Children have an innate ability to learn language by hearing it spoken to them or around them. In our Chinese bilingual environment, children are surrounded by native speakers and they learn Chinese through the natural interactions of school activities and social experiences. In this environment, communication happens spontaneously and conversation is key!

Over three decades of research has shown that children who study a foreign language tend to have greater cognitive development than their monolingual peers. This is demonstrated in such skills as enhanced creativity, memory, focus, problem-solving, flexible thinking, and ability to multi-task. Scientists propose that the processes used in learning languages require more attention and harder thinking, which in turn has a positive effect on overall cognitive development. (Bamford and Mizokawa, 1991; Kovacs and Mehler, 2009; Bialystok et al., 2013)