Languages lead to higher levels of academic and cognitive attainment

In the past, parents were discouraged from exposing their kids to two or three languages assuming it would delay language acquision and create confusion.

Today, many American parents realize the benefit of bilingualism and introduce their kids to another langauge as early as possible.

Most researchers agree that not only can young kids handle the input, but learning two or three languages can provide a mental exercise with long-term benefits.

The Center for Applied Linguistics offers some additional insight into second language acquisition:

-- Use of two languages in the same conversation indicates a mastery of both languages.

-- Many parents rely heavily on television to teach a second language; yet research shows that human interaction is the best method.

-- Parents can expect their bilingual children to gain a greater understanding of language as an abstract system. Fluent bilingual students generally reach higher levels of academic and cognitive functioning than their monolingual peers.

http://www.aupaircare.com/blog/tags/language-acquisition