Why should we begin teaching at such a young age?

Because of the process of Natural Assimilation. Our methodology is focused and designed towards the 2-6 years of age demographic, a phase known as “the phase of the Absorbent Mind” by Maria Montessori.

The first Plane of Development starts at birth and goes on until the child is 6 years old, and is characterized by the “absorbent mind” of the child, which takes (or “absorbs”) all the good and bad aspects of their surrounding, language and culture. As opposed to adults, who acquire knowledge through intelligence, the absorbent mind of the child lets them learn even when they don’t have the necessary will for it (unconsciously). This is the phase when language is acquired, and because of this it is essential that we teach a second language in this moment.

“Synaptic Pruning” is another cognitive process that occurs at the end of this phase (starting at 6 years of age). The Synaptic Pruning is a process that takes place in the brain, and that consists in the process of synapse elimination. This process aims to eliminate the neural connections that are not frequently used to ensure that our brain capacity is available to connections that are used more frequently. Thus, if children younger than 6 years old only use their brain for one language, they will loose neural connections for a second language, which is why when they try to learn it later on; they have to reactivate these connections. This is why adults learn slower and in a less efficient way a second language.

This is way we at Lingokids base our methodology in the natural assimilation process of mother tongue, an infalible process that occurs in a natural and spontaneous order.