A fun, educational preschool program is a great way to introduce your child to a positive school experience. But if you want to give your child the same fun, educational experience with an added life long skill, enroll your child in a preschool with a language immersion program. The benefits of teaching your child a second language at a young age go far beyond the obvious pros of being able to communicate in a different language. The simple gift of being immersed in a second language will help your child to learn the language while being in a familiar environment.
The younger a child is when introduced to a second language, the easier it is for them to understand it and learn to speak it. While the ability to speak two languages will open up more opportunities to communicate, there are several additional benefits to learning a second language, such as:
Reading skills: By learning a second language, children become more aware of sentence structure, punctuation, and how to conjugate different verbs. Understanding how language works can actually help them become better readers at an accelerated pace in their first language when compared to children who do not learn a second language.
Greater attention to detail: When immersed in a second language in a classroom setting, students develop a greater attention to detail as they are listening closely for instructions. They may pick up on inflection and facial expressions more easily as they are looking for clues to understand what is being asked of them.
Problem solving: Listening to a second language can be very similar to doing a puzzle. Remembering a certain sound used in a particular context, finding different patterns in speech, and putting those pieces together can help students who are immersed in a second language develop great problem solving skills. Combined with using their attention to detail about the mood, expression, and tone the speaker is using can help students understand what is being said.
Improves their first language skills: With such young children being introduced to a second language, many parents may fear that the child will become confused since they are still new to learning their first language. Studies actually show the exact opposite of this assumption. By learning two languages, students naturally begin to understand how language works and often outperform English comprehension skills when compared to students who only know English.
If you are looking for a language immersion program for your preschooler, our Fountainhead Montessori School campuses in Danville, Pleasant Hill, and Livermore, CA, can let you see the program in action if you would like to observe a class. We love seeing our students thrive in a second language, Montessori environment. For more information, give Fountainhead Montessori School a call today.