The Importance of Teaching Children Foreign Languages

Editor's Notes

1. Credibility, Attention Grabber, and Personal Story: After taking three years of Spanish in high school, I thought I knew everything about Spanish. That is until one day when my younger sister who learned Spanish at 6 spoke a whole paragraph in Spanish and I realized I had not remembered anything I learned and received the biggest humiliation an older sister could receive. This inspired me to look at the importance of teaching younger children foreign languages.
2. Hook/attention grabber: The world is changing all around us. Not just in technology with our new colored iPhones or even in the medical field with the new healthcare plan, businesses are beginning to change as well.
3. Hook/attention grabber: Today, more and more business are looking to hire potential employees like interns and high school and college students who can not only translate, but also comprehend and speak multiple languages such as Spanish. Hook/attention grabber: Today, more and more business are looking to hire potential employees like interns and high school and college students who can not only translate, but also comprehend and speak multiple languages such as Spanish.
4. The Big Idea: Without teaching our children a foreign language, we are robbing them of future job opportunities here and abroad as well as giving them a broader learning experience in their education, and teaching the importance of connection and equality among foreign cultures.
5. What’s in it for your audience? Explain why your topic is worth discussing: This is a very important subject to discuss because more languages are being accepted and used in America every day. Ask yourself, “Would I like to send my child out into the world unprepared for this change? Or would I want to prepare them for greatness and prepared for change?”
6. What’s in it for your audience? Continued: You may ask, “Why should we teach younger children instead of older?” Younger children are at the age where it’s easier for them to comprehend and learn another language and remember where as teenagers and adults have a more difficult time because they are learning more information at the same time.
7. Call To Adventure/Preview the three main points that will support your big idea: By teaching children more than one language it does three important things. First, it helps increases learning skills among young children, second it promotes appreciation and equality for different cultures, and third it helps prepare them for future job opportunities. When it comes to studying a different foreign language, it can increase a child’s learning skills in school.
8. Introduce and set up Supporting Point One: Let’s now take a deeper look into how by having a child learn a foreign language, it can increase a child’s learning skills in their education.
9. Factual and/or emotional evidence: Second languages enrich and enhance cognitive development (Nea Research, 2007)-Logos: According to Nea Research, learning a foreign language can enrich and enhance cognitive development among young children. The other day my family doctor told me about one of her patients who has a six year old daughter, who helps translate between the doctor and her mother since her mother only speaks Spanish which is incredible for such a young child to learn and translate at a young age.
10. Slide 9: Factual or emotional evidence: Research shows studying a foreign language helps promote and reinforce core subjects (Nea Research, 2007)-Logos-Nea Research also reports that children who learn a foreign language score higher on their school exams than other children who are not learning foreign languages because it helps reinforce their core subjects such as math and reading.
11. Introduce and set up Supporting Point Two: Moving onto our next point, studying a foreign language promotes equality and appreciation for different cultures through studying where the language came from and about the individuals who speak it.
12. Factual or emotional evidence: Studying other languages helps students connect with other cultures and therefore, connect with other children/students of that culture (Nea Research, 2007)-ethos-Nea Research explains that studying foreign languages can help students connect with other cultures and learn to appreciate where the language came from through the stories about the different countries.
13. Factual or emotional evidence: Helps students get in touch with their Heritage and background from where their family came from, learn the language, and gain appreciation (Christian, 2004; Nea research, 2007)-pathos-In the article, Educational Leadership, it points out that learning a foreign language helps open a door for students to connect with their ancestors and family heritage by learning about their native land, native language, and native culture.
14. Introduce and set up Supporting Point Three: Point 3: Creates job opportunities for the future
15. Factual or emotional evidence: Companies/Businesses are looking for employees who are bilingual in order to grow in their businesses and jobs (IBTimes, 2011)-logos-According to IBTimes, Businesses are looking to hire Bilingual employees so they can expand to other countries and have those employees connect with foreign customers and help them during negotiation meetings with other foreign companies.
16. Factual or emotional evidence: Medical Facilities and Governments are in need of translators (IBTimes, 2011)-logos-Also IBTimes reports that both Medical and Governmental Facilities are in great need of translators for communications, treatments, and negotiations with patients and foreign leaders.
17. Call to Action: Now go and prepare your child! Search for foreign language books and DVD’s or enroll them in a foreign language program in your community or in their school. The more you teach your children about foreign languages the more it will benefit them in the future
18. Summarize the main points: Because foreign languages help your children grow in learning and comprehend more information and promotes equality and acceptance for different cultures and helps prepare them for careers in America and overseas.
19. Restate big idea: Please do not rob children of opportunities for connection to the past and present cultures or broadening their learning, and opening a door for new job opportunities that could help change the future of our world.
20. Clincher/new bliss: By promoting the teaching and learning of a second language can help prepare your child for the future. When this is being taught in elementary and middle schools, this is helping your child grow in their learning skills, learning to accept and respect other cultures, and help them be able to thrive in our changing society. This will not only help them, but help our world become a better and equal place to live in and pave the path for many children to have a successful life when as they become adults. Clincher/new bliss: By promoting the teaching and learning of a second language can help prepare your child for the future. When this is being taught in elementary and middle schools, this is helping your child grow in their learning skills, learning to accept and respect other cultures, and help them be able to thrive in our changing society. This will not only help them, but help our world become a better and equal place to live in and pave the path for many children to have a successful life when as they become adults.