What Are The Advantages of Being Bilingual?

Today, individuals of all ages and backgrounds are studying several languages. More than half of the world’s population are bilingual or multilingual.

A bilingual person is someone who speaks more than one language. People can become bilingual by learning two languages together during early childhood, or by studying a new language after mastering their mother tongue.

First language acquisition refers to the way children learn their mother tongue. Second language acquisition refers to the learning of another language or languages besides the native language.

Want to know about the positive effects of having bilingual children? Keep reading!

ADVANTAGES OF BEING BILINGUAL FOR CHILDREN

There are many benefits of being bilingual, especially for children.

Furthermore, studies have shown that bilingual children outperform their monolingual counterparts when it comes to different subject areas. There are many cognitive benefits when it comes to speaking different languages, giving bilingual kids an academic advantage.

In a diverse society such as Singapore, many, if not, most children are bilingual. This is because they are raised speaking their parents’ native language at home while speaking English in school and in everyday life.

INCREASES COGNITIVE ABILITIES

Learning a language is an excellent way to keep your child’s mind active and sharp.

Being bilingual can help children enhance their multitasking abilities, attention management, problem-solving, and creativity by encouraging them to think outside the box. It can also boost their memory.

Recent research shows that bilingual people’s brains age more slowly, allowing them to live longer and more fulfilling lives. It is now well accepted that being multilingual helps postpone the onset of neurological disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

MORE JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Depending on which languages your child speaks, speaking a second language might lead to better working opportunities.

Communication is essential in the workplace, and more businesses, particularly those with international offices, are placing a priority on bilingualism and language skills.

This is because being able to converse with international clients or consumers is regarded as a significant benefit for international offices. So, being fluent in only one language is no longer enough to increase your employability, you must be fluent in at least two languages to be able to compete with other job seekers.

While the English language is still the most widely used language in the world, Mandarin is also slowly becoming an increasingly important foreign language globally.

As such, many major businesses have sent their workers to language learning courses so they will be able to speak better Mandarin.

However, it is easier for monolingual children to pick up a different language than for an adult to do so. So, you might be better off sending your child to classes now for a less bumpy career path!

As China is filled with professional opportunities, learning to speak Mandarin Chinese (the official national language) fluently will take you far. China’s economic influence is growing, and the country is on course to become the world’s leading economy by 2050.

Other than Mandarin, other marketable target languages include Arabic and Spanish.

IMPROVED SOCIAL LIFE

Speaking more than one language expands your child’s social skills and self-esteem.

Simply said, the more languages you know, the more people you can talk to and the more meaningful your connections will be. Your child will also get the chance to understand and know more about the world by speaking to different types of people from other cultures.

As your child increases their language abilities to communicate with more people, they will gain confidence in their overall social life.

This will help significantly in building their relationships with their peers, as well as improving their public speaking skills.

HIGHER CREATIVITY

Many bilingual children and adults have been discovered to have higher levels of creativity.

The capacity to speak more than one language changes the brain’s ability to think creatively and come up with novel solutions to challenges.

This is because switching from one language to another requires the left brain. The left side of the brain is typically associated with analytical thinking and logic which is used in problem-solving.

They can also learn other creative aspects of language, such as calligraphy and creative writing that will stimulate their creativity!

IMPROVE YOUR CHILD’S SECOND LANGUAGE BY SENDING THEM TO SLC!

Is your child struggling to learn a second language? Then, here’s the perfect solution for you – SLC!

SLC offers classes in Chinese Mandarin and English for children at the primary and secondary levels. We pride ourselves on the best quality educators that will fulfil your child’s language needs.

Our teaching technique goes above and beyond so that we can help your child understand and learn in a way that suits them. To do this, we adopt various methods of teaching.

We guarantee that our classes can improve your child’s usage of language, within and beyond the classroom.

Let your child reap all the benefits of being bilingual by signing up for our classes now!

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