by Sara Dubler, www.haut-lac.ch
There are many ways to give your children and grandchildren a head start in life - from applying to the best nursery schools to helping them with their International Baccalaureate preparation. But for many parents and grandparents, the best thing they can do is provide a bilingual education for the young people in the family.
We live in a multilingual world, and that is likely to be true for decades to come. If your children are not equipped with the language skills they need, they will be limited in terms of educational opportunities, career options and even personal relationships. Giving your children the bilingual education they need will help them enormously - not only now but for the rest of their lives.
Bilingual education has a number of important benefits for people of all ages, but learning a new language is especially valuable for young children. While men and women certainly can learn a new language no matter what age they are, the growing brains of young children are better able to absorb those new words, sounds and grammar rules. Study after study has shown that young children learn new languages more readily and retain the information far better than adults.
If you want to give your children a real head start in life, consider enrolling them in a great bilingual education program. You may assume that the schools will teach your children the language skills they need to grow and thrive in a 21st century world, but that is not necessarily the case. Intensive instruction in a foreign language can be far more effective - and far more advantageous - for your children or grandchildren in the long run.
The advantages of a bilingual education are far reaching and long lasting. When you enroll your child in a bilingual education programme at a young age, you open their eyes to a whole new world - a world they might have never encountered otherwise.
Those young bilingual education students will also make new friends, learn about other cultures and gain a fresh understanding of how interconnected the modern world really is. The youngest students in the class might not grasp all those intricacies right away, but over time they will understand the importance of the gift they have been given.
As those children get older and enter higher education, they will be in a much better position to excel and understand the world they will soon be entering. Students who speak more than one language will be better able to understand ancient literature, and better equipped to decipher complicated medical and technical terminology. Many parents and grandparents overlook these benefits of bilingual education - but they are very real.
When college or university is over, the benefits of a bilingual education become even more valuable. More and more companies are looking for bilingual workers, and the ability to speak a second language can be extremely valuable in a tough job market.
The ability to speak a second language can also open up new doors in terms of both further education and employment. Bilingual workers can often pick and choose from a wealth of exciting job opportunities, from international finance to world travel. No matter what they like to do, chances are their bilingual abilities will help them live their dreams.
Author's bio
Head of Communications and Alumni Relations for Haut-Lac International Bilingual School, Sara Dubler is a bilingual, half Swiss and half Irish young woman who completed her International Baccalaureate at Haut-Lac in 2006. There she experienced true bilingualism and enjoyed being part of a local / international community.
She then did a BA at Stirling University and an MA at EM Strasbourg Business School before spending time in Belfast working in a Customer Engagement Agency. She recently moved back to Switzerland and entered the field of international education.
Sara is responsible for advertising, digital marketing, and communications at Haut-Lac International Bilingual School in St-Légier-La Chiésaz near Vevey and also for developing the alumni network. She is a marketing enthusiast who is passionate about the digital world and enjoys combining her knowledge and skills to boost the vibrant school community and watch it thrive and develop.
Haut-Lac International Bilingual School, www.haut-lac.ch
