While learning music is beneficial for children’s mental, social, and emotional development, bilingual (or multilingual) children seems to experience a deeper comprehension of acoustics in general. Children who learn two or more languages have an ongoing practice of detecting and distinguishing differences between languages and with overlapping sounds they enable a broader understanding of their soundscape. As the impact of multilingualism is not limited to the language domain, these children can transfer their language skill to their non-speech sound perception, including music. If you are raising a child in a bilingual family, you may want giving your child the chance of listening to music in both languages. By providing your child with the opportunity to explore music in two languages, you are enhancing the child’s language ability as well as musical sensitivity. Listening to music or learning to sing songs in two or more languages, children expand their vocabulary and language skills. Also, this exposure makes it easier for them to pick out on new words.
We should remember that although learning music has various positive impacts on the intellectual, social and personal development of children, this only happens when they are deeply enjoying their music learning experience. At The Musication, we offer world music programs designed for multilingual children. Our world music program includes online and in-person music sessions for children along with a parent or caregiver. Children and their parents or caregivers sing, play, and dance together to create deep bonds, while they improve their language skills and musical knowledge. Involving parents and caregivers in the sessions, we help children make music and inspire their family members.
Each one of us has a unique taste in music which has to do with our upbringing, and cultural background. The kind of music we listened to at an early age most of the time becomes our comfort music and tied in with lots of memories. As a result, we may find different songs or genre of music suitable for our mood. In our world music lessons, children learn about diverse musical cultures and improve their language skills while singing, playing, and dancing. Taking world music lessons at The Musication helps children increase their cultural awareness and learn how to respect and celebrate differences in all people.