At some point along your child’s language-learning journey, they may come to you feeling defeated, waving their hands in the air and shouting, “I want to quit!”
Okay, maybe it won’t be quite as dramatic, but there may be times your child is discouraged or unmotivated to practice French. Perhaps they just received a less than stellar grade on their report card, or maybe they struggled with their French reading assignment in class.
Whatever their dilemma, one of the most helpful ways to help your child stay on track is to remind them of the positive impact this language-learning process will have on their future.
At our French Day Camp and French Overnight Camp, we try to stress that learning French is indeed worth the effort because of the flurry of benefits bilingualism is sure to provide in the years to come.
What are the benefits, you ask?
Here are the top 5 reasons why learning French will benefit your child in the future:
“You’re Hired!”
Now more than ever, the Canadian job market is becoming more competitive. In fact, according to Statistics Canada, there are three times more job applicants than there are job openings. In a competitive job market, applicants must have an edge and bilingual applicants have long stood out from the pack.
The job climate is even rosier for bilingual applicants hoping to work in the public sector. As of right now, bilingual public servants are retiring at an unprecedented rate and there are not enough bilingual graduates to fill the opening positions.
Would your child like to experience working abroad? They’re in luck…
France is increasingly looking to attract foreign French-speaking students.
Bigger Bank Accounts
If having more jobs to select from wasn’t enough, French language speakers earn more.
In fact, French-speakers are reported to make $5000 more than employees who only speak English.
Endless Travel Opportunities
Did you know that French is the only language to be taught in every country in the world?
Aside from English, French is the only other language spoken on five continents in the world.
With over 200 million French-speakers globally, there are plenty of opportunities to communicate in French while abroad.
Improved Cognitive Abilities
Many studies have shown that those who know a second language demonstrate higher cognitive and creative abilities than those who are unilingual.
What’s more, in a study published by Annals Neurology, there are claims that being bilingual could delay the onset of dementia by several years.
A Launchpad to Learn Other Languages
Does your child love Spanish? Or Italian?
Well, French is an excellent language to learn if your child would like to learn any other Romance language in the future.
Once your child is fluent in French, learning Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian will feel like second nature!
There are many reasons to learn French, and at Camp Tournesol’s French Day Camp, one of our greatest joys is hearing about all of the doors that have opened up for our past campers and counsellors.
