I was reading an article in USA Today about how more parents are insisting their children be multilingual.  We live in a multicultural society.  Our borders to the world economy are becoming more blurred with each day that passes.  People used to search across cities and states for jobs, now they are expanding their job searches to other countries uprooting their families in hopes of a better life.  This is the global society we live in today.  This is the global society we have to account for as we teach our children.

The USA Today article, published in 2007, points out a 4 year old who is fluent in both Japanese and Spanish.  This little girl can also understand some French, German, Arabic and Italian.  She hopes to learn Mandarin Chinese next.  This is all courtesy of the due diligence of her mother.  She began teaching foreign languages to her daughter when she was just 6 weeks old.  She did go on to discuss some of the difficulties in teaching a child multiple languages at the same time.  She discussed a situation were the child would mix up some of the vocabulary and simply use the shortest word possible, but stood steadfast in her belief that learning multiple languages was essential to child development.

I’m Puerto Rican by descent.  I had a stereotypical Nuyorican upbringing.  A good portion of my childhood was spent living with my grandparents.  My grandparents would communicate with me in Spanish.  I would respond to them in English.  This was how we conversed all the way until I made a conscious decision to learn how to speak Spanish.  I am not the most proficient, but I get by.  It is one of those things that I am insanely embarrassed about, but it is what it is and I’m trying to improve on it.

My wife is Caucasian and from the South.  (And, yes, she is very Southern.)  She does not speak Spanish fluently, but she has made attempts to learn how to both comprehend Spanish when spoken to and to speak Spanish herself.  She has done a fantastic job in both areas.  We have been debating on getting her Learning Spanish Like Crazy or Rosetta Stone.

When the wife was pregnant we made the decision to try to teach our daughter Spanish.  I felt it was important she learn part of her culture and that the legacy of my grandparents not disappear with her.  We began stocking up on the Spanish version of children’s classics.  After she arrived, each night we’d read those bedtime books to her.  As I gave her a bottle and rocked her to sleep at night I would recap my day to her completely in Spanish.  As she grew up and began to watch television she did get into Dora and Diego.  She picked up a word here and there, but nothing concrete.  She still cannot have a conversation exclusively in Spanish, but she is on the brink of it.

We took to heart the following quote from the USA Today article:

Not only is learning a foreign language easier for children than it is for adults, but children who are exposed to other languages also do better in school, score higher on standardized tests, are better problem solvers and are more open to diversity [USA Today]

We decided to take the next step.  At 2 years old, she already knows her alphabet, can recognize words and count to 30 in both English and Spanish.  Most of the proficiency in reading is thanks to our daycare provider who makes it mandatory the children do lessons utilizing the Your Baby Can Read system.

Today we ordered the Little Pim 6 DVD gift set to give to our daycare provider to incorporate into her lesson plan.  I have read reviews on the system and most seem pretty favorable.  The highest profile review came from Wired Magazine’s Geek Dad.

We’re going to start with Spanish.  My plan, however, is not to end there.  Depending on the success or failure of the video series, I plan on purchasing other languages for her to go over.  I am leaning towards Mandarin Chinese right now. I will be sure to post a review of the DVD set once I sit through it with her.

Don’t have $50+ to drop on the DVD box set?  If you have Netflix, there are several language learning programming options available through their streaming service.

No other point in history has our world been as connected as it is now.  The globe will get even smaller as our children grow up to become adults.  I feel exposing our children to other languages is important for their success in the future.  They don’t necessarily have to be fluent in many languages, but they should gain a level of comfort and understanding of some basic terms.

Are you exposing your children to other languages?  Do you feel it is important they become multilingual?  We would love to hear from you in the comments.