Learning a second language is essential in today’s world. In addition to stimulating the brain and fostering cross-cultural communication, knowing another language opens doors and makes it easier to connect with others.
The younger a child is, the easier it is for them to learn a new language. Babies, for example, are extraordinary language learners. They imitate adult behaviours and are eager to interact with people. Plus, they have no trouble distinguishing the sounds of different languages and reproducing them.
Children lose this facility for languages as they get older. That’s why it’s preferable for second languages to be taught starting in elementary school.
Learning a second language like French takes hard work, but it can also be fun, especially with games like Alloprof’s Grimoire and Magimot. Your child will want to play them all day!
Learning to speak a second language is done in four stages, always in the same order:
- Becoming familiar with the sounds
- Learning words
- Associating words
- Forming sentences
This process is the blueprint of Quebec’s second language syllabus, which is structured as follows:
- Grades 1 and 2: Students play with speech sounds and try to decipher what they hear to participate in the classroom.
- Grades 3 to 6: Students develop the skills they need to understand texts, communicate verbally, and interact in different contexts.
- Cycle 1 of high school: Students use functional language to communicate in class and discuss familiar topics.
- Cycle 2 of high school: Students use functional language to communicate in class and discuss increasingly complex topics.
Learning a second language allows kids to develop functional and efficient communication skills in a different tongue. As they progress, they learn to do the following:
- Understand basic instructions
- Ask for help
- Identify people, animals, objects, and places
- Express their opinion
- Talk about their feelings
- Etc.
Learning another language broadens a child’s horizons because it involves discovering a different culture. Teachers draw upon cultural references to make lessons more effective:
- Nursery rhymes
- Games
- Movies
- Celebrities
- Holiday traditions
- Local expressions
- Etc.
All forms of learning stimulate the brain, and learning a new language is highly beneficial to brain development. People who are multilingual have been shown to have certain cognitive advantages:
- Better memory
- Good reasoning skills
- Greater ease in processing information
- Etc.
Speaking more than one language is a valuable asset when it comes to travel and work. When your child grows up, they’ll have an easier time connecting with people from different backgrounds. They’ll also have an edge on the job market over candidates who have all the same qualifications but speak only one language.
Did you know? These are the 10 most widely spoken languages in Quebec:
- French
- English
- Arabic
- Spanish
- Italian
- Chinese
- Creole
- Greek
- Romanian
- Vietnamese
Writing : Alloprof Parents’ team
Bresson, François (1970). Acquisition et apprentissages des langues vivantes, No8, apprentissage du français langue étrangère, p.7.
Arnold, Jane (2006). Comment les facteurs affectifs influencent-ils l’apprentissage d’une langue étrangère? Études de linguistique appliquée, pp. 407 à 425.