Why learning language early jumpstarts a child's education

"I observed a group of our 8-year-olds solving mathematical word problems, while speaking completely in Mandarin," Cox said, almost like a proud father. "The learning and comprehension of our students fascinates me. Their minds are like sponges. By ages 7 and 8, the majority of our students are functionally bilingual – they are able to speak conversationally in either their native or their foreign tongue."

Both Cox and Sheri Golden Perry, senior administrator of global programming for the Office of Magnet and Curriculum Enhancement with the Wake County Public School System, recommend the language immersion journey should begin early, in kindergarten.

"To maximize foreign language learning and retention, it's imperative that immersion begins at the earliest possible grade level," Golden Perry said.

"In kindergarten, a student isn't necessarily thinking 'I'm learning a foreign language,'" Cox explained. "The students haven't yet developed that thought capacity. Instead, they simply follow the lead of their instructor when reciting their colors or learning the letters of the alphabet. And in the process, they learn whatever foreign language is being spoken."

"In kindergarten through second grade, our students receive 80 percent of their core instruction in a foreign language," Cox continued. "So, all of their core classes – literacy, social studies, science and math – are taught daily in a foreign language."

Golden Perry added, "The core instruction time equates to more than four hours a day that is being spent immersed in a foreign language. Then we complement the foreign language immersion with special, rotating classes – media and technology, PE, and art – that are taught exclusively in English."

So, what are the benefits of learning a foreign language at a young age?

Cox cited an NPR article titled "6 Potential Brain Benefits of Bilingual Education," which suggests learning a foreign language benefits children by improving their:

As an additional sixth benefit of learning a foreign language, the NPR article reports a growing body of science that suggests being bilingual helps to protect against – or offset the effects of — cognitive decline in the senior years.

Golden Perry added that foreign language proficiency has numerous social and professional advantages that manifest themselves in the teen and adult years.

"Today we live in a global economy, one where more and more opportunities require fluency in a second language. Being bilingual helps our students to build and to maintain a strong, competitive, international foundation – whether they are applying for college, interviewing for their first job or making friends with non-native speakers in their own community," Cox said. "Being bilingual truly broadens a child's world perspective. Having the ability to speak two languages helps our students to acquire a more well-rounded and inclusive world perspective – to realize that the world is a bigger place than their own hometown, state, or country."

Cox and Golden Perry recommend visiting your local language immersion magnet schools well before your child reaches the age of kindergarten. In Wake County Public Schools alone, language immersion magnet school tours are offered weekly in the fall – with tour days and times posted on the school system's website.

"The power and the reach of a language immersion school is best experienced firsthand," Cox said. "When parents can see 7 and 8 year olds speaking fluently in a foreign tongue, that's when they can best observe the power of the language immersion magnet pathway. It speaks volumes about how learning a foreign language at a young age truly jumpstarts a child's academic journey, as well as molds and informs the child's life journey."