Foreign Languages from an early age

We live in a highly multicultural and global society. We face new situations in which we are forced to contact people almost on a daily basis. As we are required to increase our communication skills by learning foreign languages (minimum one, preferably three) so will our children have to meet the demands of an overly diverse society.

That's why it's better to prepare them for the world they will be living in, not just for lucrative reasons, but also because learning foreign languages will be extremely beneficial for their mental and psychological development.

It is a well known fact that children are far more receptive to all kinds of information than adults. This rule applied to learning foreign languages too. Recently, a Romanian deputy made a legislative proposal according to which all movies that play on both cinemas and TV stations would have to be dubbed in Romanian. Apparently, this initiative would help promote the national culture and Romanian language. However, the public outcry was tremendous. Facebook groups were born voting against the legislative proposal, generating online riots. Nobody wanted to give up on the language and subtitling! Romanians refused to align to Central- East European movement of dubbing films. Their arguments were related to the fact that having subtitles improves reading abilities, allows the viewer to listen to actors’ real voices, without losing the atmosphere. In addition, subtitling provides one of the first ways in which people can learn a new language, and is highly recommended to children. 

Furthermore, the Internet is also a valuable resource, providing programs and games that help children learn languages. Websites such as fishsmarty.com (that offers the possibility to learn English language) contains educational games on vocabulary or grammar structure by identifying the missing letters and completing the sentences. The added value consists of the fact that these games help children process language by relating words to objects and images, improve reading comprehension and foster imagination. The games make grammar rules vanish and seem easier to comprehend by combining words in phrases and sentences which make sense.

Nonetheless, this is a positive example. Parents must keep in mind that not all the methods provided through the Internet can be used with good results when trying to teach your kid a new language. Therefore, parents must be very attentive and look for an online program that is highly interactive, playful and that would be stimulating through sound, color and content.

The classes held in kindergarten or at school are not enough for a child to learn a language properly. The parent’s responsibility is to offer him alternative methods that would complete what he is taught in school.

Recently, an article in the Telegraph reports Mark Zuckerberg claiming that the laws needed to change to allow children under 13 to join Facebook because: “My philosophy is that for education you need to start at a really, really young age.” Yet, how could Facebook (a tool developed for socializing and merchandise) and yet be suitable for children without judgement up to the point where it would become an educational website? Facebook’s ultimate goal is to conquer the world and be the largest virtual nation on the planet. Well, lets leave Facebook do that and the education in someone else's hands. Facebook can pretend it might become an educational site, but for the time being, at least, it lacks the means to fuse both socializing and education. Also, there is little expectation in the legislation to change in favor, allowing such young children to sign up. Facebook should stick to what it knows best and let specialized websites become educational resources.

Last but not least, practice is the mother of success and will bring the child ease in speaking new languages. A child learns without realizing and once he is exposed to a new speaking environment or culture he will learn like a machine. Travel with your kids, encourage them to explore, play and learn.