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Positives of bilingualism
Positive impacts of bilingualism
Positives of bilingualism
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According to the estimates, bilinguals make up more than half of the global population (Grosjean, 2010). Bilingualism can be described as the ability to use two with certain degree of proficiency, whereas linguistic skills of monolinguals are restricted to just one language (for further definitions of bilingualism, see Moradi, 2014). Being bilingual means that both languages are always active to some degree, even in contexts that require just one of the languages. The ability to manage attention to two languages the entire time requires higher involvement of the non-linguistic executive control system (Abutalebi & Green, 2007; Bialystok, Craik, & Luk, 2012). Numerous behavioural studies have demonstrated a beneficial effect of bilingualism …show more content…
Neuroimaging studies have shown differences between monolinguals and bilinguals in the neural processing during executive function tasks, suggesting that bilingualism influences neural processes of executive functioning (e.g., Bialystok et al., 2005; Garbin et al., 2010; Luk, Anderson, Craik, Grady, & Bialystok, 2010; Rodríguez-Pujadas et al., …show more content…
We will select participants with similar socioeconomic background based on maternal education, since it was indicated that socioeconomic status might have an impact on the performance in the executive control tasks (Calvo & Bialystok, 2014). Prior to the study, an intelligence quotient (IQ) will be assessed, whereas only participants with an average IQ score will be further selected for the study. For all bilinguals, the age and manner of second language acquisition, as well as the frequent use of both languages and proficiency in both languages will be reported. In order to investigate the potential role of the age of the second language acquisition on the executive functioning, bilingual participants will be further subdivided into three groups: simultaneous bilinguals (B0; concurrent exposure to both languages from birth at home), early bilinguals (B3; second language acquisition at the age of 3) and late bilinguals (B8; second language acquisition at the age of 8). Dividing the bilinguals into three groups regarding the age of the second language acquisition corresponds with the developmental
Mental flexibility is superior in bilingual children since learning two language forces their minds to process two language systems at one time. Bilingualism promotes divergent (a divergent thinker is someone who thinks of many possible solutions to a problem) and creative thinking (Baker, 144-145). This increase of creative thinking gives a wider variety of associations (Baker, 145-146). Bilingualism is also associated with increased meta-cognitive flexibility and better performance on certain perpetual tasks, such as recognizing a perpetual object “embedded” in a visual background or classification tasks (Marian, et al.,1). Their divergent thinking helps relevant aspects of a problem may become more salient to bilingual children since their experiences with two language systems and cultures enable them to incorporate different perspectives to the solution (Bialystok, 2001 pg. 204). Bilingualism promotes divergent thinking that is caused by greater cognitive flexibility.
The author Maria de la Luz Reyes explains through several characters born and raised in a family that spoke different native languages but he managed to excel in learning English. Biliteracy refers to the ability to communicate and write more than one language and this represents a major achievement because it takes a lot of sacrifice and dedication to realize it. The situation surrounding biliteracy is controversial because some parents appreciate when their children learn more than one language but others are not as Collins explains in the book, Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Biliteracy and its influence differs and Collin Baker identifies that diverse bilingual classes and schools, culture and language, influence dissimilar
Krizman, J., Marian, V., Shook, A., Skoe, E., & Kraus, N. (2012). Subcortical encoding of sound is enhanced in bilinguals and relates to executive function advantges. PNAS, 109(20), 7877-7881. doi: 10.1073
Bilingualism is commonly defined as the use of at least two languages by an individual (google). In education, it truly has more benefit to it than harm. Scientists all over the globe have proof that bilinguals are smarter than the average monolinguals. For one, being bilingual heightens the ability to monitor the environment. Two, it shows better executive control such as multi-tasking, memorization, and high-level thinking. Richard Rodriguez, writer and author of “Aria” mentions the use of multilingualism in school. He refers to the concept as, “bilingual education”, which is define as “an education in an English-language school system in which students with little fluency in English are taught in both their native language and English” (google).
When visiting just about any school across America, students who attend come from all over the globe. This raises the question across America about bilingual education. This can create many challenges in and out of the classroom. The classroom should be a safe place for all students regardless of what native language they speak. In the essay Lost in translation written by Eva Hoffman, describes a foreign student who tries hard to fit in. Instead, Eva begins to feel angry, hurt and confused because people laugh at her. In Guiding Principles for Dual Language Education by Elizabeth R. Howard, Julie Sugarman, Donna Christian Center for Applied Linguistics Kathryn J. Lindholm-Leary San José State University David Rogers Dual Language Education of New Mexico. Guiding principles gives great ideas to educators to stop kids from making other students feel the way that Eva felt. After reading several articles about bilingual education, it is evident that all children in school should learn English but never lose their native language. When all the students speak one language, students will be less likely to make fun of each other. A good educator should learn enough foreign languages to aid them in effective communication in their classroom although; if an educator does not speak a foreign language, they should recruit within the classroom students to be peer mentors. However, a teacher should be willing to listen and encourage the students. Above all a good educator should be a good role model to their students by respecting their heritage and their language.
Hakuta, K. (1990). Language and cognition in bilingual children. Bilingual education: Issues and strategies, 47-59.
Nagy (2013) makes an attempt, through a case study and the use of previous studies, to test the theories of prominent researchers on the field such as Francois Grosjean (2011), Ellen Bilyastok (2010) and Jurgen Meisel (1994). Nagy (2013) notes in her case study that bilingual development is depending on environmental influence just as much as on the child’s individual aptitude and general intelligence.
A youngster who is bilingual uses two or more languages in their everyday life. Literacy acquisition is further more than being able to write and read, it is also the experiences that are gained that enables one to read and write. For example a bilingual minor whose home language is Spanish, is learning English , and therefore learning to read and write English. Through the literacy acquisition, and focus would not be on the language being taught but on the reading required to do so. Throughout my childhood, the idea in my head of having to go to a college education was greatly stressed, As a result, it was my expectation as the next generation minor, to continue in my studies and achieve a life of success and prosperity. Learning became the
Understanding more than one language has positive effects on the brain’s ability to think. In comparison to multilingual individuals, monolingual English speakers are at a considerable disadvantage when it comes to learning, cultural awareness, and effectiveness in global affairs.
Given the extent of exposure and age of acquisition, there is enough evidence that proves the bilingual brain can exhibit advanced cognitive abilities compared to the monolingual brain. Technological advances such as PET and other functional neuroimaging techniques have provided a direct opening into the complex devices among language systems in the bilingual brain. The higher executive function utilized by bilingual speakers in order to task-switch between two languages strengthens the control mechanisms in different brain regions. Therefore the consistent practice of control using both languages will delay onset of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and other brain aging diseases. Factors to be considered when measuring neural functions in bilingual and monolingual brains include age of onset, gender, education, and significant language experience.
Hypothesis: Bilingual brains are better at temporarily storing and manipulating information in working memory in their first language, but varying in the second.
In this online blog entry, Elizabeth Landau claims that bilingualism can be very beneficial to one’s cognitive abilities. Her first sub-claim is that bilinguals retain better cognitive function as the body grows older. The grounds for this sub-claim is a reference to Ellen Bialystok’s study on Alzheimer’s patients revealing that bilinguals were several years older than monolinguals at similar phases of neurological impairment. The findings from this study support Landau’s main claim because it shows that bilinguals’ cognitive abilities regressed at a much slower pace than those of monolinguals’. The work of Bialystok is credible since she is affiliated with York University in Toronto, Ontario, and the research that Landau refers to in this blog entry are all from presentations at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting. Landau’s second sub-claim is that bilinguals are better at multitasking. She supports this sub-claim with Judith Kroll’s research that has found bilinguals better suited to multitasking because of their heightened attention skills. This is most likely because bilinguals are perpetually inhibiting one language in favor of the other, which gives them an enhanced ability to tune out irrelevant information. Once again, these grounds are credible and scholarly because Judith Kroll is a researcher at Pennsylvania State University, and like Bialystok, Kroll presented these findings at the annual conference. More importantly, Landau uses Bialystok’s research for support because the multitasking skills found among bilinguals correlate with improved cognitive abilities. The warrant here is that mult...
Also bilinguals do less than monolinguals in ‘VOCABULARY TESTS’ and also picture choosing and naming different objects in it. LANGUAGE FLUENCY is also affected for bilinguals because they become confused and double minded before choosing appropriate words for particular object in particular situations. If a child is seeking school language (academics required language) which is totally different from home language then this type of child “experiences increased difficulty in coping with both academically and socially”. “BILINGUALS are weak at perceiving the verbal and non-verbal tasks that require controlled attention and selectivity in conceptual categories”. Also, the cognitive problems such as memory-span development is reduced and speaking age time period also becomes late due to confused speaking problems of bilingualism.
The development of the brain of a bilingual individual is better than a monolingual individual. Few years ago, researchers from the University of Washington (as cited in Klass, 2011, para 4.) found that the brains of bilingual infants (from families where two languages were spoken) are able to discriminate the different of the phonetic sound of the languages they usually heard when they grew up than monolingual infants in where their brains were adapted to only identify their mother tongue only. Dr. Patricia Kuhl, one of the members of this research team thus believe that bilingual education can shape infants’ brains and keep them ready for future challenges. Concurrently, a renowned psychologist, Dr. Ellen...
The product of two years of a foreign language class in high school graduates, is less than one student who graduates, fluent in the language they studied (Caplan). Being bilingual has proven to show many advantages that don’t only improve a students educationally life but also how shaped and cultured the person can be in every day life. It has also been proven to show a slower unset of some diseases. It can also strengthen the mind making one able to think more efficiently. If bilingualism is proven to show advantages the school district, parents of students, and students themselves should care about the advantages that bilingualism holds. The public should be educated on all the advantages being bilingual have on the child’s future. Even