While awkward preschool students may not seem supremely adapted to the learning of a new language, they actually hold a special ability to acquire language skills. Preschool students' brains are continually developing and, while their brains develop, they are better able to learn and retain a new language. Preschool students can learn languages more easily than their older counterparts, reports Early Childhood News. As these students continue to develop their English skills, foreign language skills can be developed simultaneously. By teaching preschool students a foreign language, it is easier for them to achieve fluency and develop a complex understanding of the structures that make up the foreign language.
Learning a foreign language in preschool can have a positive impact on the students' academic performance later in life, reports Parent Press. By learning a language at a young age, students not only increase their language skills but also improve their overall cognitive functioning. Parent Press points to numerous studies that show a correlation between early language learning and improved standardized test scores later in life. While there is no irrefutable evidence that indicates that this test score improvement is a direct result of the language learning in which these students engaged, the correlation is strong enough to indicate that there is a likely connection between these two factors.
By learning a foreign language, students can improve their understanding of and connection to their familial heritage. This benefit is particularly important for students whose families come from non-English speaking countries or whose families still practice the ethnic traditions of their country of origin. America has long prided itself on being a melting pot; this appreciation for diversity can be ingrained into students at a young age by teaching them a foreign language in preschool. As students learn their foreign language, they will learn not only the unfamiliar words of a distant land. They will also learn that there is nothing wrong with something that is different, but instead that difference should be embraced, appreciated and revered.