Why Is Learning a Second Language Easier for Children?
We always hear adults learning languages complain about not learning the language as a child. This is because it is easier to learn a language when one is a kid rather than when he or she is a teen or adult. Why do kids become bilingual so easily? For young children, learning language is a part […]
Songs in the Spanish Workshop for Children Classroom
Using Songs in Our Classrooms One of the big problems we all face, when teaching young learners, is maintaining learners’ interest throughout our lessons. Consequently, we often have to be very creative in the techniques we use. What makes music such a great teaching tool is its universal appeal, connecting all cultures and languages. This makes it one of the […]
Opening up a world of language to young children – Spanish Workshop for Children feature article
In this local spotlight, parents express sheds illumination on the importance of programs like Spanish Workshop for Children in a day and age when language learning is becoming scarcer. Emphasis is placed on the unique and special way the workshop accomplishes its teaching goals.
Study: learning second language boosts thinking skills!
What impact does learning a second language have on mental alertness? The results of recent research conducted by Edinburgh University reveal some eye-opening attention-switching and information-filtering benefits of bilingualism. What’s more, these beneficial effects on cognitive functioning go well beyond the language itself. Read More
Marcela Summerville of Spanish Workshop for Children meets with a Sarah Bond from Philadelphia Family Magazine
Philadelphia Family magazine gives an Instagram shout-out to Spanish Workshop for Children, singling out the program for its “amazing language programs.” Check out the praise and the accompanying photo. See More
Learning Beyond the Classroom – Spanish Workshop for Children featured in Princeton Packet Magazine (p. 17)
Much of the knowledge kids take into adulthood with them doesn’t even happen on school campuses. Whether a child spends his or her day surrounded by traditional classroom walls or views the world as his or her classroom, sometimes a little extra outside boost in the curriculum goes a long way. Read More
How Foreign Languages Foster Greater Empathy in Children
Second language exposure helps kids better understand other people. And fluency level isn’t even the determining factor. That’s the takeaway of the study cited herein, which tested the perception skills of bilingual, monolingual, and second language exposed children between the ages of four and six. Read More
What does research show about the benefits of language learning?
Broken down into three categories—academic achievement, cognitive benefit, and attitudes and beliefs about language learning and other cultures—this website culls together, in one organized space, all the most relevant studies to support each claim. Simply click on the area(s) of interest to learn more. Read More
Studies Find Language Is Key to Learning Math
Language and mathematical capabilities might not be as disconnected as previously thought. A study of profoundly deaf adults lacking any formal sign language demonstrates just how strong the link between the two disciplines may be after all. It also offers insight into the development of both disciplines in children. Read More
Infants raised in bilingual environments can distinguish unfamiliar languages
Could early exposure to two native languages extend beyond the mother tongues? Psychologist Janet Werker shows that babies as young as four months old who are growing up bilingual possess the ability to distinguish between languages they’ve never heard based solely on facial cues. Read More
Bilingual babies: The roots of bilingualism in newborns
Exposure to a second language during pregnancy puts a baby on the path to bilingualism before he or she is even born. A study of newborns whose mothers spoke two languages to them while they were still in the womb shows some surprising language preference outcomes. Read More
Bilingual babies’ vocabulary linked to early brain differentiation
Language exposure during infancy exercises the brain in an incomparable way. But as early as eight months of age, babies are already losing the ability to distinguish sounds from a foreign language. A brain activity study illustrates how early exposure to language predicts word learning ability. Read More
A Second Language Gives a Toddler an Edge
By two years of age, bilingual toddlers are already outperforming their monolingual peers. And the surpassing isn’t just taking place in the vocabulary department. A comparison of the two sets of young language learners has practical implications for both educators and parents. Read More
Being Bilingual May Boost Your Brain Power
When one couple goes to great lengths to ensure their children learn their native language, they dispel some common misconceptions about early bilingualism. They also offer a compelling case study for the mental enhancement and brain remodeling that result from the ability to speak more than one language. Read More
The Bilingual Advantage
A cognitive neuroscientist outlines the benefits achieved from regularly using two languages. The bilingual’s enhanced executive control system in the brain not only sorts out important information from distraction in the here and now but could stave off Alzheimer’s symptoms years down the road. Read More
Why Bilinguals Are Smarter
Bilingualism profoundly affects the brain in ways that aren’t even related to language. Citing the results of several studies, a science columnist makes a case for just how deep of an imprint language learning leaves on the mind. Read More
Hearing Bilingual: How Babies Sort Out Language
Delving deep back into the origins of speech and language, the new science of bilingualism analyzes the neurologic activity taking place in babies’ brains as they hear language. Turns out such listening shapes the brain much earlier than anyone could have imagined—and in profound ways. Read More
The Linguistic Genius of Babies
What happens in the minds of six-month-old babies? Amazing statistical analysis of human speech, that’s what. Dr. Patricia Kuhl’s research findings demonstrate why younger is better when it comes to learning multiple languages. The Linguistic Genius of Babies