The benefits of a bilingual education

Creating successful futures at Kensington Wade

Many studies have shown that childhood is the best time to learn an additional language. To become completely fluent, learning should start before the age of ten. Being bilingual has a profound effect on the brain and provides many academic, economic and social advantages.

Learning a second language boosts brain capacity in areas such as creative thinking, pattern recognition, problem-solving and multitasking. Bilingual people are more capable of separating relevant information from irrelevant information, meaning that they can focus better and be more effective thinkers and decision-makers.

As a bilingual child’s brain is regularly challenged to recognise, find meaning and communicate in multiple languages, they have greater cognitive flexibility which allows them to think critically and to analyse complex information.

Children who learn multiple languages tend to have stronger memories and be more cognitively creative. Research indicates that bilingual people are even better at remembering names and directions than monolingual people!

Studies indicate that pupils who have a bilingual education show greater achievements than their monolingual peers, especially in maths, reading and vocabulary. Young learners also develop greater linguistic awareness, a better understanding of their native language and increased self-esteem.

Bilingual pupils are better at shifting their perspective and understanding the world from others’ points of view, allowing them to appreciate cultural differences and to be more tolerant. Knowing another language also opens doors in the future for those who wish to work abroad.

Kensington Wade is a bilingual nursery and prep school in West London for children aged 3 to 11, where half the lessons are taught in English and half in Chinese, providing full immersion in the two languages and giving children complete fluency in both. We believe that those who have a second language give themselves the best chance to embrace the world that awaits them.

SUZANNE HAIGH Head of Kensington Wade www.kensingtonwade.com