At Edron Academy Kinder, over 90% of our lessons are communicated in the English language. We believe that a bilingual education, beginning at an early age, is of crucial importance for several reasons. First of all, a small child finds learning a new language much easier because the language centre of the brain is still developing. Kinder children´s brains are like sponges, designed to absorb new information unconsciously. And whilst early learners become instinctively bilingual very quickly, those children who begin English for the first time at primary school level, find learning much more difficult because, by that time, their brains have already matured.
Secondly, learning a second language helps build small children´s cognitive development, which improves multi-tasking skills, creativity and concentration. Children with bilingual brains experience non-stop, mental exercise, which contributes to the development of abstract thinking and problem-solving skills.
Crucially, English has become the world’s lingua franca. In this modern age of globalization, and as more and more companies are seeking employees who speak English, our children should speak the language fluently as early as possible.
One of the most exciting benefits of learning a second language at an early age is the ability to communicate with people from different cultures. Our teachers are recruited from around the English-speaking world, meaning that our children will learn empathy with those who have grown up in different backgrounds.
Children who learn English will have incredible opportunities to travel around the world when they leave school and university. They will be able to make choices about the directions in which their lives will go. Therefore, it goes without saying that the ability to speak English at a young age directly increases our children´s chances of happiness in adulthood.
Charles Kelly, Head Teacher Lower School.