Parents often hear that learning english is key for their children’s future and sometimes they believe it and sometimes think it is just a plus that they don’t really need.

But the truth is it has never been more important, with a world as competitive as it is today, learning english can be the differentiator that defines your children’s future.

How is teaching my kids english going to help them?

When talking about your children’s future, it is imperative for them to learn english, it will open hundreds of doors for them:

• Access to better education
• Access to international experiences
• Access to worldwide cultures
• Better job opportunities

Today it is very common for the best schools and universities to require their prospective students to have a high level of english, this can be key not only for being admitted, but also to get a scholarship.

But just knowing the language isn’t enough, it is a very competitive field nowadays. They need to understand it, be able to apply it in daily life situations and professional situations alike.

Regarding international experiences, since english is known as the universal language, it works as a key to the world. You can travel anywhere and you will be understood by mostly everyone.

This means they could experience exchange opportunities, which wouldn´t only serve as practice for them, but also would help enrich their culture and have access to new learning experiences in different schools.

Aside from studying abroad, traveling on vacation also helps them live new experiences and get to know new cultures and learn a lot from them and their people, which will make them more aware of the world they live in.

English is also a top requirement for better job positions. Management positions often strictly require a high level of english, sometimes companies even give a higher priority to the english level rather than work experience.

When should my kids start learning english?

As early as possible. Learning from an early age greatly improves the effectiveness of the language on them. As they are younger their brain is better at capturing information.

Since they learn both their native language and english at the same time, they see it as something normal. The older they are they can begin to question why should they learn another language and look at english as something boring and unnecessary.

Also, when they are younger they have no fear of making mistakes, so they will participate as much as possible and make as many mistakes as they can, helping them get better at it and improving their skills.

And older kid can have difficulty learning because of fear of speaking up and making a mistake, resulting in the rest of the class making fun of him, or neglecting to keep trying because of the same fear of failure.

Learning from a young age also helps them to better develop their brain, resulting in:

• Improves creativity
• Improves problem-solving
• Improves their communication skills
• Decreases the chances of getting a brain disease such as Alzheimer

What are the best english teaching methods for kids?

Nowadays most of the schools label themselves as bilingüal, which means they teach english as a subject, along with all the other basic subjects.

But this is far from enough. Today, just learning english as a subject is just the very basic a kid should do. Especially when this kind of schools teach it only one hour a day or sometimes even just 3 hours per week.

Bicultural educational models are the answer. With this, kids not only take english lessons but also take most of their subjects in english, for example, math, science, literature or world history. English is implemented as part of their daily environment.

This helps them better understand and practice the language. With this method, they get to see first hand how english can be applied to things outside of school. They no longer see it as just another subject they learn at school, but as part of their daily life and learn how important it is in the real world.

They begin to gain interest in it, making changes in their lives, for example, watching movies or tv shows on their original english language, rather than recurring to dubbing. They also get interested in english since most of the songs they listen to are in this language, and it encourages them to learn more in order to better understand them and even sing along with them.

Teaching their kids english is a must for all parents that want their children to be successful and have a bright future full of opportunities. Without it, they will miss hundreds of life experiences and professional opportunities.

At Colegio Washington, we have a bicultural model that with the help of technology makes kids learn while they have fun, they enjoy what they are doing, question themselves and seek to become better every day. Click down below to learn more about us and Explore Washington from your home. Discover all the tools we have to ensure a bright future for your children.