Bilingual Development : A Perspective From First Language Attrition

What do we know about the effects bilingualism has on cognitive development? Our world is becoming progressively bilingual; in the US 21% of school age children between the ages of 5-17 years old can speak other than English at home and this number is expected to increase in the coming years. On top of social reasons, the positive effects to the cognitive development of the brain when introduced to a second language are of many. The age of acquisition is vital due to the plasticity of the brain, which according to the critical period hypothesis, begins to level after five years of age. In addition to plasticity, bilingual speakers are more capable of focusing their attention to solve complex problems compared to monolingual speakers.

I taught for 25 years at an inner city school. My students were all second language learners, and often their parents were totally illiterate. I entered this career not as a teacher, but as a social worker turned teacher. The Los Angeles Unified School District was in dire need of bilingual educators, so they offered a district intern program where I took college courses while I worked in the classroom.

Bilingual Education where Supporters feel that students miss a great deal by not being taught in their family’s language. That children that retain their family’s language will retain a sense of individuality. Their ethnic heritage & cultural ties. Helping Students acquire the skills of a classroom crucial for public success. Rodriguez also discusses the use of teaching and using a single language.

"America's strength is not our diversity; it is our ability to unite around common principles even when we come from different backgrounds, we can still unite with those bilingual people that have the same dream. The American Dream..." That is what Raj answered when I asked his opinion in regards of bilingualism and how diverse the United States is becoming. Bilingualism is the use of two alternative languages that are interchanged depending on the situation the speaker wants to convey or communicate (Myers-Scotton, C. (2006). Multiple voices: An introduction to bilingualism. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub.) In this Bilingual Profile I will share my interviewee's background, explain the reasons of his language of choice, and explain

The state of Texas has specific regulations for their Bilingual and English as a Second language programs. These programs are a vital part of the Texas Education system as it supplies the educational needs that students with limited proficiency in the English language need to be successful. The TEC states that all English language learners will be provided with the opportunity to participate in a bilingual or ESL education. In these programs, they will be taught though instructional approaches that were specially created for the unique needs of English language learners.

Lo siento señor. No he aprendido hablar inglés. No puedo ayudarlo. (I'm sorry Sir. I didn't learn to speak English. I can't help you.) When visiting McDonald's and having a non-English speaking person taking your order, one becomes frustrated with the lack of appreciation for learning English. Today, schools in Arizona no longer have true bilingual education classes; they have almost all Spanish instruction with limited English instruction. From the time bilingual education for Spanish was instituted in 1973, it has been ineffective in assimilating non-English speaking students into the English-speaking American society.

Mother is bilingual, her thought patterns seem to be adequate and she appears to be well kept in appearance. Although she was leaving children home unattended, she was willing and accepting of guidance which can be assumed that she was not comfortable with the situation either but felt as though she had no other resources. Lorenzo seems to be capable and cognitively aware for his age, he does as instructed by his mother and follows directions given to him adequately for a child of his age. Lia also seems to be developmentally appropriate for her age, she responds and reacts appropriately and listens to verbal cures.

What is Bilingual Education & Demographics? What year Bilingual Education begins? Who made an impact to add Bilingual in Education? How many people suffer from establishing Bilingual Education?

Generally speaking, language development is never a static process; it is rather a process that is forever evolving. One can compare this to the physical development of a child, in the first three years the developments are incredibly rapid. There are a number of factors that possibly affect the speed of development of a bilingual child, they

As I have mentioned before, my school district took a transitional bilingual education approach with bilingual and ESL students. Students were expected to learn English and assimilate, leaving their native language and culture behind. The expectation was that a student was succeeding when they spoke, read, and wrote English perfectly and understood all aspects of American culture. In summation, when they were the all-American child (or teenager if they were “a little slow”). In high school, ESL students were not even allowed to participate in sports because “academic success should be a priority and obviously if students were still in ESL classes they were not up to par with their peers. They could have straight A’s and this would still not

According to Martinez-Wenzy, Perez & Gandara (2012), two major research by the National Literacy Panel (NLP) and the Center for Research on Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE) on effective approaches in the education of ELLs, found that Reading, spelling and writing instruction in the home language facilitates achievement in English. The same authors also found, that ELL students who receive instruction in their Native language outperform their peers in English-only programs (as cited in Martinez-Wenzy, Perez & Gandara, 2012, pg. 10). Two-Way Immersion (TWI) programs, although originally developed to help English-speaking students learn a second language, aim to provide the necessary support for both English speakers and minority-language speakers to become bilingual, biliterate, and biculturate. Ideally, a TWI classroom is composed of 50% Native English speakers and 50% speakers of a minority language (ex. Spanish, or Vietnamese), were both groups learn reading, writing, and content area in both languages, beginning with instruction in the minority language (90/10 model where 90% of instruction is in the minority language and 10% in English), and eventually introducing English until instruction in both languages is equal (50/50 model). Although there are variations to this model, most programs aim for a 50/50 model either gradually, or from the start of the program. Lindholm-Leary and Hernandez (2011) point out

good example noted from my experience while working for seniors in Assisted Living was the

Bilinguals are often praised by employers for their multi-language skills. With the push for children and adults to become bilingual there is an increase of teaching all around the world. While many are raised bilingual there are still some places that lack in the teachings. The advocators for bilingualism show that the teaching is truly worth it because of all of the benefits in becoming bilingual. While it is clear that there are benefits in regards to communication skills those are not the only benefit that can come from a bilingual education. When using the word bilingualism, people primarily think of language, whether it be basic vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, or communication in general. Not only does bilingualism help for communication, and understanding, but it also helps exercise the brain and improve mental skills. Bilingual learners experience many mental benefits over their lifetimes which are not present in their monolingual counterparts. These benefits range from executive control functions, task dominance, and the offset of Alzheimer’s. However, like everything there are a few down sides to a being bilingual while they rarely affect young learners. Nonetheless, bilingualism can help improve brain capacity and skill just by learning another language. The skills gained in bilingualism are pertinent for everyday life and can help improve achievement in daily life, relative to monolinguals.

It is true that, fitting in and adapting to two different linguistic and cultural world can have lasting impacts on individuals, hence, Richard Rodriguez, in his book “Achievement of Desire”, addresses his struggles as a young boy, trying to adapt to a bilingual education and how that education alienated him from his uneducated Mexican parents. Additionally in the excerpts “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldua, while she mainly focuses on the language of “Mexican” people in different aspects, also mentions her strife as a bilingual student. Although these two stories are different in many ways but they both reflect the negative impact of living in the

Abstract: In second language acquisition, age factors has always been the study focus and one of the most controversial issues of linguistics. Based on the Brain Plasticity Theory and the Critical Period Hypothesis, the purpose is to prove such a hypothesis that the younger the leaner who begins to learn an second language,the greater the probability that he or she will achieve a native-like command of it.