Why is it beneficial for my baby to learn a second language?
According to research, the benefits of bilingualism go beyond linguistic abilities. Besides the obvious advantages relating to personal connections, communication, and even professional opportunities, bilingualism has been shown to:
- Improve attention span
- Strengthen memory
- Augment perception
- Encourage the ability to multi-task
- Delay the onset of Alzheimer’s
- Sharpen the sense of hearing
- Strengthen problem solving skills
- Stimulate creative and flexible thinking
- Reinforce verbal skills in both languages
- Accelerate the development of cognitive executive functions.
- Promote math comprehension
Why is it important to learn languages in early childhood?
The human brain is hard-wired to learn languages in the first few years of life. If we expose children to foreign language from the earliest stages of infancy, they can learn simultaneously with their native language and achieve a native level, without studying.
When is the best time to start?
Ready, steady, go! The best time is now, no matter how old your child is. The sooner, the better, yes, but don’t be discouraged if your child is a bit older. The focus of this blog will be for children from 0 to 6 years old, but there will be resources and strategies for all ages–even for parents!
How much time should I spend daily teaching my child English or another second language?
The BabyLingüe method isn’t about giving your baby English lessons but rather providing him or her with an environment in which he or she can live in English (or other target language). For your baby to learn naturally, he or she has to receive a lot of input. Ideally, you would speak to him or her as much as possible in English and the household noises (TV, conversations) would also be in English. However, I recognize this is not possible for most families. So, in the beginning, focus on incorporating English in one or two specific activities during the day (bath, meals, etc.) to start to form a routine. Once you’ve gotten used to this, gradually expand the moments in which you use English with your child. At first it may seem a bit strange to speak to your child in a language other than your own mother tongue, but little by little you will find yourself speaking to him in English without giving it a second thought.
¿How do I teach my child a second language?
Ah, well, that is just the question we hope to answer on this site. So, come on, let’s get started!