The Benefits Of Learning A Second Language

I remember few things from when I was in elementary school however, one thing that has stayed in my memory is the sudden disappearance of my Spanish class. The class didn’t stop completely but it did become less frequent. Along with Spanish class, my art and gym classes were also becoming less frequent. Later I would find that these were the effects of budget cuts. I’m not sure if these cuts were made more apparent to me because of my mother’s position in my school or if I had noticed them by chance. My mother was the president of the PTC which meant that she was involved in many of the school meetings as well as connecting with the teachers to create a better learning environment.
I would say it’s safe to assume that a combination of the …show more content…
There has been many studies that hypothesize and conclude that when children learn a second language at a young age it exercises the brain, and helps with critical thinking skills. In Kathrine Ford’s article for “The Telegraph,” she explains the concept of learning a second language being a useful way to improve critical thinking and the many other benefits. Ford writes, “Longitudinal studies by Harvard University confirm that learning additional languages increases critical thinking skills, creativity and flexibility of the mind in young children.” Ford cites information from studies at Harvard University to bring a scientific perspective to her claims. In doing so, Ford answers the important question of why language should be taught at a young age instead of in secondary school like it is now. When children are young, their brains are able to learn more efficiently making it easier for them to learn something new. Ford states that, “the younger the learner, the better they are at mimicking new sounds and adopting pronunciation.” In my experience in learning Spanish, it is true that pronunciation and learning a new language in general is much harder once you are used to speaking a certain way. When I speak in Spanish it is hard to mimic the words in a way that a native speaker …show more content…
I find that when I am learning something in another class such as English or math I tend to relate it to Spanish, my second language of choice, which allows me to learn more efficiently. I do however, wish that I had learned it more in elementary school because of the fact that it helps me now even as a college student. Jennifer Lewis, a mother and school teacher, comments “The special subjects, as opposed to core academic subjects such as reading and math, are essential to helping students understand themselves and others so they can work together and solve problems” (qtd. in Freeman.) Lewis’ statement reinforces these claims given her first hand observations in the