Bilingual Vs Bilingual

In America, there is a predominant growth in multiple ethnicities and cultural backgrounds; leading to the usage of multiple languages in the American culture. There is a growing need for many people to learn and utilize multiple languages within the workplace and within one 's own personal life. The importance of bilingualism and the knowledge of multiple languages is ever increasing, and therefore becoming more important for the younger generations. The push for knowing multiple languages and becoming bilingual has many potential negative and positive effects.

Here’s a joke. What do we call a person who speaks two languages?: A bilingual. What about a person who speaks three languages?: A trilingual. What about a person who speaks only one language?: An American. The joke may not be funny, but it tells one piece of truth about the American education system; despite the multicultural background of the American society, our students are not quite multicultural when it comes to their linguistic ability. Recently, the debate on bilingual education has been brought to public attention. While both proponents and opponents of bilingual education pose valid arguments, those rooting for bilingual education hold a stronger case, as the lame-but-sadly-true joke introduced earlier demonstrates that the lack of exposure to the world culture and language is a pressing issue for American students.

While some may think that this is not certain studies have proven otherwise. In The Power of a Bilingual Brain, Jeffery Kluger states that, “Research is increasingly showing that the brains of people who know two or more languages….. Multilingual people, studies show, are better at reasoning, at multitasking, at grasping and reconciling conflicting ideas.”(1) Clearly, a bilingual education places students a step ahead not only in their education careers but, as well as in their daily life’s outside school. Jeffery Kluger discusses how a bilingual brain is not necessarily smarter brain, but is a more flexible and practical brain. Evidently, demonstrating to us one of the many benefits of a bilingual

How does our native language affect we think about the world and our place in it? How is speaking more than one language difficult? Tom Munnecke’s purpose was talking about how learning many languages frustrated him, and how each language frustrated him. Each of these languages he saw as “shells,” and he goes on to talk about each language and its limitations and/or opportunities. The audience for Nothing is Missing are people who are interested in learning one, or more than one, different language. This article could also apply to people who are already bilingual, or already know multiple languages. Munecke would like people who are interested in learning more than one language to know how the first language we speak affects the way we

Bilingualism significantly reduces the barriers between people with different roots, interrupts fears and shame before confronting culturally different people. Bilingualism also opens opportunities to get to know different global issues, which is very helpful during travel or living in a place different culturally and linguistically as New York. In retrospect, despite the initial difficulties on the way to bilingualism, the participant considers that "bilingual persons have easier life" which she experienced to a large extent. Guided by this observation she made the steps so that her sons could be multilingual. Unfortunately, she only reached its goal in half. Her older son attended a Polish school learning the rules of grammar and spelling of the Polish language, therefore, he achieved fluency and the ability to write and read in Polish. The younger son found it difficult to assimilate the grammatical and phonetic rules of the Polish, which is in the head of the most arduous languages of the world. He did not want to attend additional classes, so he only gained fluency in speaking, which was the result of using only Polish at home to talk. Despite the obvious benefits of being bilingual, the participant did not want to force her son to do extra jobs, remembering her experiences along the way. Nevertheless, both boys also learn the basics of Spanish at school, which is currently the second most-used

This nation is a place where different cultures come together and learn to coexist. From native America, Latinos, Asians and probably other nations that are not well known; they all have something in common which they all are bilinguals. Authors Cisneros, Agosin, Dumas and Tan clearly illustrate that being bilingual has both advantages and disadvantages.

Communication, education, buying, selling, asking for directions, businesses transactions, etc, are all reasons why language is necessary. However, there could easily be a barrier between people that can impede on and dictate how these interactions will progress without the correct language. Bilingualism or multilingualism is a common asset that most of the people in the world use and rely on every day. Bilingualism will be described in this paper as the ability to speak two or more languages proficiently, however bilingualism and multilingualism will be used interchangeably. The second (or nth) language can be acquired at home at a young age (for example, if the parents/caregiver

Increasing evidence is that being bilingual is cognitively beneficial.” As the world changes, so does the languages the people use shown by the

The United States of America (U.S.) is a nation built of immigrants. These immigrants brought many diverse languages to the U.S.. The major languages of the U.S. besides English consist of Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, French, Vietnamese, German, and Korean. Although Multilingualism or bilingualism is uncommon in the U.S., it is common in other countries. Multilingualism or bilingualism people appear to acquire knowledge faster and have superior executive functions (Diamond). This concept was discussed in class and proves that learning another language can be extremely beneficial. Spanish is a great second language to learn due to the fact that it is the nations second most used language in the U.S.. The importance of Spanish-speaking is

While some people may believe that learning a second language may only create controversy in our society, many strongly believe that one has the freedom to speak any language they choose to. Since there are a variety of different nationalities in the Unites States, bilingual education can promote learning for people who share distinctive ethnic backgrounds. Bilingual education gives students a sense of cultural pluralism, not only that, but it has been proven that learning a second language starting from a young age hold cognitive and academic benefits. Children who are bilingual, establish more adequate skills in their first language causing them to learn other languages at a faster rate, raise a sense of confidence and self-esteem, and have an easier time transitioning into a new environment making it less intimidating; therefore, the advantages of bilingual education most certainly outweigh its disadvantages.

Bilingualism, or an ability to use at least two languages (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2004), has been studied for decades. A quick literature search will reveal that research on this topic goes back as far as the 1800s. This is hardly surprising considering that at least half of the world’s population is bilingual (Grosjean, 2010, p. 13), with some European countries reaching rates as high as 99 percent (European Commission, 2006, p. 3). Interestingly enough, until relatively recently it was believed that exposure to multiple languages at home was to blame for “producing mental retardation as measured by intelligence tests” (Goodenough, 1926, p. 393). The assumption that bilingualism is harmful and interferes with healthy development has been since debunked by research findings indicating exposure to two languages from birth enhances cognitive function (Bialystok, Craik, & Luk, 2012). Although similar misguided perceptions have not vanished completely from our society and many educators and clinical practitioners continue to advise parents against exposing their children to multiple languages (Bialystok et al., 2012), bilingualism has become a desired trait in an increasingly globalized world and an integral part of the educational system in many countries.

The ability to speak and understand more than one language has several benefits for adolescents and adults, but there are several concerns that arise when children are brought up in a home where two languages are spoken or if they use different languages in different settings. Bilingualism a common speech and language category that people are falling into within the United States. Bilingualism, according to ASHA is, “the use of at least two languages by an individual and is a dynamic and fluid process across a number of domains, including experiences, tasks, topics, and time” (ASHA, 2004).Within bilingualism are two subcategories: simultaneous and sequential bilingualism. Simultaneous bilingualism, “occurs when a young child has had significant and meaningful exposure to two language from birth and, ideally, the child will have equal quality experiences with both languages” (ASHA, 2004). Sequential Bilingualism, occurs when an individual has had significant meaningful exposure to a second language, usually after the age of three and after the first language is well establish. These second language learners are referred to as ‘English Language Learners’ in U.S. schools” (ASHA, 2004). The state of learning two or more languages at once has resulted in several

Learning a second language at a young age has long-term benefits that can be felt even in old age. As human’s age their brains atrophy, but bilingual people can delay the consequences of this damage. These individuals are constantly experiencing the world using two languages so, while a monolingual person remembers how to ride a bike in one language, a bilingual person stores that memory twice, once in their first language a once in their second. This allows bilingual

Of course, the art of being bilingual may display a few faults. One of these faults may be that both languages can be present at the same time, which means that when a bilingual person hears a word, he or she is able to make a connection with both languages based on the sounds. In a study by Dr. Viorica Marian and Anthony Shook (2012), the authors explain how bilingual speakers connect sounds with both languages. For instance, if an English and Spanish bilingual speaker hears the word to “to,” his or her brain may instantly try to find words in both languages containing the sound “to” gives

The first time I heard Spanish, I felt the same butterflies lovesick high schoolers lose their minds over. The first time a korean pop song flowed through my headphones, my heart raced like a cheetah. Every time I hear a new language, I fall in love; not only because of the way native speakers wrap their tongues around the syllables of their heritage, but because of the connections that can be formed through multiple languages. For bilingual American citizens, learning English isn’t always about a love for the language, but the need to communicate efficiently in America. Martín Espada and Richard Rodriguez, two bilingual American citizens, share their viewpoints on the term bilingualism, and its application in America.