Teaching languages from an early age – the benefits

‘Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere’

We are lucky to live in a culturally and linguistically diverse country and to be part of a global world. As language teachers we are privileged to be able to nurture our pupils’ curiosity of the world. This is why at Hatherop Castle, we call our subject Modern Foreign Languages and Global Citizenship. We want our children to be open to other cultures and we are lucky that in our lessons we can explore other parts of the world.

We start teaching French in Nursery as research has shown early language learning brings many cognitive benefits, including making learning subsequent languages easier. Language lessons are a great way for children to practise active listening skills, which in turn improves memory and concentration. These are vital skills for life-long learning- of all subjects. We notice how over each term the children’s attention span increases and their confidence grows that if they listen they will understand and be able to respond. These positive interactions are also good for children’s self-esteem.

But mostly we start teaching French at age 3 as it is great fun! Using their imagination and creativity, our children acquire another language through play and song. Voila!