The Importance Of Bilingualism On Child Development

Bilingualism itself can be held responsible for increased levels of executive control and higher brain plasticity. In order to maintain a balance between two languages, the bilingual brain depends on executive functions, a monitoring system of general cognitive abilities that includes processes such as attention and inhibition. Laurent et. al 2010 aimed to determine bilingual experience enhances the development of phonological awareness. Children were exposed to early learning of a second language between the school grades 3-5 in primary school, ages ranging from 8 to 10 years old. The goal of this study was to promote the concept of “bilingual advantage” (Laurent, 2010) as researchers measured exactly how long children required second language exposure in order to influence phonological awareness. These researchers expected that after 4 years

Over the past several decades, cognitive psychology researchers have suggested that different types of cognitive and behavioral experiences can change the structure and function of a learner's brain over time. In an article in the Journal of Cognitive Psychology, Ellen Bialystok (University of York) presented bilingualism as an experience that could have a significant impact on long-term neurology and cognitive development and function.However, it was somewhat difficult to prove the specific correlation that the effects of bilingualism actually have on brain function. The study of the effects of bilingualism on cognitive development analyzes only several measurable structural and cognitive effects of bilingualism, based on a component perspective. This approach, however, presented an overly brief understanding of bilingual mental and brain structures and the lack of an accurate analysis of widely reconstructed structures that arise from many contextual factors that lead to complex changes in function.

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

Language is an important part of our lives. I remember when I arrived to USA I could speak a little English. I went to school to improve my language, reading and writing skills; even now I am learning my second language, without English I cannot survive in this new environment. Now I am raising my own kids and I want them to have this important skill, this privilege of knowing a second language, language of their parents and grandparents. By looking at studies of bilingual children, research shows how important it is for a child to learn a second language. Raising a bilingual child is a benefit because it improves social skills, academic proficiency, introduces child to a different culture, and prepares for the future.

Bilingualism is a person’s ability to speak two or more languages fluently. Initially it was believed that bilingualism had negative effects on an individual’s intelligence and speech and it was thought that the knowledge of multiple languages would complicate one’s thought processing rather than improve its functioning. This theory

Babies and young children pick up languages easily. They can learn how to speak just by listening to adults. When babies learn two languages they do it just as quickly as it would take them to learn one language. Bilingual babies could tell the difference between two words at the same time. Their brains were trained to do this because they had been exposed to two languages at home. Being bilingual makes the brain more flexible and strengths your ability. It is easy to learn a language before age 7.

INNOVATE AND PREPARES CURRICULUMS for both indoor and outdoor activities for program participation and increase development. Delineated lesson plans that meet physical, social, emotional, and cognitive needs while being apprehensive of the different age levels and special requirements. Experience as a CY.03 Target Level for more than 6 years with all facets of childcare education and teaching. Bilingual with a broad study in Spanish to work cooperatively and guide subordinates. Implemented a safe environment for students and staff making it conducive for learning.

Used tried and tested techniques. Some parents both insist on speaking the minority language while at home and allow their children to speak the majority language while outside. In some families, one parent speaks the minority language while the other speaks the majority language when speaking to their children.

ABSTRACT: Bilingual children with typical development have language behaviors that mimic language impairment in monolingual children. For example, the receptive-expressive gap (receptive > expressive) mimics a monolingual expressive language disorder. The mechanisms underlying this gap are not well understood. The current study explores inhibition as a contributor to the receptive-expressive gap.

According to Crago, Genesee, and Paradis (2011), amount of second language exposure at home, school, and the community is critical for language development (p.84). This means that it is important for bilingual children to be exposed to an environment where it supports their language development and makes an impact to their development trajectories. As children become familiar to more than one language, they also start having communicated proficiency errors in the way they talk with others (Crago et al., 2011, p.115). For example, grammatical morphemes and language mixing are some errors children make. Children also become familiar with another language depending on the help they get from their psychological and social factors. Another thing

Bilingualism is known to have a negative and a positive outcome on individuals who are multilingual or bilingual. Around the 21st century at least half of the world’s population are now bilingual .The article The Cognitive Benefits of Being Bilingual discussed the different aspect of bilingualism and how it affects the way our brain process information. Researchers have studied the brain that showed that being multilingual and bilingual “have a better attention and task-switching capacities than monolingual brain” function.

Infants learn different languages by being exposed to them from their surroundings. Infants are capable of learning not just one language but multiple languages. This capability is because infants differentiate languages by using auditory and visual cues. Studies have shown that bilingual infants follow a different path than monolingual infants. Bosch and Sebastian-Galles (2003) tested infants from 4 to 12 months who spoke Spanish and Catalan on vowels that are phonemic to infants who know Catalan. Infants who were 8 months and monolinguals differentiated the vowels while bilinguals took till they were 12 months. Meanwhile, Burns, Yoshida, Hill, and Werker 's (2007) study showed that bilingual infants can discriminate and

Bilingualism is the ability by individuals to use two linguistic systems languages. Children acquire bilingualism in their early years when they are regularly exposed to adults who speak two different languages such as German and French or English and Spanish. Research shows that the majority of people in the world today are bilingual, or multilingual (those who comprehend more than two languages), compared to monolingual (individuals who have learned only one language). While many policy makers and researchers fear that learning and living with two or more languages inhibits the learners, recent research shows that being bilingual or multilingual positively affects cognitive abilities. The ability to learn one language while using another increases the likelihood that the individual’s brain will have better task switching and attention capacities than the brain of a monolingual person. Bilingual children have a better ability to adjust to environmental changes. Likewise, bilingual adults experience less cognitive decline as they advance in age. Bilingualism is positively correlated to concept formation, classification, creativity, and analogical reasoning. This paper hopes to explain the common debated question as to whether or not bilingualism affects cognitive development, and if so, to what extent.

Language, in its simplest form, provides humans a way to communicate with each other to express needs, desires, and emotions in general. Without even thinking about it, speech is a tool that we use every day at work or in casual conversation, and that our lives would be completely different without. Humans learn a first language (L1) around the age of 1, and there is a sort of innateness for it to be acquired—our brains are ready for it. However, acquiring a second language can often times be a different, and more difficult process for anyone who attempts to do so. But while it may be challenging, the benefits of bilingualism are seemingly endless as it enables one to communicate with a whole new group of people as well as helps in brain development in children and adults. It truly opens up a door of possibility. So what is it about the process of learning a new language that makes it so different?

According to Psychology Today, around eighteen percent of Americans are bilingual. While eighteen percent may seem like a small portion of the population, this translates to fifty one million Americans who speak a second language. The steady growth of bilingualism in America has made way for many debates surrounding the role of multiple languages in society and education. Martin Espada, a poet and advocate for the Spanish language, uses his works to defend the right of Latinos to speak their own language. He defines bilingualism as a link between people and culture, allowing them to adopt their cultural identities. Meanwhile, Richard Rodriguez holds a different viewpoint on the debate. According to Rodriguez, Spanish is a private language and English is a public one. Rodriguez portrays bilingualism as a pathway to public society, allowing social connections to take place. While the word itself simply means the ability to speak more than one language, the idea behind bilingualism exceeds this definition. Bilingualism allows people to preserve the language of their ancestors and tie them to their roots. Culture can be kept alive when bilingualism is present in our modern society.