| Most parents know the benefits of teaching their | | | | before hand. Their teacher just started teaching in |
| children a second language, like Spanish. They | | | | Spanish. |
| know about the higher test scores, the better | | | | Kindergarten is the time children learn about |
| mental retention. | | | | reading and writing, so the teacher simply |
| And of course they keep in mind the benefits of | | | | introduced them to Spanish in the same way she |
| knowing a second language to their children's job | | | | introduced them to English. |
| future. | | | | The Results of the Kindergarten Spanish |
| Where most parents get lost, though, is in how to | | | | Experiment |
| teach their child Spanish. In fact, sadly, this is | | | | Every student that year "graduated" kindergarten |
| where most parents take the wrong path! | | | | able to speak at least basic Spanish. |
| I want to go over an interesting "kindergarten | | | | Pretty amazing considering all of them entered |
| Spanish" experiment with you that will show how | | | | speaking only English. |
| the human brain best learns a new language. | | | | The Take Home Message of the Kindergarten |
| The Kindergarten Spanish Experiment | | | | Spanish Experiment |
| A little while back, there was a flurry of research | | | | The human brain is wired to learn through |
| that showed the benefits of "language immersion" | | | | language immersion. Research has proved this |
| techniques, especially in younger children. | | | | over and over. |
| This research showed that the human brain best | | | | If you want to teach your child Spanish, simply |
| learns when it is surrounded by -- immersed in -- | | | | immerse her in the language whenever possible! |
| something. This process works best from ages 0 | | | | Speak Spanish at home. If you don't know |
| to 12. | | | | Spanish, learn along with your child. |
| Most children become their formal schooling | | | | Hire a baby sitter that speaks Spanish. |
| around age 5, in kindergarten. So researchers set | | | | When your child is more advanced, have her |
| off to see how easily they could use their | | | | watch Spanish cartoons. |
| research and teach children a second language. | | | | The brain will subconsciously learn Spanish if given |
| The experiment was simple: | | | | the right materials. |
| The children followed the exact same lesson plan | | | | The kindergarten Spanish experiment has opened |
| that any other kindergartener would follow. | | | | a lot of parents' eyes. Now I ask that you take |
| The only difference: their teacher alternated | | | | the next step and do what the researchers did: |
| between speaking Spanish and English. | | | | apply the years worth of study on your own child |
| The children did not receive heavy Spanish training | | | | and invest in her future. |