Benefits and Advantages of Being Bilingual

Exposure is the key

"Research has shown that after 10 or 12 years old the brain handles language differently because until then it is constantly making neurological connections.As children we process language in the frontal lobe of the brain. But if we learn a language as a teenager or adult, the brain has to 'scramble' to find storage space somewhere else. So in simple terms, learn languages as a child and the brain absorbs them readily, after that it becomes much harder work. Replace some of the books/DVDs your child watches with the foreign-language one and try to make it a part of your everyday lives: Exposure is the key."

(National Literacy Trust 2007 - Developing Language for Life)

For complete article visit: http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/talktoyourbaby/Bilingual.html

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Keys to fostering a bilingual household when only one parent speaks Spanish.

By Amanda (Mother of two - ages 4 and 5) - River Forest, Illinois

"The key to fostering a truly bilingual household when only one parent speaks Spanish is to establish linguistic ground-rules of when and why which language is being spoken, and to stick to them for reasons of consistency. I have found that consistency is paramount for establishing a lasting linguistic framework that is meaningful to your children. For example, when on my own with my kids, I ONLY speak Spanish with them. However, at mealtimes when my husband is present, and when we are having a family discussion the kids and I will speak English so that everyone can participate. Hence I have made it clear that the ONLY reason for which I will speak English to my children and not Spanish, is if speaking Spanish would alienate someone else, such as their father, or another example being during a playdate in which another child is involved in the spoken exchange".

How can I raise a child to speak Spanish if my husband doesn't speak it?

"Having only one partner that speaks Spanish is definitely not an impediment to teaching your kids Spanish! In fact, my husband has now been coincidentally exposed to so much Spanish spoken between myself and my four and five year old kids since their birth that his own understanding of Spanish is now light years ahead of what it was years ago when he was actively trying to learn, and he has gained that without even trying! So, now when I think it's just me speaking to the kids in an aside in Spanish, dad often understands and often adds to the conversation in English. That's a a truly bilingual situation!"

The challenges in such a situation are:

1) Not abandoning the Spanish for fear of alienating the other parent. However, this has never been a problem for us because out of courtesy and practicality we always speak in English when that other person wants to/needs to be part of the conversation.

2) Persevering from the outset: it can feel strange at the outset having two linguistic systems in the house, and can feel tiring at first to establish the linguistic ground rules, however it soon feels totally normal after a while.

3) Not letting other usually monolingual people deter you: for example, if one of the children shows any slight delay in English, which can happen when children are bilingual, monolingual speech therapists will often advise dropping the Spanish for the child to consolidate their English first. However, this is something that knowledgeable bilingual speech therapists will say is not necessary and will advise against. Children are capable of learning multiple languages at the same time.

4) The Spanish speaking parent NOT slipping into English in certain, usually more serious circumstances, because of a belief that the Spanish is somehow the inferior language and that English should be used instead at those times. For example, if a child needs to be disciplined, I will still address them in Spanish to show that in our household Spanish and English have equal value.

5) NOT feeling self-conscious in public, especially if you are not a native speaker of Spanish (which is my case).

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by Olga Bichachi

Most parents can't wait until their baby starts to talk. We wonder, will his or her first word be "Mom" or "Dad?" I remember the many times I telephoned my husband at work, interrupting countless meetings, to share my joy at hearing our baby utter his latest new word. Not even my knowledge of language acquisition from studying linguistics in graduate school, could dilute my joy and amazement when witnessing the ease and speed with which my newborn turned his cooing into speech. In our case, my husband and I were twice as amazed as we watched our three young sons learn Spanish and English at the same time.

Perhaps you are among the growing number of parents who want their baby's first words to include "mamá" and "papá." You're convinced that in today's competitive world, English is not enough for your baby. After all, more than half of the world's children speak more than one language. Why should your child be left behind?

The latest research supports your belief that exposing babies, toddlers and preschoolers to more than one language will reap plenty of benefits later on at school and in life! These studies compare bilingual children to their monolingual peers and show that bilingual children...

The very latest evidence supporting the benefits of children being exposed to a second language, comes from a new study from Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the nation's fourth largest school district and a leader in bilingual education. Dr. Joanne H. Urrutia, Director of the district's Bilingual Education and World Languages Department, is about to release a noteworthy report which clearly shows "students who were exposed to a second language at an early age scored significantly higher on the verbal and math sections of the F-CAT (the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) than their English only classmates."

Educators compared the verbal and math scores of two groups of fourth and fifth grade students from 16 elementary schools in M-Dade County. One group of students has been enrolled in the school district's bilingual program since Kindergarten. Their classroom time consists of 60% instruction in English and 40% in the foreign language. The other group of fourth and fifth grade students has been enrolled in English only classes since Kindergarten.

The study shows bilingual students scored 23 to 34 points higher than their monolingual peers in both the verbal and math sections of the F-CAT. Educators predict similar results on the 2003 F-CAT. Dr. Urrutia believes the higher math scores of the children exposed to a second language may indicate that these students have more developed thinking skills and function on a higher "level of abstraction." The higher verbal scores may be a result of "added time" spent in learning two languages. This supports what educators have long known that learning a second language, inherently builds more vocabulary and better language skills in not only the students' second language, but also in their first language, English. (For more information about this study go to www.babiesspeak.com)

The College Entrance Examination Board also reports that college bound high school students who study a foreign language in high school statistically score higher in both the verbal and math section on the SAT. In fact, students who studied 4 years of a foreign language in high school score the same in math as those students who took 4 years of math.

In a recent study on child language acquisition, Dr. Ellen Bialystok, a York University linguist, found that children who are exposed to a second language early in life learn to read sooner than their monolingual classmates. In her study, preschool children were given tests to see their understanding of letters as symbols. Monolingual children could recite the letters but could not read without the help of pictures. On the other hand, bilingual preschoolers comprehended written language without the use of pictures and scored twice as high on language tests as their monolingual peers. These children were better prepared to tie symbols to words and words to meaning. They started reading sooner than children exposed to only one language.

Several studies show children who learn more than one language in infancy are better problem solvers. In Dr. Bialystok's studies, both bilingual and monolingual preschool children were asked to look at a picture and solve a problem on the picture. Children exposed to more than one language were twice as likely to solve the problem than their monolingual peers. The explanation may be that bilingual children are used to "tuning out" one language while speaking in the other. So, when they're asked to unravel a problem, they are better at "editing out" insignificant information. In other words, they focus on what's important and ignore the rest.

Finally, the benefits of exposing young children to a second language aren't limited to school and to intellectual performance. Children who interact in more than one language are naturally exposed to more than one culture. This helps in building acceptance and understanding of others. Their improved social skills and their ability to communicate in more than one language will also provide an economic edge when they reach the job market. Perhaps then, even more than now, bilingual adults will be able to choose from an assortment of career opportunities, destinations and high paying jobs, that their monolingual peers can only dream of.

So as the challenges and opportunities of a new century unfurl for our children, it is my hope, as well as the hope of other educators, that parents help spread the news of the importance of learning more than one language in childhood. My sons, as their mother and father have done, are now reaping the benefits of being exposed to more than one language. I trust more parents like you agree that for your children, English is not enough.