Hey, guys. A few weeks ago I read a small article about bilingualism and, from the perspective of a language educator, I found it extremely interesting for many reasons so I wanted to share with you a small summary with the most important points regarding learning two languages at an early age. As teachers, I think it's important to know that theory establishes solid parameters of what a child or an adult can accomplish in a language classroom, especially with the youngest ones, and that is something, I reckon, that can be useful in class with our students if we really want to help them reach a proficient level. Let me tell you a little bit more about it.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, bilingualism can be defined as "the fact of being able to use two languages equally well", something that is a reality for millions of kids all around the world, particularly second-generation immigrants in English-speaking countries. This bilingualism can open many doors for learners in the personal, social, and economic fields, being the latter the most interesting for older students as they usually decide to learn the language to have better job opportunities in a near future.
Moreover, the article also mentions that there are two types of bilinguals: simultaneous, that are the ones who learned more than one language from early childhood, and sequential (like myself), who learned another language later in life. These data have come from many years of research about early language learning, which has helped to refute the initial idea that children couldn't cope with two languages simultaneously as it could lead to confusion, interference, and slow development. On the other hand, several studies have proved that the fact of learning two languages simultaneously doesn't interfere cognitively or academically in the child's development but, quite the contrary, it is very beneficial for memory and metalinguistic awareness; however, there do exist some limitations of bilingualism that are more related to the circumstances in which each language is learned more than the human capacity of learning any of the languages involved.
Subtractive bilingualism is a phenomenon that is described basically as the loss of one language while learning another one. This usually takes place when children are so submerged in a second language that they eventually stop speaking their family/first language before reaching a good level. This is not good as it can bring many negative consequences such as problems with the children's self-esteem and relationship with their family or linguistic insecurity, as they don't feel confident enough either in L1 or L2, not to mention academic problems in further life stages. Then, what can we do to avoid this? The answer, according to experts nowadays, is additive bilingualism, which is when the parents decide to keep the home language while learning an L2. This not only can benefit the child's linguistic development and self-esteem but also the parent's as they can convey more deeply all their knowledge and emotions to their son or daughter, which is good for the entire family, not only cognitively but also affectively.
Learning a second, third, or fourth language may take years, therefore, students, parents, and teachers need to get to know this type of information as it may save learners many problems and facilitate their progress. If you are bilingual and have children or are considering having a child soon, try to think about how advantageous it can be for them if you speak a second language to them at home. Remember: the sooner, the better.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, bilingualism can be defined as "the fact of being able to use two languages equally well", something that is a reality for millions of kids all around the world, particularly second-generation immigrants in English-speaking countries. This bilingualism can open many doors for learners in the personal, social, and economic fields, being the latter the most interesting for older students as they usually decide to learn the language to have better job opportunities in a near future.
Moreover, the article also mentions that there are two types of bilinguals: simultaneous, that are the ones who learned more than one language from early childhood, and sequential (like myself), who learned another language later in life. These data have come from many years of research about early language learning, which has helped to refute the initial idea that children couldn't cope with two languages simultaneously as it could lead to confusion, interference, and slow development. On the other hand, several studies have proved that the fact of learning two languages simultaneously doesn't interfere cognitively or academically in the child's development but, quite the contrary, it is very beneficial for memory and metalinguistic awareness; however, there do exist some limitations of bilingualism that are more related to the circumstances in which each language is learned more than the human capacity of learning any of the languages involved.
Subtractive bilingualism is a phenomenon that is described basically as the loss of one language while learning another one. This usually takes place when children are so submerged in a second language that they eventually stop speaking their family/first language before reaching a good level. This is not good as it can bring many negative consequences such as problems with the children's self-esteem and relationship with their family or linguistic insecurity, as they don't feel confident enough either in L1 or L2, not to mention academic problems in further life stages. Then, what can we do to avoid this? The answer, according to experts nowadays, is additive bilingualism, which is when the parents decide to keep the home language while learning an L2. This not only can benefit the child's linguistic development and self-esteem but also the parent's as they can convey more deeply all their knowledge and emotions to their son or daughter, which is good for the entire family, not only cognitively but also affectively.
Learning a second, third, or fourth language may take years, therefore, students, parents, and teachers need to get to know this type of information as it may save learners many problems and facilitate their progress. If you are bilingual and have children or are considering having a child soon, try to think about how advantageous it can be for them if you speak a second language to them at home. Remember: the sooner, the better.
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