Italian for Toddlers

Research Highlights

The foundation of Italian for Toddlers is the educational advantage and intellectual stimulation gained through early exposure to a foreign language. Studies on brain development indicate that early exposure to more than one language builds a more powerful brain, with faster and more efficient synaptic connections.

Research shows that all newborns possess the ability to distinguish between the different sounds of all the world's languages. All over the world, newborns can hear the difference between the French "r", the deep sound of the German ",", the distinctive open palate sound of Italian vowels, the unique expressions of Mandarin. On the contrary, adults who speak only English cannot hear these differences. Toward the second half of babies' first year of life important changes take place: babies grow used to the sounds of the language spoken in their surrounding environment and their ability to distinguish between different foreign sounds lessens gradually.

The best predictor for successful acquisition of a language is early exposure; in fact, exposing children to foreign languages is the best strategy in order to maximize their future linguistic abilities and to take advantage of the many cognitive, social and academic benefits of multilingualism.

Learning a second language helps the first language. Bilingual infants and children are acutely aware of the existence of different languages and diverse cultures, that is unmatched by their monolingual peers. Bilingual children can easily and readily distinguish between familiar speakers, identify which language they are speaking, and respond in the same language.

Language and linguistic awareness matters as it has been proven to increase young adults' academic success, in particular with reading and writing. Multilinguists tend to learn how to read faster than monolinguals; later on, as they are aware of the different symbols that can be attributed to the same item, they develop more sophisticated and complex writing skills as well.

"The window for acquiring syntax, or the grammatical arrangement of words in sentences, may close as early as five or six years of age, while the window for adding new words may never close. The ability to learn a second language is highest between birth and the age of six, then undergoes a steady decline. Among other things, it is clear that foreign languages should be taught in elementary school, if not before."
—TIME MAGAZINE

"By 12 months, an infant's auditory map is formed. He will be unable to pick out phonemes he has not heard thousands of times for the simple reason that no cluster of neurons has been assigned the job of responding to that sound. And the older he gets, the more he will struggle to learn a new language."
—NEWSWEEK

"The most obvious benefit of elementary foreign language immersion programs is that students emerge able to communicate in more than one language. If students continue their study of both languages through the upper grades, they are far ahead of other candidates applying for jobs into today's diverse working world. The asset of being bilingual is valued by all types of employers. Other benefits include a positive effect on intellectual growth and enhanced mental development. Learning a second language can also improve a child's understanding of his or her native language. As a child acquires language structures in the second language, he/she is continuously scaffolding, connecting, and comparing these new structures to what is already known. The benefits of knowing a second language can extend beyond school. It gives children the ability to communicate with people they would otherwise not have had the chance to know. Knowing a second language helps young children to understand how diverse our world is; that not everyone is like them. Throughout their education, they come to appreciate other languages and cultures. They gain a greater flexibility in thinking and problem solving as well."
—PBS TEACHERS WEB SITE

"Schools should be considered as contexts for facilitating processes of social and cultural inclusion, rather than for fostering diversity and cultural segregation. The concepts of "diversity as a resource" and "diversity as an opportunity for growth" are central to the dialogue among professionals and scholars about the possibility of creating a multicultural setting for preschool children."
—WWW.CHILDRENCROSSINGBORDERS.ORG/ITALY

"The key to becoming a good reader is an early and varied exposure to language. What does this mean? Basically, the more you can expose your child to language, the better"
—WWW.TEACHING-CHILDREN-TO-READ.NET

"So here's my #1 suggestion for extra experiences and learning that will benefit your 21st century child: raise your child to be bilingual at an early age. Some of the advantages of being bilingual are obvious: knowing a second language will be a huge advantage in competing for jobs in our flat world. Plus, a second language provides a more complex understanding of other countries and cultures.
There is evidence that learning a second language early in life confers other advantages: more of the brain's firepower is devoted to language, there may be a better ability to deal with distractions, it certainly makes it easier to learn a 3rd language, it improves attention and spatial abilities in the elderly, it may benefit some aspects of memory, and there is improved creativity in using language."
—WWW.HEALTHYCHILDREN.COM