Studies show that studying language at an early age can encourage brain development. In "What Parents Want to Know About Foreign Language Immersion Programs," Tara W. Fortune and Diane J. Tedick write, "It has been suggested that the very processes [immersion] learners need to use to make sense of the teacher's meaning make them pay closer attention and think harder. These processes, in turn, appear to have a positive effect on cognitive development."
There are many foreign language schools in the Portland area that offer elementary and middle school learning with partial or integrated, and complete immersion.
