By Melissa Dunson

mdunson@joplinglobe.com

Levi Grant is only 13, but the Carl Junction resident already has seen the benefits of learning a foreign language.

Grant said he started learning Spanish after he heard his father talk about his difficulty communicating with patients at his job at a local hospital.

And Grant said he is so glad to have a Spanish-language foundation now because his future high school recently started requiring all students to take two semesters of a foreign language.

“I’m getting ahead,” Grant said.

Grant is one of 79 students enrolled in the 14th annual Spanish Language Village summer camp at Missouri Southern State University that started Sunday and runs through Friday.

Leslie Parker, director of the International Language Resource Center at MSSU, said learning a foreign language doesn’t just help students communicate better, it can open their minds to other subjects and parts of the world.

“This helps with critical thinking and math skills; there’s research to show that,” Parker said. “And it can also build a tolerance for differences and develop the ability to adapt.”

While the debate over illegal immigration rages on, Parker said the local reaction to the Spanish-speaking camp has been mostly positive.

“People do recognize the importance of it,” Parker said.

A lower price, early advertising and revised curriculum resulted in the camp’s record setting enrollment, Parker said.

The program that immerses students eight to 14 years old in the Spanish language through games, crafts, song and dance only had 54 students last year.

“I was thrilled, and surprised,” Parker said, about the jump in enrollment. “Especially with the economy the way it is, this is great.”

MSSU dropped the price of the camp by $100 this year, and offered scholarships to financially eligible families.