After studying Spanish for three years at high school, I thought it would be a good idea to choose the Spanish elective module. This year, I hope to develop my understanding of the language, and become more fluent.

I decided to read more on how teaching languages in the classroom from a young age would benefit pupils and was pleasantly surprised with what I found. A common thought is that children may become confused by learning two languages at the same time, which perhaps could have a detrimental impact on the child’s development. However, it’s quite the opposite. It’s been proven that exposing a second language to children at a young age, broadens their knowledge of different cultures, different people and points of view, improves creativity, and sharpens their brain, helping them enormously through their education, and in later life.

I began to wonder how much more beneficial it would have been had I started learning this language from a younger age. Our brains can absorb so much more, and adapt when we’re younger. It is similar to that of learning a musical instrument. At the age of five, I began having piano lessons, and progressed at such a fast pace, my mum, who at the time was learning too, couldn’t keep up.

The ideal time for a child to learn a second language is while they’re learning and developing their mother tongue language. Primary aged children are able to learn and mimic the often complex sounds and pronounciations of a new language, without the self-consciousness of older pupils. Children also gain that sense of accomplishment when they can say something new in a foreign language, which builds confidence and encourages performance. I think it would make an enormous difference in today’s education if children were introduced to a second language as early as primary one, and it was enforced and built upon throughout their time at primary school.