Today’s Children Need More Than English to Succeed

The world is rapidly Rosetta Stone shrinking. Never before have so many people traveled internationally, settled in different countries, or taken their businesses online, and the numbers are rapidly growing. In contrast with our parents’ generation -even with our own, most of our children will be living and working on a daily basis with people from Asia, South America, Europe and other parts of the world. An English-only education leaves our children at a linguistic and cultural disadvantage. It leaves our children behind. Many studies show that the best time to start learning languages is early childhood. In an effort to bring attention to the importance of learning other languages, a campaign was initiated by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) that was accompanied by proclamations by the US House of Representatives and the Senate designating 2005 as The Year of Languages in the United States. In the spirit of the Year of Languages and the month of October, when Rosetta Stone V3 the benefits of early language learning are highlighted, the National Network for Early Language Learning (NNELL) in collaboration with ACTFL and Foreign Language Educators of New Jersey (FLENJ) would like to invite teachers, parents, and anyone interested in early language learning to participate in a series of informal meetings, entitled “World Languages Prepare NJ’s Children for a Changing World.” The purpose of these meetings is to share information on materials, resources, and topics related to early language instruction (Pr-K to 8th grade), as well as to form networks of interested individuals or groups. The first two meetings will be held on October 11 (7:00-9:00 P.M.), and 23 (3:00-5:00 P.M.) in West Windsor Library (333 North Post Road, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550). Subsequent meetings will take place on Dec. 8 (7:00 to 9:00), Feb. 23 (7:00 to 9:00), April 23 (3:00 to 5:00), and June 8 (7:00 to 9:00). There’s no fee to attend. More information: Ana Lomba, Director of Sueos de Colores LLC, a company offering language resources for young children, is the NJ Representative for NNELL and Public Relations Board Member for FLENJ. She is also Co-Chair of Rosetta Stone Italian ACTFL’s Language Learning for Children Special Interest Group.