For many people, learning new languages is tough and not always easily accessible. Depending on the teaching methodology, it can be both boring and tiring. But thanks to 8 young siblings, children and teens—mainly those in Black communities across the country— are able to learn several new languages in a fun and exciting way.
Created by siblings Emilio (4), Amora (6), Rosie (8), LaLa (10), Anita(12), 16-year-old Malachi, 18-year-old Kimoni, 20-year-old Mina, and baby Makalo— Multilingual Stars Academy is a unique language-learning platform started by these young, multilingual Black children.
As Black Enterprise reported, this vibrant YouTube channel offers fun facts, easy sing-a-long songs, educational pictures, and high energy that will keep children engaged long enough to start learning another language and turning them into multilingual Black children.
“Learning different languages is not offered in our community, so we have to be the ones who bring that type of education to our people,” Mina stated at a recent business expo at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
The young teachers have also written seven colorful bilingual books for a better understanding of the new languages being learned.
The books are titled: It’s Spanish Playtime, Let’s Learn Kiswahili, Circle Time Fun, I Can Speak English (ESL), Let’s Sing in French, I Am Africa, and Let’s Count to Ten. The books are also a part of a growing series called Our Colorful Multilingual Adventures that was started 5 years ago by their mother, Shy Santiago.
The books can be found at the family’s website.
Having better access to learn new languages can help change the current US status of a monolingual country, where 80% of residents speak only one language— according to the latest US Census Bureau. The percentage is even higher among the Black community which 93% only speak and read English.
Shifting these statistics can benefit younger generations.
According to a study carried out by the University of Edinburgh, learning a second language can have a positive effect on the brain, even if it is taken up in adulthood. Researchers found that reading, verbal fluency and intelligence were improved in a study of 262 people tested.
The study shows that strongest effects were seen in general intelligence and reading. The findings indicate that those who spoke two or more languages had significantly better cognitive abilities compared to what would have been expected from their baseline test. The effects were present in those who learned their second language early, as well as later in life.
The full study can be found here.
