Should my child learn a second language? 

Among the many good reasons are the following: teaching your child a second language may improve his/her academic performance in other areas, may actually change their brain structure, and may open up future opportunities.  But there is a narrow window in a child's life when this is all possible.  Please read on:

• Kids love to sing along with the songs, so they get much more practice speaking and hearing the language

• The CDs are fun, so the children tend to listen to them at home, in the car, etc.  This repetition reinforces the language learning between classes

• Even infants enjoy listening to the music, and become exposed to the sounds of that language in the critical early years

• The music and activities in the class are a tremendous benefit to the child in their own right, even without the language. 

• The combination of singing, drama, games and art make the classes dynamic and fun, and hold the child's interest 

• Words and phrases, even foreign ones, are much easier to remember when put to music

• Music and language are complimentary, and both are crucial for a child's development.  By combining the two, the child enjoys a benefit far greater than just the sum of the parts.

"Third, fourth, and fifth graders studying languages showed significantly higher scores on the 1985 Basic Skills Language Arts Test than a similar group of nonparticipants. In addition, by fifth grade the math scores of language students were also higher than those of nonlanguage students."

Rafferty, E.A. (1986)

Ardene Shafer -MENC

"These <bilingual> children score well above anticipated national norms in both reading and mathematics and higher than the average of all magnet school participants"

Andrade, C. et al. (1989)

"Students who speak more than one language perform higher than their monolingual counterparts on tests of academic achievement, cognitive flexibility, and creativity"

(Moran & Hakuta, 1995; Bialystok & Hakuta, 1991; Rafferty, 1986; Hakuta & Diaz, 1985; Saxe, 1983, others

 "Research suggests that students who receive second language instruction are more creative and better at solving complex problems than those who do not"

Bamford and Mizokawa, (1991)

Miranda Hitti -WebMD Medical News (Oct. 13, 2004)

"The difference was especially significant in the brain's left side -- an area known to control language and communication skills. The right hemisphere of bilingual speakers also showed a similar trend.

As in the first test, increases in gray matter density in the brain's left region were linked to age at which a person became bilingual. The earliest second language learners had the densest gray matter in that part of the brain.

Our findings suggest that the structure of the human brain is altered by the experience of acquiring a second language."

Mechelli, A. Nature, (October 2004)

The Earlier the Better

Research proves that the best time to learn a foreign language is in infancy - the sooner the better. According to neurobiologists, a newborn’s brain is like a new computer waiting to be programmed. Some of the brain’s basic functions, such as breathing and heart beat are fixed in place while baby is still in the womb. But trillions of other connections in the brain are just waiting to be made, or programmed in, during the first years of life. Some of these early connections govern such skills as the ability to see and distinguish faces and objects, to master basic motor skills, and to learn languages. 

An infant's brain comes pre-wired to learn language, and children began to build their language skills from birth, using the sounds of the speech they are exposed to.  They can actually differentiate between different languages long before they can vocalize them themselves, and there seems to be no limit to the number of languages a young child can acquire.  As stated earlier, the brain actually rewires itself for language at this stage in a child's growth.  As the child gets older, the brain's ability to restructure itself in this manner diminishes, and by a very early age (between 6 and 9 years old) the window has virtually closed.  This is why young children the world over can learn one or more languages almost effortlessly, while older children and adults struggle to learn a second tongue and rarely become fluent or develop good accents. 

These early childhood experiences also represent the skills most likely to stick with us for life. As a result, say some researchers, an immature brain may offer certain advantages for acquiring a second or third language.

“'The power to learn language is so great in the young child that it doesn’t seem to matter how many languages you throw their way. They can learn as many as you allow them to hear systematically and regularly at the same time,' says Susan Curtis, linguistics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles."

Better Homes and Gardens (January 1998)

"The researchers say that although language is thought to be mediated by functional changes in the brain, they show that being bilingual structurally changes the brain. Their study shows the effect was strongest in people who had learned a second language before age 5.

Those who had learned <a second language> at a young age had greater proficiency in reading, writing, talking, and understanding English speech."

(Mechelli, A. Nature, October 2004)

Our country is a melting pot of cultures from around the world - a world that is getting smaller every day.  On a local and global level, our societies all benefit from cross-cultural understanding.  At Music Lingua we believe that bigotry, hatred, even war may often have ignorance and misunderstanding as their root cause.  Learning a second language opens the door to an appreciation of another culture, and opens minds to understanding that this world is a very interesting place.  We feel it is hard to overestimate the importance of broadening a child's horizons in this way!

In our shrinking world and growing global economy there are also many employment opportunities for bilingual speakers.  Speakers of foreign languages are also more apt to travel abroad - an enriching and often life-changing experience that everyone should have.  The entrance requirements for good universities require a certain proficiency in a second language.  Unfortunately, public schools usually do not offer language instruction until it is too late, if at all.  By starting your child with Music Lingua, you will give them the advantage they need later in school and in life.

"An obvious advantage of knowing more than one language is having expanded access to people and resources. Individuals who speak and read more than one language have the ability to communicate with more people, read more literature, and benefit more fully from travel to other countries. Introducing students to alternative ways of expressing themselves and to different cultures gives greater depth to their understanding of human experience by fostering an appreciation for the customs and achievements of people beyond their own communities. Ultimately, knowing a second language can also give people a competitive advantage in the work force by opening up additional job opportunities"

 (Villano, 1996)