Learning a foreign language at a younger age yields many benefits
February 27, 2014
Editor’s Note: Ryan Twisselmann is a junior in Lisetta Wallace’s Junior English class. He wrote this paper for a class assignment.
Most school districts in the United States only teach foreign languages to students at the high school level. The United States has fallen behind – fallen behind on the education of foreign cultures and languages.
One solution is that foreign languages be added to the education curriculum in elementary school rather than in high school. There are several benefits to learning a foreign language at a younger age.
Learning a second language at a younger age has proven to be more beneficial than learning a second language later in life.
What are some of the main differences between people who are monolingual and people who are bilingual at younger ages? Monolingual people are limited in several ways in comparison to bilingual people.
For example, teaching a child to be bilingual at a younger age equips them with the tools and methods they require to understand that there are other cultures and communities outside of their local bubble, while a monolingual child would only understand the culture of their own local bubble.
People who are bilingual can understand media from other countries and experience a completely different perspective of the world which enriches one’s life. Several studies have shown that this early education of foreign cultures and languages is also an extremely effectual method to eradicate bigotry, to promote ethnic acceptance, and greater involvement in the world.
Another reason for learning foreign cultures and languages at a younger age is that it is drastically easier to learn a second language at a younger age.
Should school systems continue attempting to teach old dogs new tricks? What are some advantages to learning a second language at a younger age?
According to Leslie Lancry, CEO of Language Stars, “Young children can acquire native-like fluency as easily as they learned to walk.”
Schools like Language Stars place strong emphasis on this idea of education on foreign cultures and languages and are able to teach children a new language simply through engagement.
Research shows that bilingual/multilingual people have a better understanding of their native language. According to Lancry and other experts, if students begin learning a new language before the age of seven, they are more likely to retain it for the rest of their lives, and have excellent pronunciation.
However, Lancry and these other experts have also claimed that this window closes around the age of 10. After the closing of this window, even several years of tutoring and studying may not make a language stay with that child for a prolonged duration.
Students are required to take several exams in their education. Standardized exams have taken center stage in most American school districts. Does being bilingual at a younger age affect one’s testing scores? Two significant by-products of bilingualism are better thinking skills and longer attention spans.
These skills combine to create transcendent test taking skills. A 2007 study completed by The College Board found that students with at least four years of a second language scored on average 140 points higher in all three sections of the SAT. Scoring 140 points higher in all three sections of the SAT means that the bilingual students scored an average of 420 points higher than the monolingual students who took the same test.
Learning a second language at a younger age is significantly more beneficial to people than learning a second language later in life. Reasons for this include that monolingual people are limited in comparison to people who are bilingual/multilingual, that learning a new language at a younger age is easier and is more retainable, that it supports the eradication of bigotry, and that people who are bilingual/multilingual have transcendent test taking skills.
All of these reasons provide evidence that foreign cultures and languages should be added to the education curriculum to elementary schools in the school districts of the United States. All citizens concerned about this topic are strongly urged to write to the superintendent of their school district about the importance of this change.
The more rapidly this change is made to the curriculum of the United States school systems, the quicker the people of the United States will be able to achieve such transcendent goals and live better, more fulfilling lives.
