How language learning prepares your child for international future

How does language Learning prepare your child for an international future?

EF Education First

Agenda • Bilingualism and the brain • Language learning and other life skills • The culture connection • Languages at work

Bilingualism and the brain • Bilinguals enjoy a delay of 4-5 years in the onset of dementia • Bilinguals recover faster after a stroke • Bilinguals show noticeable symptoms of Alzheimer disease nearly 5 years later • A bilingual brain is more nimble and agile • A bilingual brain is more flexible and adaptable • Bilinguals organize conflicting information, concentrate and solve problems more effectively

Language learning and other life skills • Bilingual children are better at communication than monolingual children • Multilingual exposure facilitates the basic skills of interpersonal understanding

Bilinguals are better in understanding others, working effectively and therefore ultimately are more successful

The culture connection • Learning a foreign language literally changes the way we see the world • People speaking different languages are more open-minded and culturally sensitive • Bilingualism is making people multicultural – a great advantage in today’s borderless world

Languages at work • Language skills are key differentiator among applicants for most jobs • Language skills are beneficial financially • Effective multilingual communication drives productivity and opens up new opportunities as jobs and projects go global

Some famous bilinguals Mila Kunis English/Russian With her exotic looks, Mila was born in Ukraine but raised in Los Angeles. Mila fluently speaks both English and Russian. She lived in Ukraine until she was 7 and then moved to LA. But ever since she left her home country, she has kept practicing her Russian.

Gwyneth Paltrow English/Spanish Gwyneth fluently speaks English and Spanish. At the age of 15, she spent a year as an exchange student in Spain, where she learned the language. She says this experience changed her life, and gave her a total new perspective about seeing the world. She places a great effort in raising her children bilingual.

Natalie Portman Hebrew/French/Japanese/German/Spanish Natalie Portman was born in Jerusalem and was raised bilingual, learning both English and Hebrew.

She is passionate about travelling and this brought her to learn French, Japanese, German and Spanish; she is conversational in all languages.

Source: http://www.mastersportal.eu/articles/1465/10multilingual-vips-who-speak-several-languages.html

To sum up Learning languages is enjoyable, useful and in many respects essential for children’s development and for the future success of young people: It conveys cognitive advantages, as well as furthering essential life skills such as empathy, adaptability and flexibility. These skills are attractive to anyone, but particularly important in the future and for those that dream of working, living or traveling abroad.

CTA

Contact us: EF Education First Address line 1 Tel. www.ef.com