The Importance Of Bilingual Education In Schools

Children are being raised in a society which is continually becoming more bilingual. Now we debate the question of whether or not schools should make dual-language programs required. There is a constant demand for bilingual people in the workforce. There are over 50.5 million Hispanic people living in America (Lynch, “Should Bilingual” 1). When we hear the phrase “bilingual education” we think of Spanish over every other language. With roughly 6,909 languages in the world, limiting our students to one language is disgraceful (Anderson 3). The long term benefits children will gain by applying bilingual learning will assist them academically and in life. Should bilingual education be included in every U.S. classroom?

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There is a fear that bringing bilingual learning into classrooms will widen the cultural gap (“Prominent Pros and Cons” 3). However, evidence shows those who become involved in a second language become more earthly and learn to better appreciate different cultures of the world. An understanding of different cultures helps the learner to value different ethnic backgrounds. Bilingual learners often have different perceptions of events. While researching subjects who spoke German or English, we are able to unveil evidence of how different languages affect people’s perceptions. The subjects watched videos of people walking, biking, running, or driving. The research found English speakers tend to situate actions in time, while German speakers tend to specify beginnings, middles, and ends of events. Bilingual speakers are able to switch between the two different perspectives (Huerta

Studies have shown learning multiple languages has a significant effect on the brain. Brain related diseases, such as alzheimer's disease and dementia, are delayed after learning a second language. Learning commonly spoken languages gives people substantial benefits when visiting other countries. Simple communication can allow a vacation to be considerably more enjoyable. Other benefits include improvement of the dominant language and having a better understanding of cultures. While learning a second language, it allows the brain to give thought to the first learned language. After learning new grammatical rules and comparing them to the dominant language, people are able to better understand the rules they had first become accustomed to (Smith