Top 5 Reasons to Raise Your Kids Bilingual
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Are You Looking for Reasons to Raise Your Kids Bilingual?
Raising kids bilingual is increasingly considered to be a good thing to do. The enormous benefits are finally being acknowledged and the prejudices and misconceptions about the downsides of bilingual education are slowly fading away.
Out of the numerous reasons why you should raise your kids bilingual, I picked out the five most valuable ones. This is the essence of what your kids will be missing if you don't choose to raise them bilingual.
For more information on raising multilingual / bilingual children visit themlnetwork.com.
1. They Will be More Flexible in Their Thinking
Processing information in two languages instead of one is a highly developed and rare skill that bilinguals will automatically acquire. For every object or idea bilingual kids will have two or more different words and they will instantly know which one to use in a specific situation.
This is an incredible advantage in so many ways even if it seldom is recognized as such. The kids will not only be able to quickly switch between different thoughts, they will also become very sensitive to people and situations.
Overall, growing up bilingual has a very positive effect on the intellectual development. Parents should definitely use the opportunity and help their kids achieve the personal growth they deserve. To read more about the flexibility in thinking of multilingual / bilingual children visit themlnetwork.com.
2. They Will Have Better Career Opportunities
Knowing languages is a real asset when it comes to employment opportunities. It is not a secret that multilingual people will always have a wider range of career options. With the increasing globalization this is the reality now more than ever and language knowledge will continue to gain more and more importance every day.
Almost every sector is nowadays looking for people that are able to communicate in more than one language. Do you want your kids to be able to freely choose what they want to become? You will definitely do them a favor if you let them grow up bilingual.
3. They Will be More Open-Minded and Tolerant
If children grow up bilingual they get the chance to understand each of the cultures related to their languages and everything that comes with it. They learn to think and act like people from two sometimes very distinct cultures. This is a very essential part and the foundation of tolerance.
I firmly believe that languages can be a very strong instrument against ignorance, hatred against immigrants and ugly acts of racism. Read more on themlnetwork.com.
4. They Will Acquire Additional Languages More Easily
Sleep, baby, sleep
today I saw a sheep.
The sheep it's feet were white, white
it drank it's milk so good, good.
Sleep, baby, sleep
today I saw a sheep.
Slaap, kindje, slaap
daar buiten loopt een schaap.
Een schaap met witte voetjes
dat drinkt zijn melk zo zoetjes.
Slaap, kindje, slaap
daar buiten loopt een schaap.
Did you notice the similarities? In case you didn't: this is the same song in two different languages (the second one is in Dutch). This is just an example of how much resemblance you can find between different languages. It gets even easier if you compare Spanish to Italian, French or Portuguese.
Now just think of the incredible advantage a child with Spanish as a second language would have later if he starts to learn Spanish as a third language...
5. They Will Be Able To Communicate With a Broader Range of People
The world is becoming increasingly globalized and it is only logical to assume that bilingual/multilingual people will be the winners. Anyone who is able to break through the language barrier (be it in private or professional environment) will have an enormous advantage.
How to Raise Bilingual Children
Useful Links
- Early Bilingual Communication - A very useful website by the National Literacy Trust (an independent charity) giving information and advice for parents who want to raise their kids bilingual.
- Multilingual Children's Association - A very informative and comprehensive website on everything related to bilihttp://www.squidoo.com/lensmaster/new_workshop/kids-bilingual-2ngual education (advice, resources, experience reports etc.).
- Make Your Child Multilingual - A very recommendable ebook/workbook by Silke Rehman, who speaks out of experience. Read / watch her very convincing review and get more info on multilingual & bilingual education here.
- Multi Tongue Kids - A blog about a multicultural family; the mum writes about the language development of her multilingual kids.
- Bilingual/Bicultural Family Network - Another very comprehensive website offering advice, resources and more for parents who raise their kids bilingual.
Your Feedback
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Gandree
Sep 11, 2010 @ 11:26 am | delete
- Living in Florida, Spanish is as prevalent as English. There are definite advantages to teaching your children both of them!
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AppalachianCountry
Sep 14, 2009 @ 9:52 am | delete
- Great lens and you make great points. We wish we had learned more than English and Pig Latin (haha). Thank-you for the thoughts. 5 stars*****
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RinchenChodron
Aug 3, 2009 @ 8:43 am | delete
- Good points. I do not have a child but I am an educator and I agree that having more than one language expands horizons, makes people more universal and helps to market for jobs.
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More on How to Raise Kids Bilingual
For parents who are still in doubt and don't know if or how to raise their children bilingual, this lens about bilingual education books might be of interest: Best Bilingual Education Books
Depending on which stage of your decision making you are, I'm almost certain that you are also wondering whether this step could be in any way nonsense or even dangerous for your children. In this case, you should also read the Common Misconceptions about Raising Bilingual Kids.
If you already decided to raise your kids bilingual you may want to check out the Best Bilingual Children's Books" Kids Bilingual" and read more detailed information about raising multilingual / bilingual children on themlnetwork.com.
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