Austin International School

Top Reasons to Give Your Child a Multilingual Education

A second language improves your child’s understanding of his/her native language. In its 1992 report, “College Bound Seniors: the 1992 Profile of SAT and Achievement Test Takers,” the College Entrance Examination Board reported that students who averaged four or more years of foreign language study scored higher on the verbal section of the SAT test than those who had studied four or more years in any other subject
People who learned a second language at a younger age were also more likely to have more advanced gray matter than those who learned later. (BBC News, World Edition, October 13, 2004)
Studies have shown that children who learn a second language before the onset of adolescence are more likely to have native level pronunciation.
A multilingual child has increased understanding, appreciation and tolerance for differences in people from other countries and cultures.
Multilingual skills increase your child’s ability to have more flexibility in thinking, greater sensitivity to language, and a better ear for listening. Children who receive multilanguage instruction are more creative and better at solving complex problems.
Your child has opportunities to communicate with people he/she would not otherwise know.
A multilingual child develops deeper understanding of his/her own and other cultures.
Your child has an important head start in language requirements in college.
Americans fluent in other languages enhance our economic competitiveness abroad, improve global communication, and maintain our political security interest.
Second language acquisition enriches and enhances your child’s mental development. This includes overall school performance and superior problem solving skills.
Students of foreign languages score statistically higher on standardized tests conducted in English.