Language is a beautiful thing. it is through language, after all, the we communicate the most clearly. Through language we can show love and anger and jealousy and joy – and just about any other human emotion you could think of. And language can be expressed in many different ways. From song to writing to speech, the ways in which we convey language to one another are varied and often even open to interpretation.
Here in the United States, the language of most is English, a language that is spoken not only here but in many other places around the world. With the English language so pervasive in our culture, it can be easy to feel that English is the only language that matters. However, this is far from the case.
Take the language of Spanish, for example. When it comes to languages, Spanish is far more widespread than English, and is even the second most spoken language in the entirety of the world. In fact, more than three hundred and eighty five million people (around three hundred and eighty seven million people, to be more exact) speak Spanish as their native language, with many more having learned it as a secondary language. This means that there are considerably more Spanish speakers around the world than there are English speakers.
The bilingual child has many advantages when growing up in our now multicultural world. In fact, being bilingual has been found to be so advantageous that up to two thirds of children throughout the world are now bilingual. Some become bilingual naturally, as they have parents or family members who speak more than just one language, but many children will become bilingual as a result of the education that they receive, ranging from a Spanish curriculum for preschool to a kids Spanish curriculum.
Here in the United States, however, less than twenty percent (seventeen percent, to be more precise) of all kids know a second language fluently. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that language learning programs like a kids Spanish curriculum do not even typically begin as part of a normal public school education until a child reaches late elementary school or even middle school. By the time that said Spanish curriculum for elementary school is introduced, it is often too late for children to learn to speak the language as fluently as they would have if they had started learning it from a younger age.
This is due to the fact that younger brains are incredibly plastic, making the learning and absorption of something like a kids Spanish curriculum far easier. In fact, experts in the field even recommend that children ideally begin to learn from a kids Spanish curriculum before they reach the age of ten. As brain plasticity starts to fade after the age of six, however, some experts will even suggest that children begin a course with a kids Spanish curriculum before they reach the age of five, if at all possible.
Even after brain plasticity is lost once a child turns six, the potential for language learning from a kids Spanish curriculum including Spanish story books and the like can still be highly possible. This is due to the fact that children have naturally acquiring language skills up through the age of eight years of age. In the years up until this point, children can easily learn through imitation, songs, games, and, of course, repetition.
However, once a child reaches the age of eight and before the age of twelve, this natural ability for language learning will begin the process of fading away. While students of an older age like high school students or even adult learners will of course still be able to learn a new language – as many people must do when they move from one country to another – it will be a much more difficult process and a much less natural one. If you introduce languages to your children through a kids Spanish curriculum when they are very young, they are far more likely to become bilingual, something that will benefit them for their entire lives.
