The Advantages of Children Learning Spanish
With approximately 328 million speakers, according to the Ethnologue language report, Spanish is one of the world's major languages. Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Peru are just a few of the Latin American countries that use Spanish, and there is also a growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States. Spanish is an enjoyable language for children to learn, and there are a variety of fun resources available specifically designed to teach Spanish to young people. There may also be significant benefits in later life for people who learn Spanish as children.
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Best Time to Learn a Language
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Recent scientific studies suggest that children have a deeper ability to acquire and develop language skills than adults. There is a critical period in human development when children are able to pick up new words and sounds in an almost effortless manner, irrespective of their primary language. Scientists believe that before the age of 10 is the best time to start learning a language, and that as people progress to adulthood it becomes increasingly difficult to absorb words in this manner. Those who learn Spanish as children, therefore, will find it much easier to learn than as adults.
Academic Advantages
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Scientists also believe that learning a language enhances children's cognitive development. This means that children who learn Spanish are likely to develop better critical thinking skills, as well as have more flexible and creative minds. Learning a foreign language improves a child's general problem solving skills, leading to a better understanding of math and a generally higher level of academic achievement compared to those who do not study a language. Learning Spanish could therefore have a positive impact on your child's performance in all subjects at school.
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Economic Advantages
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Those who start learning Spanish in childhood will have significant economic advantages in later life if they continue to develop their language skills. The ability to speak a second language makes you more marketable to prospective employers because it shows that you have the motivation and intelligence to learn something new. Demand for Spanish-speakers is growing in the United States and some employers are willing to pay more for bilingual staff. Learning to speak Spanish at a young age could, therefore, give your child an advantage in the job market in later life.
Ability to Learn Other Languages
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Spanish is a Romance language, which means that it belongs to the same language family as French, Italian, Portuguese and Romanian. Children who learn to speak Spanish will have a head start if they choose to learn any of these other languages when they are older, as they will recognize much of the basic vocabulary and also some of the grammatical structures. As an example, the verb "to write" is "escribir" in Spanish, "escrever" in Portuguese, "écrire" in French, "scrivere" in Italian and "scrie" in Romanian. A child who can already speak Spanish should be able to reach a good level in any of the other Romance languages with far fewer hours of study than a child with no knowledge of Spanish.
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