“A child taught a second language after the age of 10 or so is unlikely ever to speak it like a native,” stated Newsweek magazine, in February 1996. One of my German professors noted the same thing - your brain and body both begin going through changes after 10 years of age that will prevent you from ever speaking it ”quite” as well as a native; not necessarily in terms of thought, writing, or vocabulary, but mostly just in terms of accent. The brain and the vocal cords just have a much easier time of it before the age of 10, and children who are immersed and learn it when young will learn it to native proficiency.
It behooves us as parents to begin teaching our children a foreign language now, not later - not only will our children have the gift of being bi-lingual, but multiple studies have proven that children who learn a foreign language actually do better in their own native language, placing higher on standardized tests. Children immersed in a foreign language not only excel in their native language skills, but place higher across the board - math, science, literature, philosophy, and all others. This increased proficiency has been proven to translate into higher SAT scores, and these fortunate children go on to outperform all comparison groups and become exceptionally high achievers academically.
The German language learning program we have found our kids respond best to is PowerSpeak - Foreign Language for Kids; the software is designed exclusively for kids, and isn’t just a stripped down version of another program. Rather, PowerSpeak for Kids is designed with children in mind (K-12) specifically, both in terms of learning style as well as academic proficiency. It meets all the school standards and requirements, and your children can actually test, certify and get credit by learning with this software. It’s perfectly adequate for adults, too, and a lot of fun besides (online, interactive, games, puzzles, and prizes - heh).
The study of a foreign language benefits the parents as well as the kids, by exposing a new culture to them, broadening their knowledge and understanding by revealing a completely new world to them. Children learn to express themselves in new and exciting ways. The language skills they acquire now will give them an advantage when they are entering the workforce, as being bilingual is a definite asset in many fields of endeavor.
The best way to help your children master a new language is to be actively involved yourself, learning as well as instructing. Attend cultural events with your children, sampling the music, food, art and dance of the country whose language you are studying. Study the language yourself, with your children, and speak it with them on a daily basis. Doing so will go a long way in motivating your children to learn, and it will become a favorite activity! Surround your whole family with books, Cd’s, music and software in the language you are learning. And if your children are past 10, don’t worry - they (and you) can still achieve native levels of fluency, even if a trace of an accent is there. Accents sound cool anyways!
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