Teaching Foreign Language in a Preschool Setting

This post will delve into the pros and cons of teaching foreign language in a preschool setting.  This topic also strikes very close to the hotly debated subject of academics in preschool.  I will bring out the research on brain development concerning this topic, and also bring in my unique perspective as a homeschooling mom.

Is a Second Language Necessary?
I want to start this discussion with the question - Is it really that important for children to learn a second language in their preschool years?  This question does not have a simple yes or no answer.  Let us start with the facts.  It is a fact that children between the ages of 0 to 5 years of age have more neurons and neural activity than at any other time of their life.  During this period neural connections are either made or pruned.  Simply put, the areas of the brain that receive reinforcement during this time period gain neural connections, and those that do not receive reinforcement do not gain neural connections.  Therefore, it stands to reason that exposing young children to a second or more languages helps the area of the brain dedicated to language to gain neural connections especially those areas that allow for  different words pertaining to the same object.  In other words, the child's brain becomes hardwired for language acquisition.  Does this translate into ease of language acquisition later in life?  I believe it does.

Yes and No
However, I said this question does not have a definite yes or no answer.  The reason I said this is because language acquisition may not be a priority for that family or child.  The brain research only matters if language acquisition falls on the top end of the educational priority list of a culture, family group, etc.  If language acquisition falls at the bottom of the educational priority list, then other areas of learning become more important.  Our society has always treated education as a cut and dry subject and some areas of learning are universal such as reading and basic math.  However, the education of children is also very much subjective and depends greatly on the priorities of the culture into which a child is born.  Opponents of universal curriculum, such as the Common Core curriculum which is so hotly debated these days, have a point.  Education should be locally controlled or parents and educators will feel like certain aspects of the curriculum are being shoved down their throat.  This is also why diversity of preschool programs has such importance for parents.  Some parents want more academic content for their children.  Some parents want more play-based activities for their children.  Guess what?  Parents should be able to choose which type of program they deem important for their children rather than being told what kind of program their children should attend.  Therefore, regulations surrounding preschool programs should allow for this diversity instead of shoving one style down everyone's throat.  When government involves itself too heavily in the education debate, a mess of great proportions always follows.  This remains one of the biggest lessons we should have learned from history but never do.

Exposure Not Fluency
Now, let us say that you are a parent that finds language acquisition valuable.  How do you go about teaching preschool children a second or more languages?  Here is the point where many on the academic side of the debate usually hit the ditch.  It is not necessary for a child to be fluent in two or more languages for them to benefit from foreign language instruction.  Granted there will always be that child so predisposed to language acquisition that they do learn to speak two or more languages by the time they are three or four years of age.  However, they will always be the exception and not the norm.  The point is exposure not fluency.  Remember the goal is to help the brain retain or gain neural connections that involve understanding multiple words for the same object or idea.  For example, we want the child to understand that red, rojo, and rouge are different words for the same color.  Will they retain all the words we teach them in preschool?  Yes and no.  As the adult you will never be able to predict what sticks and what does not.  That depends entirely on the child and how relevant the child finds the information.  Some children find foreign language fascinating and others do not.  Some children remember the names of colors in more than one language but nothing else.  However, even if they forget every word you taught them in preschool, you have still hardwired their brain for language acquisition.  Later in their life, the concept of another word for the same object will come easy to them, and picking up another language will not be as difficult as it might be for another person without that hardwiring of the brain.  How do I know this?  My biological children were exposed to foreign language in preschool continuing on through elementary school.  When they reached high school, they remembered some of the words I taught them.  However, picking up two or more languages in high school was easy for them.  I had hardwired their brains, and it paid off for them in major ways.

Dos and Don'ts
Before I leave this subject let me hit on some "dos and don'ts" of presenting foreign language to preschool children.  Do present words that are relevant to their world such as colors, body parts, articles of clothing, etc.  Don't label everything in the classroom in multiple languages and call that foreign language instruction.  Just seeing words in a different language does not benefit prereading children.  That tactic in an elementary classroom where all the children can read would be much more beneficial.  If you do have multi-lingual labels in your classroom, the only way to make those beneficial to preschool children is to read them very frequently.  Otherwise, they are decorations.  Do read books that have both the English and another language with pictures to support the story.  This allows the children to hear two different languages describing the same picture.  Don't read stories that just randomly throw in words from a different language without any explanation.  This will not make sense to the children.  When it comes to learning a foreign language, oral presentations will always trump visual presentations until a child learns to read.  If you want to use visuals, use pictures and say the word.  Remember, I am not a fan of whole language reading techniques.  This transfers to teaching a foreign language.

I hope you have enjoyed this post.  Goodbye and God bless!! Check out Natalie's children's books at:  https://www.amazon.com/author/nataliewade7457