Language enrichment programs are generally language classes offered for kids aged as young as 6 weeks to 6 years old to cultivate basic language skills in their lives. Language fluency and skills can help stimulate higher levels of thinking in children and also help them to communicate better with those around them. Language enrichment programs specialize in a language but may also include some degree of activities like music, art and drama as part of the lesson. Language enrichment institutions are rapidly growing in Malaysia to cater to the growing number of parents who desire to provide the best learning opportunities for their children.
Language enrichment programs specialize in language learning in which they introduce young children to skills such as reading, spelling, conversing and at the same time, incorporate the following:
These components will prepare young children for kindergarten right up to high school. Studies have shown that young children who are exposed to multiple languages and can converse in more than one language from a young age fare better in school tests compared to those who only know one language. In short, language enrichment programs allow children to have more basic skills that can lead the way for more proficient learning.
A Matter of Choice
Some parents of very young children may not be comfortable with the thought of enrolling their babies in any kind of program, let alone a language enrichment one! Some may also feel that their little ones are much better off and safer in the hands of a nanny or even at a daycare. This is truly a matter of choice although more and more parents have come to recognize the need for the earliest possible beginning in a child’s education.
Centers for language programs that cater for very young children are not the same as the ones for older children, so parents can, first and foremost, be assured that their child will not be trying to cope with lessons beyond their comprehension. Rather, ‘lessons’ for very young children will probably be centered around the exposure to various stimuli such as other kids, sights, sounds and so on. Play and social interaction in the featured language may take place at learning centers for babies and toddlers for these will help young ones familiarize with various environments and people outside of the family circle first, before even approaching the language lessons.
Language learning centers for babies and toddlers may provide kids with various mind-enhancing activities like sing-alongs, arrangements of alphabets, storytelling and many more. All activities are designed by the centers to stimulate learning in the featured languages. The aim is to eventually gain a higher advantage in terms of language proficiency like fluency in reading and speech, good vocabulary, and so on.
Busy Parent, Busy Kid
Working parents do not have much time in their hands to indulge in nurturing their child’s language skills on a full-time basis. Some are too tired even to play with their kids when they come home from work. At learning centers however, it is their job to see to the learning needs of their little charges, where attention and care is given to them. So, while busy parents are at work, they can somewhat be assured that their little kids are busy too, learning important language skills that will help them later on in school and in everyday life.
Choose A Center That You Like
A good feel for a place is always important and a learning center for your little one is no exception. If anything puts you off in a learning center which you are checking out, don’t try to convince yourself that it’s only you. Instead, trust your instinct and check out another center.
Language centers and other centers for babies and toddlers are growing in numbers and you want to be certain to pick one which is not only convenient for you in terms of droping off and picking up, but also one which you are confident in as well. Research on the center of your choice and interview the head of the establishment beforehand to gauge the performance of the center. Centers which are open for babies and toddlers should be transparent in their work and not appear to hide anything from parents’ knowledge. You may also ask other parents who send their kids there for their opinion on the establishment. Parents should conduct their own research before enrolling their kids to any type of early learning centers, including language enrichment centers. This is one crucial step because while the number of enrichments centers are growing in Malaysia, the quality of the centers in terms of teaching skills, care-giving and safety might not all be up to par.
Social Aptness
Among the most important elements of social aptness are cooperation, tolerance and selflessness and a child can be appropriately exposed to these elements in an ideal setting such as an early learning center. Learning to communicate well with people outside of his or her family will allow a child to understand not only how to speak well, but also that things are very different in the real world! For example, if a little girl is used to getting her own way among her family members, she will have to learn that it is very different in the outside world and when she is with other children. She will come to understand that life is not all about her and there is a need for cooperation with others. All in, time spent at a language enrichment center can place a child at an advantage of learning how to speak, behave and communicate well.
Keeping The Family Heritage Alive
Many parents these days are either slowly losing or have already lost the ability to converse in their respective mother tongues and just as many would dearly like their children to be proficient in the language of their ancestors and keep the language part of the heritage alive. While it is still possible to try to learn to speak, read or write a language, parents who are not fluent themselves in Mandarin or Tamil, for instance, may not be able to teach their child the language well enough. Language enrichment centers for children can be really helpful for such cases, for studies have shown, over and over again, that children learn languages much more faster than adults! A word of warning though: Be prepared for little ones to be speaking fluently among themselves while you wonder what are they go on about!
This article is taken from Smart Kids World Vol. 04
Note: The language centre profiles are not ranked in any order of prestige.
