Benefits of Language Learning

A world language program at the elementary level provides all students with regular, meaningful opportunities to learn Spanish. Research shows that early language learning benefits students in multiple ways:

Cognitive Benefits

• Early Spanish learning strengthens memory, attention, problem-solving, and cognitive flexibility (Bialystok, 2001; Carlson & Meltzoff, 2008).

• Students develop better metalinguistic awareness, improving understanding of language structures in both Spanish and English (Cummins, 2000).

• Young learners acquire pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar more naturally and retain skills more easily than older students (Krashen, 1982; Snow & Hoefnagel-Höhle, 1978).
  
  

Academic Benefits

• Early language learning supports reading and writing in Spanish and enhances literacy in English (Thomas & Collier, 2002).

• Research shows students who study a second language often perform better on standardized tests, including MCAS, in reading, math, and verbal reasoning (Genesee et al., 2006). 

• A long sequence of language instruction beginning in elementary school enables students to reach fluency levels that are often impossible when language learning starts later (Center for Applied Linguistics).
  
  

Social and Emotional Benefits

• Spanish learning fosters cultural awareness, empathy, and positive attitudes toward diversity (Byrnes & Wasik, 2013).

• Students build confidence, persistence, and problem-solving skills through low-stress, meaningful communication.

• Collaboration and communication in Spanish encourage active listening and respectful interaction with others.
  
  

Why Early Spanish Matters
Elementary students are in a prime window for language acquisition. Our FLES program uses comprehensible input, literacy-based activities, and meaningful communication—research-backed strategies shown to develop real proficiency. Students engage in listening, speaking, reading, and interacting in Spanish in ways that feel joyful, engaging, and academically rigorous.