Will Teaching Italian (or Another Foreign Language) to Toddlers Make them Brighter?
Does teaching Italian to kids improve their intellect? Researchers have been studying brain images of language students, and their findings are changing our overall picture of the bilingual mind. Utilising advanced technology like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), specialists in the field of educational neuroscience have identified distinct neurological benefits of learning a foreign language. Teaching Italian to toddlers, it seems, may help their minds stay as fresh and healthy as the best Tuscan cuisine, even into old age.
Brains of youngest bilinguals have more “grey matter.”
The scientific journal Nature published an oft-cited study in 2004, which illustrated that children who speak two languages develop significantly more “grey matter ” in their brains, in relation to monolingual children. Past research has linked increased grey matter to higher intelligence. Though the study authors in Nature fell short of concluding that teaching a second language to children will improve their IQ, additional research is ongoing. The results, thus far, appear quite positive for would-be bilinguals.
According to the study in Nature, “early ” bilinguals who developed their second language skills at a younger age showed the greatest proportional increase in grey matter. These findings appear to bolster a popular stance of many experts that early is best when teaching Italian or any foreign language.
Dr. Andrea Mechelli, a neurologist at University College London, was the lead researcher of the study. When speaking with BBC News, she interpreted the results of her research thusly: “It means that older learners won’t be as fluent as people who learned earlier in life. ”Dr. Mechelli is not alone in advocating early language learning. Many other reputable scientists and educators believe that teaching Italian or any second language to children while they’re still young increases their likelihood of achieving true proficiency.
Does teaching Italian truly build better brains?
Much of the human brain is formed by two types of tissue: grey matter and white matter. Grey matter is believed to process information, including sensory data like sight and sound, as well as information related to speech and memory. Experts believe that white matter transmits and integrates this information, in addition to regulating autonomic bodily functions, like heartbeat and breathing.
If bilingualism builds up grey matter, does this necessarily mean that teaching Italian or another second language to kids will make them brighter? The answer to this question comes, as they say, in shades of grey.
Dr. Richard Haier is an American professor who teaches pediatric neurology at the University of California, Irvine (UCI), a large research university in the United States. Haier has shown that higher intelligence does correspond to increased grey matter, but only within certain regions of the brain, including the parietal region of adults. Bilingual participants in Dr. Mechelli’s study did exhibit increased grey matter in their parietal region, suggesting a possible—and provocative—correlation.
Haier commented in a UCI news release that the entire human brain is utilised to process “a constant cascade of information. ” However, actual intelligence appears to reside within relatively few structures in the brain, where, he said, “the more grey matter the better. ”
Apparently, learning a new language is not the only way to build a better brain. The medical journal NeuroImage published a study in 2002 indicating that professional musicians have also been shown to possess increased grey matter. This increase is proportionally greater in musicians who begin their musical training earlier in life. Therefore teaching music, like teaching Italian ro another second language, may be most beneficial during the earliest years.
Top methods for teaching Italian
Research exploring the links between bilingualism and neurological structure is certain to continue for many more years, as scientists plumb the complex mysteries of the brain. For the foreseeable future, however, the attention of most parents will likely turn toward more immediate and pragmatic concerns. For some, this means figuring out the practical side of teaching Italian or another second language to kids. Specifically, how and where to begin?
The first steps toward learning a second language might begin with an Italian parent, nanny or tutor. Language immersion programmes have also become increasingly popular, including multimedia programmes that allow parents – even non-native speakers – to begin instruction in their own home.
Parents will undoubtedly exert a bit of their own grey matter when figuring out which method for teaching Italian works best for their children. Thankfully, science and common sense are in agreement: the eventual outcome of a new language learnt will be very much worth the effort.
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