Preparing Toddlers for Future: ¡Hola! Ni Hao! My name is Mary.
What does the global economy have to do with the popularity of foreign languages among kids--more than you may think!

TOWSON, MD, December 07, 2008 /24-7PressRelease/ -- With the world becoming a more global economy, the United States is at a critical point in terms of foreign language education. According to a 2006 report issued by the Committee for Economic Development, a non-profit organization with more than 200 business leaders and university presidents, "in order to confront the twenty-first century challenges to our economy and national security, our education system must be strengthened to increase the foreign language skills and cultural awareness of our students." Fun with Foreign Language (FwFL) Director Yani Peyton agrees strongly with the Committee for Economic Development. Her program provides children in Harford County, MD with Spanish classes and will begin offering Mandarin Chinese classes in Harford County and Towson, MD starting in January. According to Peyton, all the evidence indicates that young children of today will be competing with the world by the time they enter the workforce—and the world will know more than one language. Families in her community are starting to recognize this too. It is this recognition that Peyton believes is causing more people to look into foreign language programs for young children.

According to Peyton, Spanish and Chinese are definitely the hot languages for the families that she has spoken to. Based on figures from a http://www.about.com article titled, "Why Learn Spanish", with about 400 million Spanish speakers in the world, Spanish is the fourth most widely spoken language in the world (after English, Chinese, and Hindustani). Peyton adds, "The influence of TV programs such as Dora and Diego has aided in the popularity of Spanish among young children." The popularity of the Chinese language can be attributable to many factors including the fact that China is ranked as one of the top 5 economies in the world, (based on 2007 estimates from the International Monetary Fund), is a huge market for American goods and services, and is a vital supplier to American manufacturers. Additionally, with the Chinese language earning the distinction by the US government as a "critical need foreign language" because of national security concerns, it should come as no surprise why more families are looking for ways to introduce the Chinese language to their children.

Families that want their children proficient in a second language have a better chance of attaining this if the children start young. In fact, according to the Center for Applied Linguistics, studies show that children that start in a foreign language program and continue through high school and college have a greater chance of attaining proficiency than an individual that starts in middle school or high school. And, the benefits of starting young are well documented. Research shows that the earlier a child starts a foreign language program, the easier it is for him or her to learn it and the easier it is to mimic its native sounds. Peyton sees this with her own 5 year old children who are bilingual in English and Spanish. She plans to enroll them in FwFL Mandarin Chinese classes beginning in January. "Starting early helps children pronounce target language words as they should be said." Peyton indicates. "Every child deserves opportunities—and I believe foreign languages can open the door to many opportunities in our children's future".

Press Release Contact Information:

Yani Peyton
Fun with Foreign Language
Director
PO Box 1874
Bel Air, MD
USA 21009
Voice: 443-616-7343
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