After the baby is born, and eventually learned his/her native language, it now gradually starts having its full capacity to learn another or new language just by imitating and hearing his/her environment. The earlier he/she hears the accents and sound of another language, there is much more possibility that he/she will develop it. Added to this, if he/she is also given chance to be exposed in the language, and the opportunity to speak it, chances are that he/she will be able to speak it fluently. This way, the child would treat both the mother tongue and the foreign language equally (http://www.snn-rdr.ca/snn/2003apr/bilingual.html,2003).
One high school principal was quoted saying "A child has only one year of age 5, if the child does not get the education he needs, he will never get it the same way. For example, if the child was afraid of school when he starts grade 1, he will forever have this deep-down fear inside. It would be way too late to fix it anything later." (http://www.snn-rdr.ca/snn/2003apr/bilingual.html,2003). Indeed, it very sensible idea to start learning the second language early because children would be given more time to learn it.
Professor Tony Cline, a psychologist specializing in language development in children, says that science has revised the people's image of how the brain works. Before, people used to think that the brain has limited capacity, like a milk bottle, and that it was impossible to pour two pints of milk into a bottle. But now it is understood that human brains are capable of making an infinite number of connections and that there is no limit to what it can take in. He further reveals that there might be temporary disadvantages in having a bilingual childhood. According to him, the child sometimes applies the rules of one language to another, and so makes mistakes. But these grammatical 'errors' are trivial and soon outgrown. Any slight delays in language development are more than outweighed by the benefits of bilingualism. These include an enlarged cultural repertoire, the boost to intellectual growth that comes from accessing the literature of different countries and the self-evident practical benefits in an era of globalization (http://www.languagemagazine.com/internetedition/mj98/fbb11.html,1998).
Prof. Cline even pointed out that there is an equally important social advantage in learning a foreign language during the early infancy years. Experiments have shown that bilingual children are better at taking the perspective of another person such as having more than one cultural 'identity' heightens one's ability to put himself into someone else's shoes. While the practical usefulness of a language depends on how widely spoken it is internationally, in terms of its broader, more abstract value, all languages are equal (http://www.languagemagazine.com/internetedition/mj98/fbb11.html,1998).
Another good thing about learning a foreign language at an early age is that it not only allows learning the language itself but also the cultures and the diversity behind the foreign language one is learning. In this way, the child is being provided with a broader information and knowledge. It enhances the child's intellect and allowing him/her to have more and frequent glimpses of the world. The ultimate effect of this is that earlier dedication and commitment towards learning the foreign language means increased frequency of training thereby making them a lot proficient in using two languages.
Cognitive Effects to the Brain
Learning a foreign language in childhood has been shown to foster classification skills, concept formation, analogical reasoning, visual-spatial skills, creativity, and other cognitive gains (Bialystok 1991). According to Virginia Gonzalez, author of Language and Cognitive Development in Second Language Learning, the effects of bilingualism on cognition are mediated by the proficiency levels in both languages. According to other researchers, "there may be a threshold level of linguistic competence which a bilingual child must...
The program primarily supports the local Chinese communities to maintain younger generation's heritage background, and spreading Chinese culture in the U.S. The classes are normally held two to three hours on weekends with Chinese language lessons and other traditional cultural and art activities. Most students have high levels of oral proficiency in Chinese, but needed to enhance skills in literacy. Chinese heritage schools are mainly supported by two groups:
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