The Pros And Cons Of Bilingualism

If The United State has no official language, and it is not a bilingual country, why almost all the jobs prefer people who speak English and Spanish? This country has people who speak Spanish, but Hispanic people are not the only ones who live here. The United States should be a bilingual country with English and Spanish, which are the strongest and most useful languages. But being bilingual has its pros and cons. There are some struggles to being bilingual too.

This nation is a place where different cultures come together and learn to coexist. From native America, Latinos, Asians and probably other nations that are not well known; they all have something in common which they all are bilinguals. Authors Cisneros, Agosin, Dumas and Tan clearly illustrate that being bilingual has both advantages and disadvantages.

Imagine living a life in Spain, then one day the job gets transferred to Texas in the United States of America. Now getting accustomed to this job may be hard because of the new environment, but adapting to the culture may be even harder. Well this problem can be eliminated because bilingual education should be required in all American kindergarten through twelfth-grade school systems. Not only should students be required to take one class a year, there should also be alternative elective courses of foreign languages. There are many benefits of learning a language that is not profound to a specific person. One is that learning a new language is a great way of meeting new people and making friends. Another possible positive outcome is that new language is an excellent source for traveling and could benefit a person’s employment opportunities. The United States should provide bilingual education to students in kindergarten through twelfth-grade because learning another language is good for meeting new people, traveling and expanding employment opportunities.

Since the early 20th century numerous studies, in psychology as well as linguistics, have been conducted on the effects of bilingualism on cognitive abilities (Saer, 1923; Smith, 1923; Gowan & Torrance, 1965). Until the 1960s there was some consensus among experts about the detrimental effect of bilingualism on cognitive development. However, after the publication of Peal and Lambert’s article on the relation of bilingualism to intelligence, most of these theories were discredited due to methodological flaws (Peal & Lambert, 1962). A majority of the studies conducted before this period did not take into consideration the differences in age, gender, culture, second language proficiency and socio-economic status between the monolingual and bilingual participants. Research conducted thereafter has found largely positive effects of bilingualism on cognitive functions (Landry, 1974; Holtzman, 1980). Recent research in the field has focused on understanding the relationship between bilingualism and specific aspects of cognition, such as inhibitory control, creativity and metalinguistic awareness, as opposed to the earlier studies which tried to associate bilingualism with intelligence. Even though, most studies have found a positive correlation between bilingual proficiency and cognitive benefits, there is still much debate in this area of research (Leikin, 2012). In 1992, Ricciardelli

Languages are what we use to communicate with each other. Without communication there would be no society. Whether or not you are bilingual, that should not indicate discrimination, but for some speaking another language besides English, it makes them vulnerable to be treated unfairly and discriminated against. Although for others, learning English was a gateway to freedom and public identity. For Espada and Rodriguez, both bilingual and well known authors, these problems have affected them throughout their lives. While bilingualism is the ability to speak two languages, for both Espada and Rodriguez, bilingualism is much more than the definition in the dictionary. This current crisis against bilingualism has made it harder for those whose native language is not English.

Many people do not believe in bilingual education because they think that the student would confuse the two languages and in the end speak neither one correctly. A closer look at when the two language mixes reveals that most of them master one of the languages to the same degree as a monolingual speaker (Korth 3). Through their bilingualism, they can use linguistic means creatively in accordance with the demands of the situation. This flexibility is a cognitive ability, which monolingual speakers can achieve only through effortful learning and training. Switching from one language to the other can be interpreted as an indication of the speaker’s fluency (Korth 3). In some cases, the languages are only spoken in specific places. If a child speaks

As the title suggests, “Speaking in Tongues: The Many Benefits of Bilingualism” is an article that examines the advantages of bilingualism. Due to the nature of the world, a great number of people have acquired the ability to speak more than one language. The author explores the benefits such an ability offers, arguing that bilingual children develop social, linguistic and cognitive skillsets that not only provides a chance to explore different cultures, but raises a child’s awareness of how language functions. The author also weighs on the cognitive aspect; applying the works of Ellen Bialystok to their ( the author’s ) argument. In the author’s view, bilingual children are better at dealing with conflicting cues and assessing information.

These days there are more and more people who live in a country where other language than their home language is spoken. This could be due to different reasons, like immigration of the whole family or having married a person from another country. When children are involved most parents would like them to be bilingual, but this does not happen automatically. Some effort is required.

A bilingualism have the ability to utilize several languages (Gollan, el al., 2007). Across the world, most of the population is often bilingual or multilingual, within Australia more than 200 different languages are spoken with approximately 19% of people speaking a language besides English (Gollan, el al., 2007). The objective of this paper is to present several problems regarding bilingualism, and also analyze to some areas associate bilingualism, relating to cognitive factors. Individuals utilize the term bilingualism in different ways. For other people, this means that an equal ability to speak in two

Communication is a powerful tool in every setting that involves human interaction. The importance of bilingualism is felt when there are communication barriers orchestrated by multiculturalism and cosmopolitanism. The effect of communication barrier is more profound in the learning environment. This is reflected in the way it incapacitates understanding of the course contents.

(2011) stated that it proved better results from bilingual compared to monolingual children. It was concluded that bilingual children have a better level of cognitive abilities than monolingual children. They tend to have the ability to focus on the important things that requires “selective attention” and they are also able to change their responses according to the situation which is referred to as “cognitive flexibility”. In short, bilingual children have a stronger skill in keeping themselves focused since they have been practicing it in speaking two languages compared to the monolingual children who only speak one language. Conclusively, it can be suggested that the more a bilingual uses two languages in regularity, the more proficient he or she will be in both languages. As the bilingual gains proficiency in both of the languages and uses both languages consistently, he or she will have to strive for more control and attention to prevent intrusion from an inappropriate language system. Bilingual children have also been found to benefit academically in many ways, and because they are able to switch between languages, they develop more flexible approaches in thinking through

The struggles of learning a new language often overshadow the added advantage of bilingualism; in a globalized English speaking world however, the need to acquire the tongue of the trade becomes more apparent. As an immigrant, my advantage of having access and support to learn English at a young age enabled me to embark on a smooth journey transitioning into bilingualism. However, had this opportunity come at a later, less malleable stage of my life, I would have surely been lost, like my parents in a limbo between cultures and stranded by language. A debate surrounded by both political and ethnic tensions, the argument over bilingualism and the enforcement of English education creates a polarizing split in opinions. Although Richard Rodriguez and Martin Espada shares the common similarity of bilingualism, their arguments reveal two uniquely different views influenced by their opposing backgrounds.

Today, bilingual education used in many countries for variety of social and educational purposes. It is the actual problem of this century. Because, the world is changing and according to the requirements of time, the human mind adjusts to new discoveries, to new tops. The relevance of training to bilingual manner as a basic component in-depth language education is defined, first of all, a general global trend towards integration in the economic, cultural and political spheres, in the sphere of education determines the trend towards integration of subject knowledge, focus on the knowledge of a coherent picture of the world. Modernization in the field of school education is associated with high quality education, development of new technologies, new perspectives, expanding the horizons of students. Now, special attention is paid to creating conditions to develop the creative potential of the student and to empower in-depth education. Training based on bilingual program is important, because it provides

Cognitive advantages, bilingualism is an important factor of cognitive development (Peal and Lambert, 1962), “bilingual children are more responsive at concept formation and posses great mental flexibility.” Research has shown that children with bilingual education have cognitive advantages. The children that had knowledge in the first and second language had greater linguistic awareness and flexibility. Exposure to the two languages

In the United States, only about 15-20 percent of Americans consider themselves bilingual, compared to 56 percent of Europeans. Out of those 15-20 percent of Americans, only a handful of them work in a sociable, business-like career, where language and communication is key. According to an article in The Daily Texan, American employers are progressively desiring workers who speak multiple languages, particularly in industries that provide services involving a high degree of human interaction, such as business and healthcare (Franklin par.1). The lack of bilingualism in the US job market and business world is going to cause a setback for companies in the future, but with the help of increased language opportunities, the companies will be able to avoid those complications.