How Does Learning a Language Change Your Child's Brain?
It is truly never too early to start teaching your child a second language--in fact, the earlier she's introduced to another language, the easier it is to master. The way a child's brain develops makes language learning one of the earliest skills they can master--before they can crawl, hold a toy, or speak, they can hear--and their brains can process and retain the sounds and words they're exposed to.
Pediatric Brain Development
The human brain is the only organ that is 80% developed by the age of two--and all the neurons your child will ever have are already present by then--about 100 billion. The synapses that connect the neurons have not developed; there are about 2500 per neuron at birth, and 15,000 by the time a child is three. As your child grows, the connectors continue to expand and the neurons and neurotransmitters do their magic until the brain is fully mature--in the early twenties.
Children have "windows of opportunity" in brain development; sensitive times when specific kinds of learning happen. There's a reason to expect your child's first words at 8 or 9 months, and their first steps around a year--these are the times the circuits wiring the brain for speech and balance go into overdrive. Babies have fuzzy vision when they are born; it's not until they're between 8 and 16 weeks that the synapses that control sight start to connect, and your baby responds to visual cues for the first time.
Neurologists believe that we are most receptive to learning a language during the first ten years. The brain starts to build the neural network it needs when a child hears the same sounds repeated, and as she learns words and sounds, the neural network explodes. She picks up on household conversations, music, stories, and any sounds she hears, and thus learns her native language.
The Right Time To Introduce A Second Language
There is no "right time" to start teaching a second language--experts in pediatric neurology only agree that by the late teens, a child's ability to become truly fluent in other languages decreases. If you live in a bilingual household, you've noticed how effortlessly your children have picked up both languages--so it's never too early to begin teaching a second--or third--language.
The above-mentioned windows of opportunity for learning certainly apply to languages. If you haven't started another language by his first birthday, wait until he's about two and a half--when he's gotten a solid grasp of his native language, and has a large vocabulary. Beyond toddlerhood, any time is fine to start teaching a second language.
What Are The Benefits Of A Second Language?
Some parents wonder why they should teach their children to be bilingual? Are there any real benefits? The answer is a most emphatic Yes. Children who know multiple languages exhibit the following characteristics.
Improved mental acuity
More imaginative and creative thinkers, better understanding of abstract concepts
Better understanding of the native language
Awareness of more than one point of view in a given situation, see a variety of perspectives
Improved ear for listening, and sensitivity to language
Improved social skills and ability to understand nuance
Neuroplasticity And Second Languages
Neuroplasticity has become a buzzword of late in brain research circles, and the consensus is that it is a real phenomenon, one that is advantageous for future neural flexibility.
Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to create new connections and pathways and change the wiring of the circuits. There are two kinds of neuroplasticity, structural and functional. Structural neuroplasticity is a change in the overall strength of the neurons or synapses, regardless of whether the connections grow stronger or weaker--a change in the actual structure of the brain. Functional neuroplasticity refers to permanent changes in synapses due to development and learning.
Neuroplasticity in children is more defined, with four distinct types.
Adaptive--brain changes that occur when a special skill is learned and the brain adapts to that skill
Impaired--changes due to acquired disorders or genetics
Excessive--rewiring of the brain that results in new, maladaptive pathways that can cause disorders or disabilities
Plasticity For Injury--pathway develop that make injury more likely
These four traits are more pronounced in young children, allowing them to recover more quickly from injury or illness. For educational purposes, the adaptive neuroplasticity is relevant; learning a new language expands the pathways and neurons in the brain. One fascinating thing about neurons is that of the 100 billion a child is born with, the "use it or lose it" philosophy applies--any of the trillions of neurons in the brain that aren't connected eventually die off. Learning new things that force new synapse connections keeps those neurons active in the brain's circuitry--structural neuroplasticity.
Cultural Awareness
Learning a second or third language doesn't happen in a vacuum, especially with children. So much of their instruction is interactive, they learn about native cultures and traditions while they are learning the language itself. Knowledge of other cultures helps children understand more social nuance and non-verbal cues, highly desirable traits in a digital world where so much communication is digital.
Being bilingual also contributes to what the French psychologist Jean Piaget called "decentering"--becoming less self-centered and ego-driven, and more empathetic to others. This is the manifestation of the ability to see a range of perspectives for a given situation, which is a lot of adult-speak for saying that bilingual children tend to be more mature than their monolingual peers.
Executive Function And Cognitive Ability
Bilingual children also have better executive function--they have highly developed communication skills that allow them to reason their way through complex problems and ideas, and then expressing their thoughts in a clear manner. Strong executive function will come in handy throughout their academic and professional careers. Cognitive flexibility is also more pronounced when children know a second language--they can better filter through unnecessary information and target the task at hand.
Looking ahead, bilingualism and neuroplasticity are thought to be two ways to deter memory loss and even Alzheimer's disease in adults.
Learning a second or third language does nothing but benefit children, and it's never too early to get started. At Little Pim, we use a natural immersion teaching method for our young pupils, contact us today to learn more about our language programs.
Sources:
https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/4356e/
https://positivepsychologyprogram.com/neuroplasticity/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2989000/
https://www.muzzybbc.com/bilingual-benefits-for-kids
Photo by Colin Maynard on Unsplash
