Cognitive benefits of introducing a second language to children from birth

      Latest research findings from Concordia and York Universities in Canada

A new study from Concordia University and York University in Canada and the Université de Provence in France show that toddlers who acquire a second language from birth have an advantage over their unilingual peers. Poulin-Dubois (2011) states: “We found the cognitive benefits of bilingualism come much earlier than reported in previous studies....these new findings have practical implications for educators and parents... Exposing toddlers to a second language early in their development provides a bilingual advantage that enhances attention control.” This new research has to have a profound affect on educators of young children.

Dr Priscella Clarke, a Second Language Consultant and Director of the Free Kindergarten Association of Victoria, Australia affirms that having a second language at an early age also facilitates the acquisition of further languages. Clarke (2009) “Young children who learn, or even partially learn, a second language, find it easier to learn further languages when they get older.” Dr Clarke was a keynote speaker at a Children in Europe “In My Own Words” conference in Donegal in December 2007. The stated objective of the conference was to support and promote the linguistic diversity of young children in an increasingly multilingual society. Dr Clarke said during her keynote speech: “You've got it all wrong in Ireland. You have to start in the early years.”