In many countries, children are raised speaking two or more languages. They may speak an indigenous language in addition to the official language of their country, speak the language of a closely neighboring country or be taught a second language throughout their school years. Children who learn two or more languages have numerous advantages over children who are monolingual. As the public education system in the United States does not typically teach children a foreign language until they are in high school, raising your child to be bilingual will give your child an advantage over the competition.
Future Employment
Children who are raised to be bilingual often find themselves with more job opportunities as adults than individuals who are monolingual. Many job descriptions specify that a bilingual person is preferred. In the United States, Spanish is the language that is most in demand, as companies struggle to communicate effectively with a Spanish-speaking customer base. However, some parts of the United States have large populations of individuals who speak Vietnamese, Mandarin Chinese, French and many other languages. Any language your child learns that is spoken by community members is likely to lead to job advancement in the future.
Cultural Literacy
If your child is bilingual, he will have the opportunity to engage with more members of the community. Understanding the language helps children to understand the subtle nuances of a culture---jokes, idioms and other expressions give away what is important. He will be able to read books and listen to music in the target language, which opens up an entirely new cultural landscape. He will get to experience the culture from the inside rather than as an outsider. As he grows up, he will likely feel more comfortable participating in a multicultural society that operates within a global economy.
Enhanced Intellectual Abilities
Children who learn a foreign language show more creativity, divergent thinking and have greater intellectual development, according to researchers at the University of Tennessee at Martin. In fact, bilingual children usually score higher than monolingual children on verbal and nonverbal intelligence tests. This is not surprising, as learning to differentiate between sounds of a new language and learning new vocabulary forces the brain to create new neural connections on a continual basis. Learning a second language also helps children to unconsciously analyze language and to become familiar with the structure of both their first language and their second language. This linguistic familiarity carries over into other areas, with the result that bilingual children often perform better in classes such as math and science.
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