A child’s brain is a wonderful thing. It has a high level of plasticity and that’s why it will be easier for them to learn a new language. Of course, learning foreign language has a lot of benefits on the long run, and you are doing right to start learning early on. Spanish is an interesting language and you can find many interactive ways to make it fun to learn for kids. As said, there are a lot of benefits, but also some considerations worth taking into account.
Learning a foreign language involves a lot of effort for anyone, whether child or adult, but it is simply much easier to learn new things for kids. When you consider teaching your child a foreign language, think about the benefits for them, as you will be opening doors for them in thefuture. In this regard, you may want to think about which languages would be most appropriate for your children. According to Parents, the most important languages are Spanish, French, German, Italian and even Mandarin. In this article, we will discuss the many benefits of learning a new language for kids at an early stage. So your kids can start learning Spanish today!

Why your children should learn a new language?
Better linguistics
Exposing a child to a foreign language at an early age (3-4 years old) will help them become more fluent in the language. This will make a major difference compared to when they learn it later. Children are like ‘sponges’ when it comes to learning new languages. Children’s brains are developed to accept and learn any language at a fast paste. Plus, when they learn early it will have a positive impact on their linguistics.
When children reach the age of 8, they begin to lose the ability to hear and reproduce new sounds as they did when they were younger. Although they can learn language well, it will be slightly more difficult for them than if they would have started a few years ago.
Are you worried your child might not be interested or even resenting towards learning a new language? There are many interactive ways to learn a new language in a fun way through storytelling, cartoons, field trips, and much more.

Cognitive benefits
Research shows that language learning is more cognitive than linguistic. It goes beyond just learning a new language, it gives you so much more benefits that will be essential to your personal development and therefore, professional development. These are some of the cognitive benefits of learning a foreign language:
- Improved critical thinking skills.
- It increases creativity.
- Better flexibility of the mind.
- Better memory capacity.
- Improved multitasking skills.
- Improved problem-solving skills.
These are just of the benefits that are found by various studies. Surely, there are many more yet to be found.
Thus, better academic performance
Following the previous point and thanks to the cognitive benefits, learning a foreign language can also provide academic benefits. It has been shown that bilingual children have better critical thinking skills, better problem solving skills, and greater mental flexibility… All of which will help them perform better academically.

Increased intercultural understanding
All parents want their children to grow up to be great individuals. To become professionals in their field and to have an adequate level of (inter)cultural understanding. This is achieved by having a lot of love for learning new things and also by being tolerant and appreciating towards other cultures. Is the language you are learning formal? How do they talk to their teachers, bosses or grandparents? Does that differ a lot from how you would do it at home? A language tells you a lot about a culture.
Learning a foreign language opens doors that would not otherwise be opened, and also opens the mind and makes people more tolerant. Bilingual or trilingual people have access to more resources, to more people, to more places than people who do not know multiple languages. Speaking foreign languages can provide competitive advantages at work and also deepens one’s understanding of humanity, culture and enriches one’s life.
Start Spanish for your kids today!
As you have seen, there are many benefits that foreign languages bring to children, in addition to the confidence they will feel in relating to the world. Don’t deprive them of the opportunity to be bilingual!

Spanish is a widely spoken language which a bright future. In our blog we are providing you with 7 reasons why you should start learning Spanish today.
Proyecto Peru is a Volunteer Centre and Spanish School located in the historical center of Cusco. If you are interested in learning Spanish you should definitely take a look at our individual and group lessons with Cervantes certified teachers.
This article is translated and adapted from Etapa Infantil.