It is also known as timely stimulation and its objective is to give the child a broad array of experiences, which will serve as a channel in which learning develops. The intention of early or timely stimulation is not to pressure or push the child forward in order to develop abilities or knowledge, rather, its intention is to optimize development; it is based on the belief that all learning is based on previous experience; as such, the goal is to provide children with these previous experiences which will ensure the most meaningful learning.

Early stimulation should begin spontaneously at home. Contact between mother and child from the time of birth is fundamental, because it gives the child many experiences that are very important for his or her knowledge of the world. Four months is considered to be the appropriate age at which to begin early stimulation, since prior to that the child is adapting to his or her home, the people around him or her and the world in general.

It is important that this stimulation follow an order that is coherent with the child’s development, beginning at home, becoming familiar with his or her space, the people around him or her, his or her pets and toys. In time, stimulation can begin outside the home.

The importance of early stimulation

From before birth children make neuronal connections, this is known as sinapsis. This connection process continues until the child is six or seven years old, and after that, no more such circuits will be created. It is for that reason that we must take advantage of this moment in order to achieve the most connections possible through stimulation, so that in the future the circuits can regenerate and allow the child to acquire new knowledge.

How does it work?

Babies participate and learn actively in the world. They experiment, and in this way they learn the function of objects and situations; and they can make their own interpretations. The baby comes to discover his or her surroundings as he or she experiences how the world affects his or her body, hence the importance of the involvement of the senses in learning. When the child touches, smells or tastes something, he or she begins to explore and understand the cause and effect, just as when he or she throws something, and does it repeatedly. With these actions, the child sees the consequences of his or her actions.

From birth until they are two years of age a child is in what is called the Sensory Motor Period, which means that they come to know and learn about their world through the senses; the child compiles information about his or her experiences, which he or she will apply in reality later on. That is why it is so important to work with textures, colors, food, smells, games, songs and other activities in our classes that optimize this learning and converts it into something tangible and meaningful for the children.  

Four areas of development are recognized in a baby’s learning process:

1. Socio-affective, which has to do with the child’s ability to socialize and know him- or herself;
2. Motor, which refers to small and large movements that a person makes with his or her body;
3. Cognitive, where you take into account knowledge acquisition, and the ability to reason and resolve problems; and finally,
4. Linguistics, which refers to acquiring and perfecting language, as well as the ability to communicate as a human being.

It is important to keep in mind that any activities related to early stimulation should have clear objectives and take into account the four areas of childhood development; in addition, there should be a balance of activities in the four areas so that the child’s development is integral and in this way we avoid overstimulation, which could end up producing results contrary to what was intended.

In teaching a new language to children between 0 and 3 years of age, the following points should be taken into account:

It is recommended that it be done in small groups or individually, since at this age children don’t have the same ability to concentrate as older children. Additionally, the child is just learning the rules of social conduct, like sharing, awaiting his or her turn, and asking for things instead of grabbing them, among others that could become distractions during the lesson. On the other hand, the child’s level of attention and understanding depends to a large extent on how physically close the teacher is to the child when communicating with him or her, and a small group or individual class makes appropriate closeness possible.

Without a doubt, learning and teaching second languages has become fundamental for our children today, because these make it possible for them to be part of and influence a globalized world. Children with Down Syndrome and other alternative abilities are not exempt from this phenomenon, so that, we must give our best efforts to transforming our society into one that is inclusive of these differences.

What we expect to achieve in the short term by teaching the mother and foreign languages is to stimulate the language area of the brain so as to contribute the development of speech ability.

In the medium term, we expect to prepare children in the academic area of foreign languages and arts in order to diminish the gaps that exist between the education that children with normal development receive and that received by children with special educational needs, and, in the long term we hope to place these young people into the active workforce with valuable tools, such as a foreign language.

If you would like to sponsor a child in the Astronauts program, please write to info@globalkidscr.com.

Parents can wait in a nearby room while their children attend classes; this allows them to observe our methodology and enjoy the learning process with their child.

While they wait they can also visit other stores in the shopping center where we are located, or if they prefer, they can use their laptops, since we have wireless internet available inside our locale. You may contact us at 2239 8485 to set up an appointment for a visit.

Learning is a conscious process undertaken to understanding the structure of a language, while acquisition is a subconscious process that is only achieved when a natural atmosphere is created inside classroom.  In other words, with acquisition, a child cannot talk about morpho-syntactic rules that he or she has assimilated, he or she has simply internalized them. So, for example, as native speakers, we find it very difficult to explain the grammatical rules of our own language, because we acquired the language before we learned it.

The result of the acquisition process is that the student achieves the fluency of a native speaker; while through learning the student comes to correct his conversation.

Therefore, in the first levels, your child will be exposed to understandable communication situations so he or she can acquire the target language in the most natural way possible. This is known as the Natural Approach.

In addition, we effectively complement this with other approaches that have existed for a long time, because a single approach is not enough.  The Actional Perspective suggests that communicative action cannot be separated from physical action and that, provided a communicative stimulus, the student can ignore the stimulus, delay action on the stimulus, or he can take action immediately.

Communicative interaction, in this perspective, implies immediacy and, as such, classroom activities are closer to the student’s reality, but in a foreign language environment. Through this approach, we are helping to create autonomous students who take responsibility for their own learning.

Play, fun, and creativity are part of your child’s entire classroom experience. As we create this pleasant environment, your child will be able to acquire the target language, because any anxiety that might block acquisition is diminished.

The work we do in class is designed to meet objectives based on nine language communication activities: oral expression, written expression, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, audiovisual comprehension, oral interaction, written interaction, oral mediation and written mediation.

The groups are made up of a maximum of 5 children, which allows the teacher to keep better track of each child’s progress and provide individualized attention to each child’s needs.

Global Kids offers boys and girls the opportunity to become competent in their use of foreign languages. There is no doubt that professionals who speak multiple languages are those for whom doors open in the globalized world. Being multilingual allows us to establish relationships across the hemispheres in any and every professional environment.

The second stage is for children from 1 to 6 years old. The children at these ages are placed in classes that are appropriate for their age and skill levels. The methodology used encourages participation in the 9 language communication activities through games, songs, interactive (invigorating) exercises (role playing), and an endless number of fun activities for the children.

The third stage is for children from 7 to 15 years old. Children in this age group want to be challenged so the classes are adventurous, dynamic, and fun. Thanks to our dynamic and actional methodology, the 9 language communication activities begin to develop within normal life situations, or even in the imagination – through a variety of participatory projects and games.

The 9 language communication activities are:

1. Oral Expression
2. Written Expression
3. Listening Comprehension
4. Reading Comprehension
5. Audiovisual Comprehension
6. Oral interaction
7. Written interaction
8. Oral mediation
9. Written mediation

Other Ages:
We’re not about to leave adults behind wishing they could learn a new language too! For adults we have developed the Mighty Moms program. These language classes are also actional and dynamic, and we adapt the classes to their interests. As with the children, you can set up groups of friends, or join an existing group. For more information, please contact us.

Each lesson is one hour long because experience has shown us that this is the length of time that is most effective for children to understand and develop oral skills. The number of hours you would like for your child to be exposed to the target language is up to you. The classes are adapted to children’s needs — on average a class will run from 90 to 120 hours total, in other words, 10 months to a year depending on the child’s age.

Our office hours are from Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. You may request a free trial class so you can get to know the specialist who will work with your child, observe our methodology, see our facilities and meet our wonderful staff. To schedule such a meeting, call 2239 8485.

Our groups are made up of a maximum of 5 children. We also offer private classes for children who need individual attention.

We have created a company that provides kids with the tools they need to communicate in tomorrow’s world because we have you and your kids’ education in mind. Learning languages will allow our kids to be properly prepared to face the future.

Juguemos hablando idiomas

We are a research center and a company specializing in language education for  children:

• From 1 to 15 years of age.
• As a language research center we develop innovative projects
• Multi-lingual Babies Program:  teaching languages to children from four months of age
• Astronauts Program: teaching languages to children with Down Syndrome.
• Mighty Moms Program: offering psychology and  psychopedagogical services, language therapy, music therapy and language classes for moms.

We use teaching methods that are dynamic, fun and holistic and are based on solid scientific research regarding the language acquisition process, because our team of teachers is highly qualified. What’s more, the classes are fun for everybody. Time spent at Global Kids is a happy time!

Our excellent specialized, professional, and personalized service, along with our dynamic teamwork, innovation and our use of the very best teaching methodologies, are what set us apart.

Advantages of learning languages at an early age:

1. Learning a second or third language enriches children’s knowledge potential because, as memory improves, deductive and divergent thinking is made possible.
2. The child is able to solve problems more assertively.
3. A very young child can acquire a language’s phonological system equal to that of a native speaker.
4. It improves the development of verbal communication skills.
5. It develops creativity and strategies for learning.
6. Older children progress rapidly in the early stages of target language acquisition, although smaller children demonstrate attitudes more favorable to acquiring a second and third language, so that they end up progressing faster than the older children over time.
7. It prepares your child for the future.
8. It makes it easier for your child to learn as many languages as he or she may want later on.
9. Many more neuronal connections are made in the child’s brain, thanks to the neuronal flexibility that very young children have.