Article Source: https://www.cns.catholic.edu.au/how-learning-a-second-language-can-benefit-your-child/

Growing up in the 70s in Far North Queensland, I didn’t have the opportunity to learn a second language in primary school, like my children do today.  I was very fortunate, however, to have an Italian-born father who regularly broke into Italian at home (although, the creative vocab he used at times would make my mother’s hair curl!).

For me, and for more than 20 per cent of Australians who speak a second language at home, being able to transfer back and forth from one language to another depending on the audience, is just the norm. And while my ability to speak a second language has been lost over the years, the social awareness that this skill provides remains strong within me.

So, now that I am a parent of two delightful and curious early learners, I find myself asking the question:  Should my children be studying a second language?  With a lot of digging, I unearthed an exhaustive amount of research from as far back as 1970s, which tells me the overwhelming answer to my question is “Yes”.

The benefits of bilingualism

Learning a second language at a very early stage in their development can bring about so many wonderful benefits for our children, says Catholic Education’s Janelle Santolin.

Improved cognitive development

Harvard Prof Maria Polinsky explains that bilingual children will have developed much more cognitive control than monolingual children.  Through constantly switching back and forth between two languages bilingual children tend to be better multi-taskers, problem-solvers and creative and critical thinkers.

Enhanced general literacy skills (including understanding of their primary language)

Many people assume that learning another language means a child’s understanding of their primary language will suffer. This is exactly the opposite. When studying a second language, a child learns about how languages work and their literacy skills are enhanced because a clear link exists between learning another language and literacy development in English.

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