The Gift of Language

I am a great ambassador of the carpe diem-ish movement that is always encouraging people to increase the value of their life by chasing new experiences, now, in this present moment. I am very inclined to try something, no matter how scary or crazy, at least once, you know, just to say I did it. I know that might sound a little extreme but my mindset is like that of a kid in an ice cream shop who has to taste all the flavours just because they are there; his tummy might ache a little after but at least it was fun while it lasted.

If life is an ice cream shop then we should all be children.

New experiences increase your intelligence, your empathy, your understanding and your creativity. Fact. Also, new experiences increase learning. It’s easier to learn by experience, than by the conventional method of learning, because experiential learning is natural and emotional. Experiential learning is heart learning not head learning.

Much has already been said on the value of new experiences but how does that affect how I intend to raise my children?

Here it is.

When a child is born, the first few years of her life is given to learning; everything is a learning experience. And all this learning is unconscious because learning is essential to her survival as a human. Also it is easier to learn when you are still fluid as a child than when you have already solidified as an individual later in life.

/ A lot of people stop learning when they grow up. /

This is why it has been taking such a long time for me to learn a new language because I am now, mostly, solidified as an individual and although this thought saddens me, it energises me with a mission for the children that I want to have.

Learning a new language helps develop critical thinking skills, creativity and flexibility, especially in children. It is also a doorway into a whole lifetime of new experiences and culture. You can’t learn language without picking a little culture and culture is one of the most understated experiences a human being can have.

Do you know your kid can learn three languages before they are ten?

So as a carpe diem-ish ambassador, I intend to provide my children with opportunities to experience as much as they can in life, within safe limits, but one of the most important gifts I intend to give them before they solidify is the gift of new languages.