George Clooney wowed the world earlier this week when he revealed that his and Amal’s six-year-old twins, Ella and Alexander, can speak three languages.
Chatting to Jimmy Kimmel, the Boys in the Boat star revealed the youngsters speak English, French and Italian, telling the talk show host: “I’m not a very smart person. I’ve armed my children, they speak French and Italian.”
At six, it’s seriously impressive that Ella and Alexander have grasped three languages, and it’s certain to set them up for success in later life – as well as being helpful when they’re living at their home in Lake Como.
“Children are amazing language learners, so it’s great to start kids learning when they are young,” says Dr. Cindy Blanco, learning scientist at Duolingo. “Not only are their brains more flexible, but they are fearless learners.
“They aren’t afraid to make mistakes or repeat themselves and they are so motivated to connect with their caregivers and playmates that they jump right into the language.”
Keen to further understand the benefits of being trilingual, HELLO! spoke to doctor Kirsty Bromage, 34, who grew up trilingual. She was born to British parents and lived in Italy as a child before moving to France, where she went to an international school.
What are the benefits of being trilingual?
1. Excellent career prospects
“In a lot of jobs, having multiple languages can be really attractive in helping you network,” Kirsty says. “It gives people a heightened idea of your intelligence, even if you probably didn’t work hard at learning it because you did it effortlessly as a child. It seems to be something that’s highly regarded and sought after later in life professionally.”
If the Clooney children are as ambitious as their lawyer mother, their multiple languages could help them out in a big way when it comes to career plans, as Kirsty explains: “In terms of usefulness, some Latin languages such as Italian or Greek are really handy for sciences and in particular for medicine. They allow you to access professional roles more easily, or at least understand the languages of those jobs.”
© Getty2. It’s easier to relate to others
“Aside from the obvious being able to communicate with people in different languages, one of the key benefits of being bilingual from childhood is you get to understand the culture and the subtleties of the language which give you the ability to relate on a cultural level to people,” Kirsty says.
© David Livingston“You know the register, you understand the sense of humour and the language so much better, which can act as a pass when you travel and meet native speakers. It allows you to access the culture a lot more easily than if you’re an adult learner because you’ve mastered the way people think from an early age.”
DISCOVER: Are George Clooney and Amal Clooney raising their twins in Italy? What to know
3. You can express yourself freely
“I find is that it can be really nice and refreshing to be multi-cultural,” adds Kirsty. “You can tap into your identities depending on your mood. Some languages are really good for moaning in – for example, French – some languages are really good for expressing beauty, enjoyment of food and art – for instance, the Italian language has so many words for appreciation compared to English, there are so many ways of saying something is beautiful!”
We can’t wait to see what Ella and Alexander Clooney do with their sought-after skill!
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