Chimmy 5 in 1

What the Experts Believe:

Cognitive Benefits of Learning Foreign Languages

The following material is feedback provided by experts relating to foreign languages, learning and cognitive development:

Should foreign language instruction start earlier in the U.S.?

Abbott: It is critical that foreign language instruction be available to all students throughout their PK-12 academic experience. Knowing other foreign languages and understanding other cultures is a 21st Century skill set for American students as they prepare to live and work in a global society. No matter what career students enter, they will be interacting with others around the world on a routine basis and doing business locally with those whose native language is not English.

Beginning foreign language instruction early sets the stage for students to develop advanced levels of proficiencies in one or more foreign languages. In addition, younger learners still possess the capacity to develop near native-like pronunciation and intonation in a new foreign language. Finally, young learners have a natural curiosity about learning which is evident when they engage in learning a new language. They also are open and accepting of people who speak other foreign languages and come from other cultures.

Caccavale: Yes, because it has been shown to enhance children’s cognitive development. Children who learn a foreign language beginning in early childhood demonstrate certain cognitive advantages over children who do not. Research conducted in Canada with young children shows that those who are bilingual develop the concept of object permanence at an earlier age. Bilingual students learn sooner that an object remains the same, even though the object has a different name in another language. For example, a foot remains a foot and performs the function of a foot, whether it is labeled a foot in English or un pied in French.

Additionally, foreign language learning is much more a cognitive problem solving activity than a linguistic activity, overall. Studies have shown repeatedly that foreign language learning increases critical thinking skills, creativity, and flexibility of mind in young children. Students who are learning a foreign language out-score their non-foreign language learning peers in the verbal and, surprisingly to some, the math sections of standardized tests. This relationship between foreign language study and increased mathematical skill development, particularly in the area of problem solving, points once again to the fact that second language learning is more of a cognitive than linguistic activity.

A 2007 study in Harwich, Massachusetts, showed that students who studied a foreign language in an articulated sequence outperformed their non-foreign language learning peers on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) test after two-three years and significantly outperformed them after seven-eight years on all MCAS subtests.

Furthermore, there is research (Webb bibliography) that shows that children who study a foreign language, even when this second language study takes time away from the study of mathematics, outperform (on standardized tests of mathematics) students who do not study a foreign language and have more mathematical instruction during the school day. Again, this research upholds the notion that learning a second language is an exercise in cognitive problem solving and that the effects of second language instruction are directly transferable to the area of mathematical skill development.

The notion of earlier is better in language learning seems to be upheld by the fact that longer sequences of foreign language instruction seem to lead to better academic achievement, overall. Because second language instruction provides young children with better cognitive flexibility and creative thinking skills, it can offer gifted students the intellectual and developmental challenges they need and desire. Source: Cognitive Benefits of Learning Language DUKE GIFTED LETTER: Volume 8, Issue 1, Fall 2007 The Duke University Talent Identification Program Online Newsletter for Parents of Gifted Youth

Martha G. Abbott, Director of Education for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Therese Sullivan Caccavale, president of the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL) Ken Stewart, 2006 ACTFL National Language Teacher of the Year; AP Spanish teacher at Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina