In a world that is becoming increasingly globalised and diverse, the ability to speak more than one language is a desirable trait, especially in the social and working world. An impressive number of neuropsychological studies have been devoted to bilingualism over the years. Many of them have found lots of benefits of being bilingual, or even multilingual.

 

Here, we’ve listed down 5 benefits of raising a bilingual child.

 

 

#1 Gymnastics for the brain

Constantly using and switching between two languages is excellent training for the brain. Just like regular exercise, the practice of switching between languages increases the number of neurons in the prefrontal cortex similar to muscles growth with regular physical exercise.

 

This theory of ‘linguistic exercising’ has been supported by researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle. Their research has found that children from Spanish-American families have unusually active prefrontal areas of the cerebral cortex, which are responsible for verbal fluency and adaptation to change.

 

 

#2 Improved cognitive abilities

Studies show that being bilingual has many cognitive benefits.  A recent study by psycholinguists from the University of Cyprus and scientists from Anglia Ruskin University in the UK, have shown that bilingualism has a positive effect on the ability to assess information and filter out distractions.

 

Another research concludes that speaking a second language can mean that your child may have a better attention span and can multi-task better than monolinguals. It might even it reduce the risk of having a stroke (according to a study conducted by the University of Edinburgh in the United Kingdom).

 

 

#3 Creativity and ability to hypothesise

Since their brains are used to decoding and interpreting two or more languages, bilingual kids have an easier time coming up with new ideas and explaining scientific theories.

 

Research shows that bilinguals tend to notice subtleties and nuances imperceptible to monolinguals. This can be seen particularly in the field of music. With their ability to distinguish sounds and melodies, bilinguals are particularly gifted in this area.

 

 

#4 No fear of communication

Bilingualism encourages a certain ‘split personality’, in a positive sense. Multilingual kids have mastered the art of interpersonal understanding and listening, which makes them better communicators.

 

This is especially beneficial for us Malaysians since our children are growing up in a multilingual environment where you have to listen to other’s perspectives and understand them.

 

 

#5 Better memory

Learning two languages means that the brain has the ability to retain a lot of information and is ready to produce it at will. This helps children with memory in school work as well as other important stuff like directions.

 

Experts believe that the practice of communicating in multiple languages is comparable to constantly solving logic problems, and is a universal way to prevent or delay the onset of dementia.

 

 

Is It Too Late For Your Child To Learn A Second Language?

All researchers agree that the earlier a child starts learning a second language, the better. Some say that their second language acquisition skills peak at or before the age of 6 or 7. Others claim that this window extends through puberty. But they all agree that it’s much harder for a child beyond puberty to learn a new language.

 

Today, 43% of people in the world can be called bilingual. This is to a large extent due to bilingual policies in former colonised countries. Globalisation has affected once-settled nations, and today it is not uncommon for a child’s parents to be from different backgrounds.

 

In Malaysia for example, as a melting pot for people from different races such as Chinese, India, Arab and Malay. Bilingualism or more importantly – English as a second language, is a skill that our society has to consider as a tool for unifying the diversity.

 

 

Try Out Novakid For Fun English Lessons

Novakid an online English school provides lessons with native speakers using a syllabus that corresponds to the European Standards CEFR. They start working with children from the age of 4 and provide a “world” of language learning tools that combine enrichment with entertainment for students between the ages of 4 and 12 for them to enjoy every session of class. Each class is 25 minutes long and are game-based classes which pretty much guarantees that your child will have lots of fun while learning.

 

 

They also have a story-based learning environment with animated comic stories, individual story-related English lessons, mini-games and homework activities called The Novakid Game World (NGW). More than 82,500 students have joined Novakid Game World and its first virtual game, Novakid Magic Academy.

 

Interested on a free trial so your child can be bilingual? Enjoy RM 65 bonus for you and your peers after they purchase a subscription. For more information about Novakid click here.