Why Language Immersion
Why is early immersion the best choice for my child?
Cognitive Benefits
Bilingual children . . .
- Demonstrate increased abilities in the areas of concentration, analysis, spatial reasoning and multi-tasking as compared to monolingual peers
- Demonstrate high levels of creativity and problem-solving due to the agility of the bilingual brain
- May learn to read sooner than their monolingual classmates
Sources:
Could Bilingual Education Mold Kid’s Brains to Better Resist Distraction
How the Brain Benefits From Being Bilingual
Six Potential Brain Benefits of Bilingual Education
The Superior Social Skills of Bilinguals
Social-Emotional & Personal Benefits
Bilingual children . . .
- Enjoy an increased sense of self-worth and identity as a result of being able to communicate in two or more languages
- Tend to have positive attitudes about both the majority language (English) and the immersion language
- Show more acceptance and understanding of others as a result of being exposed to different cultures
- Adjust more easily to environmental changes
- Can use their language skills to preserve family heritage
- Have greater resistance to Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia later in life
Academic & Career-Related Benefits
Bilingual children . . .
- Perform at or above levels of monolingual peers on standardization tests
- Are able to transfer core skills and learning strategies developed in one language to the other language (i.e., learning math in Chinese will support math skill development in general and learning to read in Spanish will support literacy development in general)
- Tend to develop more accurate pronunciation and intonation in the immersion language as compared to those who start later
- Are well-positioned to reach the highest levels of proficiency in the immersion language by the time they graduate from high school
- Enjoy a competitive advantage later in life as compared to monolingual peers in the workplace due to their ability to interact effectively with counterparts from other cultures