Cultural competence

Youth shouldn’t wait until high school to study a foreign language, according to numerous experts including Mary Lynn Redmond, an associate professor of education at Wake Forest University and a member of the National Network for Early Language Learning.

“Children should start learning a foreign language in kindergarten and continue through high school,” Redmond says in this WFU press release. “Learning languages helps increase listening ability, memory, creativity and critical thinking - all of which are thinking processes that increase learning in general.”

I think a lot of parents are paying attention to studies and people like Redmond. While playing in various parks this summer, my kids and I kept meeting children who spoke another language besides English. Spanish was especially popular. I figured they were watching “Dora The Explorer” and learning a few phrases.

Another mother told me it was more intentional than that. Jamie Henneman, owner of Lazy Lightning Ranch in Rice, Wash., travels all the way to Mead so that her 4-year-old son, Beau, can learn Spanish at Villa Vista Language Academy. Although it’s a two-hour drive from her farm, she believes it’s worth it. Learning a second language not only develops thinking skills, she told me. It also exposes Beau to another culture and expands his world view.

This discussion over coffee one afternoon led me to check out Villa Vista and write a story about the benefits of learning a foreign language. Some people complain that there isn’t much culture in Spokane, but while researching this article, I discovered so many schools and communities committed to teaching children about other languages and ways of life.

How about your family? Have you considered learning a foreign language together or enrolling your children in a language school? Those who do it say it’s one way to expose their kids to diversity.

Besides studying another language, how else can we expose our children to other ways of looking at the world?