Bilingualism at the Little Star Day School

Between the ages of birth to two years, the more the languages a child is exposed to, the higher are the chances of the child using this skill to actually “learn” a language. At this age, the children “acquire” languages rather than “learn” them. When a child is exposed to a language at this time, the connections made in the brain actually retrace themselves later in life when the language is learnt.

Languages are approached in the Early Years Curriculum EYC® as a common tool of communication. The curriculum aims to show the children that a new language can be learned and acquired, the language can be spoken by non-native speakers as well, different languages can be used to express and communicate with one another, learning a new language is a skill that we acquire just like any other—learning by doing and making mistakes on the way.

Little Star Day School believes in immersive learning and teaching. The two languages co-exist, in the same room on the same days at the same time. Only the persons speaking the languages are distinguished.

The Early Years Curriculum EYC® gives the children the gift of language acquiring skills. They will be able to:

• understand the two spoken languages
• know that one can learn more than one language
• get a feel for the culture through the spoken languages
• carry the language learning skill to any place their family takes them
• be sensitive to other cultures through languages