The Foreign Service Journal, December 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | DECEMBER 2015 77 A ny Foreign Service employee would agree that one of the joys of Foreign Service life is to experience the lan- guage of the host coun- try. In fact, many argue that learning the native language opens up countless opportunities for personal and cultural enrichment for Foreign Service families. And who among us learns that language with the most ease and gusto? That’s right; it’s our Foreign Service youth. While English-language education is available at most posts worldwide, more and more Foreign Service families are choosing to educate their children in a language other than that spoken at Marybeth Hunter (left) is an education and youth specialist in the State Department’s Family Liaison Office. Christine Brown, a regional education officer, is the Office of Overseas School’s resident language expert. home. To find out more about this trend and to uncover the advantages and chal- lenges of educating a child in a foreign language, the Family Liaison Office spoke to Regional Education Officer and Office of Overseas Schools resident language expert Christine Brown. Family Liaison Office: What are the advantages and potential pitfalls of raising a bilingual child? Christine Brown: Over the last 15 years there has been much research conducted on the benefits of learning one or more languages. Scientists have noted that new neural pathways are formed when children learn and use more than one language. It appears that the more complex the second language, the greater the neurological gain. The science suggests that learning linguistically complex languages or multiple languages from an early age into adulthood may give a profound cognitive boost. Researchers outside the United States have also looked at the impact that learn- ing other languages has on one’s native BY MARYBETH HUNTER AND CHR I ST I NE BROWN language ability, especially in the areas of reading comprehension, executive brain functioning (memory, reasoning, problem solving) and creativity. In the United States, researchers have pointed to a correlation between early language learning (as well as the number of years of language study) and improved scores in English and mathematics on statewide assessments. Likewise, for many years the College Board has reported that stu- dents who have studied language for four consecutive years or longer have higher SAT scores. One challenge Foreign Service parents face is what to do when their children’s learning of a second language is interrupted when moving to other schools and countries. Sometimes parents seek tutors to help students maintain or gain a higher proficiency in that language as they move around the world. At other times, this is impractical. Nevertheless, parents should rest assured that students actually use the strategies they gained learning their first foreign language to make more rapid progress in a second foreign language. Multilingual Matters How Foreign Service Students Can Make the Most of Language- Rich Experiences Abroad EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT