time. This is due to early brain development and centers of the brain responsible for language acquisition. In fact, learning two languages simultaneously reinforces vocabulary learned in each language! A surprising benefit of learning another language is the strengthening of the English language!

Bilingual Programs

Some schools are using computer apps to teach Spanish and other languages, but that’s no match for academic institutions that employ bilingual teachers. There is some concern regarding the amount of time children are spending glued to a screen, so many schools are working on finding middle ground solutions to monitor student usage instead of banning screens altogether. Bilingual academics are equally engaging without the necessity for a screen. A full immersion program is the best way. This affords children the opportunity to really become bilingual, with a teacher who is a native speaker.

Fluency in more than one language helps strengthen cognitive flexibility and many other cognitive skills, teaching students to think outside of the box! Integrating bilingual programs into schools helps build cultural competency, creating environments that are empathetic and supportive, and demonstrating the value of diversity.

The benefits of dual language education need not stop at the chalk board! Parents, you can engage in language activities outside the schoolroom, continuing the learning at home–you may find that  you even learn something too! Of course, it’s not the same as a full immersion bilingual program, but it’s better than nothing:

Teaching Tips

  • Greetings ~ Begin the day with saying, “Buenos Dias!” or “Hola! Me llamo Michael,” when meeting new people. Integrate Spanish words into everyday phrases!
  • Tactile Involvement ~ Anchor words by giving your child something to hold or touch, visually supporting the information learned. If teaching the color green, “el verde,” use a piece of green construction paper cut out in the shape of a leaf, “una hoja!” Turn learning into an interactive art project!
  • Movement ~ Dance or act out words! Using movement is another method that anchors words learned by helping with processing and memory. Try playing charades or Pictionary in Spanish! Turn learning into a family game everyone can join in after dinner or on the weekends!
  • Tell Stories ~ When reading from picture books, children derive meaning from context clues. Children’s stories are also pattern-based and use lots of repetition, which further assists anchoring new words!
  • Sing Songs ~ Melodies and rhymes help to create patterns that are easy to remember. Almost every popular radio hit has a hook that draws in listeners; it’s the same for children’s songs. Another tip is trying to sing “echo” songs, where your child repeats lines back to you. Repetition is key to learning any language! So why not have some fun with it?
  • Ask Questions ~ Ask supportive questions, engaging your child to use the language they’re working on. For example: instead of asking, “Que es esto?” (What is this?) try, “Es un gato?” (Is this a cat?). Phrasing questions in this manner uses word repetition, supporting new words learned by providing context clues.
  • Counting ~ When washing hands, count to ten in Spanish! Uno, dos, tres!
  • Shared Activities ~ If your child is helping you bake cookies, use basic words for the dishes needed to mix the batter. For instance, ask your child to hand you una cuchara, a spoon! This is an extremely powerful way to help your child learn Spanish because it provides emotional tactile involvement!

Global Classroom

Research shows learning other languages, like Spanish, has cognitive and cultural benefits on developing minds. Bilingual programs beginning as early as PreSchool send a message to children that the world is a small place and that the world is their oyster. It also strengthens our sense of global awareness and unity, in and outside the classroom! When engaging your child at home, remember to use words in context and to repeat words. And always: have fun and be flexible!

French Language Learning: 5 Reasons Your Child Should Study French

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Why encourage your child to learn French? So they can order pommes de terre at La Bouche Cafe with a perfect accent? Well, yes. But that’s not the only reason. There are more benefits to learning French than showcasing your language skills in a fancy restaurant. French is a versatile language with wide-ranging benefits. Below are some of the top reasons your child should study French.

Foreign language study at an early age leads to improved academic performance in all subjects, improves a student’s ability to focus, and provides priceless opportunities to study foreign cultures. But you might ask yourself, “Why French?” Or rather, “Pourquoi le Francais?”

More Than 270 Million People Speak French on Five Continents

French is one of the world’s fastest growing languages with many French-speaking countries experiencing rapid population growth. In addition, it is projected that by 2025, French will overtake German as the most spoken language in Europe.

The International Organization of French Speaking Countries consists of 84 member nations. French is the 6th most spoken language in the world and the second most learned foreign language in the world. Learning French for the sole purpose of traveling to France and partaking in the country’s culture justifies the hours of study it takes to learn a foreign language. Speaking French also opens up the cultural door to over two dozen African nations as well, including Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.

Speaking French Provides an Advantage in the Job Market

Many employers look for individuals who speak both English and Spanish. There are, after all, a huge number of individuals in the US whose first language is Spanish. So why not learn Spanish instead of French? It comes down to supply and demand. France is the world’s fifth biggest economy. That means American corporations want to do business with France and in France–not to mention the aforementioned nations where French is the official language.

If speaking French is an uncommon skill, that means the person who speaks French becomes more valuable. In other words, because French speakers are rare in the US, the demand for French speakers outpaces the supply of French speakers. Speaking French also provides unique opportunities in Canada, Switzerland, and many nations in Africa.

French is the Language of Culture and Travel

Throughout history, the French have excelled at cooking, fashion, theater, the visual arts, dance and architecture. A knowledge of French gives the learner cultural insight that proves valuable while traveling. More than 79 million people visit France yearly. There’s a reason for that. Speaking French also makes traveling in Africa, Switzerland, Canada, Monaco, the Seychelles and other places much more pleasant. French is an official language of United Nations, the European Union, UNESCO, NATO, the International Olympic Committee, and the International Red Cross.

Learning French Makes Learning Other Languages Easier to Learn

French is one of the ‘big’ Romance languages and lends itself brilliantly to learning other languages, including English. Those who study French in school have a distinct advantage when attempting to learn Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Plus, it is easy to learn French when your first language is English, since so many English words come from French.

Tessa International School’s mission is to prepare children to be bilingual, happy world citizens and productive leaders of the 21st century. At Tessa, children are introduced to other languages and cultures from preschool – the age when children are most likely to absorb another language with ease. This ability decreases with time, so contact us now to have your child become bilingual!

 

Extraordinary Benefits of Mandarin Language Learning for Children

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Mandarin Chinese is the most widely spoken native language in the world, with 960 million people using it as their first language. Despite China’s many regions, language groups, and dialects, Mandarin has been the lingua franca of China and Taiwan for more than 500 years.

As China has grown in recent decades to become a world power, the Mandarin language has increased in importance for international business and foreign relations. China is now the world’s fastest growing economy, and adults increasingly find that the ability to speak Mandarin would be a useful skill to have. Moreover, most governments and international businesses have a preference for multilingual employees.

However, Mandarin is a notoriously difficult language for Westerners to learn. Without an alphabet, there is no accurate count for the total number of written characters, but it is estimated to be around 60,000. And it is very difficult for speakers of non-tonal languages to learn to adapt and correctly mimic the tonal nature of the spoken words.

But this learning difficulty does not hold true for children. Young children are still developing their primary language skills, and their brains are highly receptive to learning and adaptation. The ideal time for a Westerner to learn Mandarin and achieve fluency is at a young age. Moreover, aside from the practical gains of knowing Mandarin as an adult, studies show that children benefit in many ways from learning Mandarin while they are young. Here are just a few:

Develop Accurate Hearing and Interpretation of Sounds

Learning tonal languages is easier for children, who are sensitive to the differences in sounds. The younger a child begins learning, the more accurately they can replicate these sounds. Furthermore, this familiarity with tones and sounds actually helps cultivate musical ability in children. A study at the University of California in San Diego found a strong correlation between fluency in a tonal language, and the development of perfect pitch. Perfect pitch is indicative of certain advanced cortical processes. So not only does Mandarin potentially benefit the brain, it potentially makes the child a better singer!

 

Better Interpretation of Symbols

Since Mandarin writing relies on thousands of character, learners of Mandarin Chinese have to read and interpret a vast number of visual symbols, activating more regions of the brain than English, which relies on a phonetic alphabet. Through learning Mandarin, children can become more adept at visual communication, more readily interpreting symbols in visual art and understanding nuances in symbolism and visual communication.

Improved Hand-Eye Coordination

While most Western languages are written in one direction, the act of writing Mandarin characters requires brush or pen strokes in multiple directions, with differentiating hand pressure. Writing in this way has been shown to improve fine motor skills and spatial recognition in children.

Stronger Math Skills

Yes, there is actually a scientific correlation between learning Mandarin and improved mathematical ability. Scientists theorize that because Mandarin representation of numbers is less abstract than Arabic numbers, and because the act of practicing handwriting requires repeated counting, young children gain greater familiarity with math and with numeric thinking. In learning Mandarin, the mathematical concepts are integral to the language fluency, and not a separate subject activating a different part of the brain.

Because Mandarin Chinese involves learning language, sounds, drawing, and math all at once, it activates more regions of the brain and improves cognitive development overall, even in adults. In fact, speakers of Mandarin use more of their brain more of the time, unlike English speakers who tend to alternate between left and right hemispheres. In theory, this more balanced brain could lead to greater overall creativity, enhanced problem-solving, and increased emotional intelligence.

With all these benefits for the mind and brain, Mandarin language learning for children is sure to be an asset for their whole life, regardless of their eventual interests or profession. Get them started today!

 

Tessa International School

Office: (201) 755-5585 | Location: 702 Monroe St. Hoboken, NJ 07030