Bilingual education: more than the wonderful gift of a second language
This is the copy of an article published in the Bristol Magazine in the September 2008 Edition:
It is always amazing to hear young children switch from one language to another. Many children in Bristol come from families where languages in addition to English are spoken at home. But how easy is it for children to become bilingual and why is it so beneficial to them?
Experts have found that there is indeed a critical period to learn foreign languages (Lenneberg, 1967).
After the age of 10 or 12, the brain handles language differently because there are less new neurological connections (Barbieri).
Between the ages of 2 and 5, any language develops spontaneously.This is the crucial age when children can pick up any language through simple play and communication with other people (Gavrilova),
as long as the number of hours exposed to the second language is sufficient and regular, i.e. a number of days in the week (Pearson et al, 1997).
The question is often asked whether parents should wait for the first language to be established before exposing children to a second one,
by fear of them being confused or developing their first language more slowly than their peers.
In fact the latest research by eminent Professor Petitto, Cognitive Neuroscientist Teaching at Dartmouth University USA,
shows that being exposed to two languages early and intensively is indeed more beneficial than waiting for the first language to be established.
Young bilingual children develop their language abilities as fast as their monolingual friends
and make the difference between languages very clearly and from a very early age.
So what are the real benefits to children raised as bilinguals?
- Learning two or more languages can help a child's development in their mother tongue (Bialystok). Bilingual children have learnt that language can be broken into words. This will be transferred directly into the other language and helps them learn to read faster than others at primary school (Petitto and Dunbar, 2004).
- They have a great capacity for lateral thinking, problem solving and multi-tasking, which can help in many subjects at school and in later life (Sorace, 2004). This is because they are switching languages and have access to multiple meanings, and therefore have part of their brain massaged like a muscle (Petitto, 2002).
- They are more open-minded in general, and more sensitive towards other peoples' cultures and languages. Children of multilingual and multicultural families will feel more self-esteem and confidence if they become proficient in the family language. They will gain pride in their cultural heritage (Calderon, 2003 & Baker, 2006).
The benefits to all children carry on throughout their lives and even to an old age when it provides a defence against normal mental aging (Bialystok).
For more information on bilingualism for children, you can refer to:
- The National Centre for Languages
- The Multilingual Matters website and the Bilingual Family Newsletter.
- An in-depth article by Antonella Sorace (2006): "the more, the merrier. Facts and beliefs about the bilingual mind".