Starting today you can easily begin introducing Spanish to your young child with no teaching experience required or any second language knowledge necessary. Many parents sometimes wonder why I suggest Spanish over the other many languages of the world. As a mom of three bilingual children and as an educator of thousands of children I will provide you with the top five reasons why you should start Spanish fun in your daily routine today. Recent research has proven that early exposure to more than one language will stimulate the developing brain of the young child. Study after study has shown that children ages birth through five who are exposed to more than one language experience advanced cognitive abilities. It has been convincingly reported that the most optimum time to introduce multiple languages is during the very early years of life through the age of ten. Often times we witness our own children in the middle school and high school years struggle with their first introduction to a second language. They are walking testimonials for why it is so important to begin the second language learning during the early years. Early language learning translates into super charged brainpower that is wired for a lifetime of learning. Spanish is the most requested language program in the United States. With more than 45 million in our country speaking Spanish as their native language, it is almost a given that parents would want to choose Spanish as the second language to expose their children to during the early years. It is true that dialects of the Chinese language are more widely spoken worldwide. That fact is true only due to the population of Asian countries and is not a reflection of what will allow the young children of the United States to travel successfully through their own local communities, their own states and their own country. We all hear and experience daily the necessity to speak even basic Spanish to communicate more effectively with our colleagues, neighbors and community members. As parents and teachers responsible for the next generation, we must commit to preparing our youth for a society in which Spanish is the second most widely spoken language. Early reading skills will develop during the formative years, not to mention increased test scores later in life. This is not some theory. This is not some guess by experts that maybe this will happen. The proof is in that bilingual children, students who have received instruction in two or more languages, score higher on the math and verbal sections of standardized tests. In fact, the SAT entrance exam board has clearly noted better SAT scores with students reporting to have received more than two years of second language instruction. Evidence continues to pour in with impressive statistics of children who received two or more languages during their early learning years. Dora and Diego are on to something. We need to take it a few hundred steps further with more vocabulary, more phrases and more interaction with the Spanish learning fun! Native or near native pronunciation will occur when you start the introduction of the new language early in life. Just because you do not speak the new language yourself does not mean that you are unable to begin the Spanish learning today with your children. Research has suggested that native speakers are not needed to introduce the language. What is needed is interaction with the child during the language learning time. Using tools that provide you with a fun and easy format to introduce the new language right alongside the native language is key to your daily success. CDs, DVDs, books and fun activities will give you and your child the variety needed to make Spanish come to life. Having trouble with pronunciation in the Spanish language? Use products that have an easy to understand pronunciation guide, ask Spanish speakers in your community or work place how the word is pronounced and listen to Spanish TV and radio for assistance in pronunciation. When there is a will there is a way. Recognizing the importance of raising our children to be bilingual will keep you motivated and committed to this fun challenge. Prepare the young children of today for a global market and a global society. We know we should have taken our own foreign language learning a lot more seriously way back when! We realize that our world is shrinking daily as we experience more cultures, make friends with others whose native language is not English, and buy products that come from all corners of the world. Being bilingual is no longer an option. It is a necessity. Show the children in your life that you place a value on knowing a second language and that you respect and appreciate a wide variety of cultures. Do this by attending local cultural events, renting movies that reflect the heritage of other cultures, and by being kind to those who hail from other countries.
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