I want to share with you guys the information that you can use to construct an essay on most topics regarding language learning. Of course this is not all but enough for an essay of 250 words.
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- Benefits of knowing a second language:
+ ability to communicate with people from different countries and backgrounds.
+ improved overall school performance.
+ higher academic achievement.
+ better career opportunities.
- Advantages particularly toward children:
+ enhance children's mental development.
+ bilingual children are found to have larger density of "grey matter"
=> Apart from the first benefit which can be derived from logical reasoning, other benefits have been shown by studies.
- The younger the better? YES - I haven't came across any studies that say otherwise.
+ Between birth and pre-adolescence, the human brain is more open to language development and this has to do with the formation of the brain. After this period, any further learning must be gained through long and hard traditional learning, although it's said that learning a second language at any age is beneficial.
+ Children who start learning a language before their onset adolescence are more likely to develop native-like pronunciation and attain the levels of fluency which have not been possible due to the late start of the languages programs.
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Hope this is useful !
Cheers,
Chi