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Excerpt from The News Journal, December 26, 2004
Speaking Spanish comes so naturally for John Michael Dougherty of Glasgow that he often spouts "gracias" instead of the nicety that his mother prompted him to say.
The Doughertys don't speak Spanish at home, but a national movement to teach young children foreign languages created an opportunity for the 3-year-old to acquire a second language at around the same time he was learning English.
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Today, foreign language instruction is booming. Parents have a menu of choices that include private classes, bilingual play groups, multimedia material and a growing number of bilingual books - in addition to instruction offered at private and public schools. But as children as young as John Michael build their foreign language skills earlier in life, parents wonder what level of fluency they should expect from their child.
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But research has shown that exposing a child to a second language provides a wide range of skills and knowledge.
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In an increasingly multicultural society, foreign language instruction also provides children a different perspective on the world.
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Shuhan Wang, an education associate responsible for world languages and international education at the Delaware Department of Education, says that research shows that the brains of children exposed to multiple languages are more flexible. The children have a higher order of thinking skills and higher problem-solving skills. Learning a second language also helps people understand their own native language.
"So even if the child does not become fluent, their brain will have benefited from learning a second language," she said.
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How much language a child learns is influenced by many factors including personal motivation and parental support. Experts suggest that parents determine to what capacity they would like their child to use the second language and then seek the appropriate resources, whether it's merely books and multimedia material, formal instruction or a temporary immersion in another culture.
Wang said the key is to start as early as possible.
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