A bilingual education is one of the best ways to help your child learn another language in a relatively short space of time. For example, if your child currently only speaks English, then you can use a bilingual education in order to teach them another language such as Chinese or Spanish and they will be able to speak both languages proficiently.
By placing your child in this type of immersive educational experience, they will be able to learn how to speak and understand two languages over time. This is not just another skill but will help them to become open to an even wider array of opportunities.
We will now look at 5 main benefits of getting a bilingual education.
1. Significant Cognitive Benefits
It is no secret that becoming bilingual actually strengthens and improves the executive function within the brain. There has been significant research on this which shows that bilingual students are capable of using both languages at the same time and they constantly switch between the languages. This helps them to develop skills like the ability to quickly switch their attention, inhibition and it even drastically improves their memory.
Bilingually educated students usually perform significantly better while multitasking and they have more advanced problem solving capabilities.
2. More Educational Options
Next, students who are given a bilingual education are also biliterate. As a result, they have many more options when it comes to educational pathways and universities for further education. They can choose to attend university or other higher education colleges in different countries, according to the languages that they can speak and understand.
This ability will also help them to go on exchange programs abroad or even study abroad. They will be able to immerse themselves in the culture of the language that they have become proficient in, which is quite an educational experience in itself.
3. More Career Opportunities
Any person that can fluently speak two languages is a lot more appealing to potential employers. This definitely opens up a wide array of opportunities that those who can only speak one language will miss out on.
Due to the growing and expanding global economy, there are numerous international companies that want to hire bilingual employees. So, those that have this type of education will definitely have an advantage over those that don’t. They will definitely stand out from other potential candidates once they can speak a language that is in demand.
4. Bilingual Children Tend to Be More Flexible and Adaptable
Learning another language is so much more than just learning to speak and understand that language but it is also about understanding the culture of the people who speak it. As a result of this, a bilingual education helps children to have a much wider perspective on life and gives them a better understanding of the world. It can also help to unify many different nationalities.
5. Additional Cultural Opportunities
Lastly, the final benefit of a bilingual education is that they will meet other children and people who come from different countries and cultural backgrounds. This will help children to learn more about other people from around the world and help them to become more open-minded and learn to appreciate and accept differences.
Would you consider enrolling your child at a bilingual or international school?There is quite a difference between typical schools and bilingual schools. When your child graduates from an international school, they will have a Baccalaureate that is internationally recognised. In the case of bilingual schools, they will typically structure their classes around the national curriculum but some classes will be held in one or both languages.
So, if there is a bilingual school near you and you’re sure if you want to enrol your child, then you should visit the school and have a look at the classes yourself and even chat with the teachers. For younger children, consider a bilingual nursery in London. This will help you to see the huge benefits of getting a bilingual education and you’ll be able to make up your mind.