Spanish First, CEO Second.
A Spanish Immersion Education Can Impact Your Children’s Future Career and Success.
Studies show that early and continual bilingual education is known to positively impact SAT/ACT scores. Also, it has been positively correlated with higher college admission outcomes. But what are the benefits for bilingual individuals once they graduate? Impressively, there may be even more benefits for bilingual individuals in the workplace. This allows them to achieve greater success than their monolingual counterparts. First, we’ll go over a few skills that a bilingual education helps give your child for the future. Then, we will discuss how these skills lead to success in their field.
Multitasking Abilities
First off, according to a study done by Penn State, bilingual individuals are better at multitasking & working on multiple projects simultaneously. Their abilities stemming from turning languages on and off in their brain improves their executive control functions and mental flexibility. Furthermore, this means bilingual individuals tend to be better at focusing and selecting relevant information in a situation.
Adaptability
As well, bilingual individuals have a monolingual and bilingual processing mode that they must balance in any situation. This deals with choosing what language they need to process in when communicating, whether that is one or multiple. By being able to code-switch in multiple languages, it allows them to adapt to the situation they are in. The clues used to decide what language to use can be further applied in workplace situations requiring them to think on their feet.
Cultural Fluency
Additionally, learning a second language helps to build self-esteem and create a strong sense of identity for individuals. Also, it allows them to have a greater grasp on cultural diversity, as they have access and knowledge about multiple cultures. Meaning they are able to understand how our backgrounds make us unique, and therefore gives individuals the capability to work with diverse groups & across cultures.
SO, WHAT DOES BEING BILINGUAL AND POSSESSING THESE SKILLS MEAN FOR WORKPLACE SUCCESS?
More Opportunities
Generally, Bilingual learning is an advantage that is cumulative over time. While language skills are not currently a requirement for all fields, more and more companies are hoping for a global reaching, meaning bilingualism is critical. Therefore, employers are more likely to hire bilingual individuals as they can communicate with more customers and therefore, will be more of an asset to their employer.
Tapping Into Client Pools
Another benefit is that Bilingual individuals can help provide businesses the opportunity to expand, because they can communicate with more clients in foreign countries. For example, according to a study, Hispanic influence is continuing to grow in the US and is expected to continue over the next 20+ years. Similarly, researchers predict that a basic knowledge of Spanish will be critical in our near future.
Higher Salary
Furthermore, Those who know a second language receive a 2% salary increase on a year-to-year basis. Although this sounds minimal, it can add almost $70,000 to an individual’s salary over a 40-year career. For example, bilingual individuals are often asked to be interpreters or translators which can collect a 5-20% increased rate per hour above the base rate.
The Major Takeaway:
With this in mind, now is the time to invest in your child by providing them a bilingual education. As we know, it’s important to begin this education as early as possible. Besides the academic benefits, when up for a job or promotion, they’ll have that competitive edge. As a result, this will help take them far. Who knows, possibly to be the next CEO… Schedule a visit today!
