Foreign Language Programs

Opening the Doorway to Your Child's Linguistic and Cultural Future

Extensive studies have shown that children who are taught a foreign language before their teenage years learn the intricacies of that language quicker and with greater understanding than children who begin language training as adolescents. In part, this is because young children are natural mimics and absorb a foreign language-both spoken and written-with the same acuity with which they learn their native tongue.

Further studies suggest that adolescents who have studied foreign languages as young children have better problem-solving abilities than their peers, approach education with more enthusiasm that other students, and evidence a more even-handed approach to their learning activities. In one study, students who learned a foreign language scored higher on standardized tests conducted in English!

We live in a multicultural society. We all know neighbors, friends, doctors, grocery clerks, mail carriers, police who are of different nationalities. Our children's playmates may be from Samoa or China or Mexico. As our world becomes culturally diverse, the need to increase our understanding of people who speak different languages and hold different cultural beliefs is vital. The ability to speak, read and understand foreign languages can help our children to be more tolerant, sensitive and appreciative of other cultures. It opens doorways that would not otherwise be opened.

Seeds of Learning wants to open this doorway to your child's future. Our Foreign Language Class for Children will offer beginning classes in Chinese-a major second language in the Northwestern United States-and Spanish-the second most spoken language in our nation. Our teachers will provide fun and interesting lessons using storybook characters, games, and frequent reiteration of words and symbols that children can easily relate to. By our innovative teaching methods, we hope to excite your child's curiosity about other cultures and stimulate his thinking to a wider view of his world.

Parents will be asked to participate. Because a child's education should not stop at the schoolhouse door, we feel that it is important for parents to become involved in supplementing a child's learning experience. In the Foreign Language Class for Children, we may ask parents to allow their child to visit various Internet sites, we may ask that he/she listens to musical or verbal tapes and CDs, and we may ask that you work with him/her from a typed lesson plan that we will provide to complement the school activities.

Click here for a sample Spanish Lesson.

To enroll your child in our Foreign Language Class for Children, please fill out our Registration Form. If you would like more information on the program, please fill out the Inquiry Form.

If you know a child who would benefit from any SOL programs, please click here to recommend them quickly and easily and your child could earn tuition credit when the child you recommend enrolls in our program!