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Issue #|105153
Summary|Bilingualism in eary childhood
Component|Word processor
Version|1.0.0
Platform|Macintosh
URL|
OS/Version|All
Status|UNCONFIRMED
Status whiteboard|
Keywords|
Resolution|
Issue type|DEFECT
Priority|P3
Subcomponent|viewing
Assigned to|writerneedsconfirm
Reported by|cmrhines
------- Additional comments from cmrhi...@openoffice.org Thu Sep 17 15:21:53
+0000 2009 -------
English 1101, McGinn
Chelsea Rhines
Should bilingualism in early childhood education be considered to have a
positive influence on learning
Society encounters a beneficial tool that can be utilized in everyday
life and
the work field, or to put it simply bilingualism. Speaking two different
languages is usually encouraged, but when it comes to the area of early
childhood education, people begin to argue that bilingualism has a negative
affect on learning. People against bilingualism believe that by processing two
languages, one at home and another at school, can be disruptive at a
comprehension level. Despite this negative theory, it has been found that
children with the capability to speak two languages have been exceptionally
knowledgeable, as well as well rounded in multiple fields. Bilingualism has a
positive influence on a child’s learning, which is proven through their
adaptability to new ideas, their enhanced skills in more than one area and
repeated superior academic results over monolingual children.
Many people claim that bilingualism at an early age is a disadvantage
and can
ultimately affect a child’s learning for the future. However, when compared to
monolingual children, bilingual children had a better understanding of the
linguistic structure (Bialystok 1). Not only were the bilingual children able to
comprehend the language better, but they also learned in different ways that
proved to be exceedingly beneficial. Professor Genesee has researched the idea
of bilingualism in early childhood education and he believes that “…young
children have the cognitive and social tools necessary to become bilingual
without much effort.” Genesee disproves the mentality that the children being
taught academic subjects in their weaker language are less capable due to their
young age. In fact, material learned at an early age is beneficial because the
brain is continuously developing; therefore computing new information is easier.
Suzanne Flynn, a professor of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, remarked “…people who speak two languages early in life quickly
learn that names of objects are arbitrary…so they deal with a level of
abstraction very early.” Meaning, children who are not bilingual, tend to have a
slower response to comprehending the seemingly “illogical” name placement of
certain objects. It has been shown through research that primarily bilingualism
has had a positive affect that enhanced children’s cognitive and linguistic
development, and improved their access to literacy (if the two writing systems
corresponded) (Bialystok 2). Bilingual children have shown immense progress
compared to children who only speak one language because of the fact that they
are already well developed in one language.
As the students begin to be taught subjects in the second language,
they have
proven to be highly successful academically. Articles in the Encyclopedia on
Early Childhood Development reported “…children learning to read in two
languages that share a writing system (i.e. English and French) show accelerated
progress in learning to read” (Bialystok 2). For example, Professor Genesee also
found that by teaching bilinguals and monolinguals simultaneously, bilinguals
absorb two grammar lessons whereas the other children only understood one (Early
Childhood Bilingualism). Furthermore, bilingual students have been able to
recognize or understand the meaning of a word, due to its similarity in the
language familiar to them. Children that have grown up in a bilingual home have
had an overall positive experience that has tremendously improved their
learning. Research conducted in The Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development
reinforced the idea of bilingualism, which states:
“Bilingual children between 4 and 8 years old demonstrate a large
advantage
over comparable monolinguals in solving problems that require attention to
specific aspects of a display and inhibiting attention to misleading aspects
that are salient but associated with an incorrect response”. Young
bilingual
students have not only shown advanced performance in academic areas such as
problem solving, but an increase skill in everyday habits. Ellen
Bialystok, a
professor of psychology at York University in Toronto, said, “…bilingual
children [have] become exceptionally good at learning to ignore
“misleading
information…” (Bialystok 2).
Or in other words, bilingual children have the ease of filtering out unnecessary
information in order to solve a problem, understand a language concept or simply
learn behavioral skills.
When one reflects on the numerous benefits of bilingualism on a child’s
learning habits, skills and overall mental comprehension, the answer to the
question “Does bilingualism have a negative affect on a child and his or her
education?” is obvious. Parents have simply been worrying that having two
languages would cause their children to suffer from confusion and unorganized
thoughts, but needless to say, they have been unaware of the hidden benefits a
second language can have. Through extensive research and observation, it has
been demonstrated that bilingualism can ultimately improve a child’s
perceptiveness. Along with increasing their understanding of both languages,
being bilingual can allow him or her to successfully achieve academic goals with
little difficulty, unlike monolingual children. Bilingual children can process
ideas better and are also “…forming conceptual categories, seeing alternate
images in ambitious figures and understanding the differences between the
appearance and functional reality of a misleading object” (Bialystok 2). In
retrospect, the positive results of bilingualism outweigh the negative results.
If a bilingual child and a monolingual child were given the same
material to
learn in the same amount of time, between the two, who do you think would be
able to comprehend more of the information? Obviously the answer would be the
child who knows two languages and also is able to understand and absorb
information better. The bilingual child. Knowing two languages at an early age
helps to develop a child’s learning skills and ultimately prepare them better to
grasp certain concepts. When applied to early childhood education, bilingualism
shapes a child who obtains social skills, as well as academic success. Not only
does bilingualism have a positive affect on the present tense, but also it is
beneficiary when preparing for the future. Some people may disagree and complain
that two languages can clutter the brain and cause confusion, but there is solid
evidence that confirms that overall bilingualism is valuable. Bilingualism has
been and continues to be useful in the learning processes of children and the
lives of everyday individuals.
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