Bilingual education refers to a charisma of two feasible languages in the instructional settings. It involves teaching substance in two languages. It normally majors on the usage of the native language to the development of the second one with each of them being used at varying levels according to the specifications of the course that the students are undertaking. This art of teaching a subsidiary language while relaying heavily on original spoken language of the student, is a theoretical approach of maintaining a better perception of the cultural backgrounds of the learner. It is the usage of ones culture toward the realization of another civilization and language (Collier & Thomas 45).
In addition to the above, it is an educational setting where in an English language school system students, which are less fluent in grammar, are taught using their native language and English as well. It is in the United States constitutional and given a greater emphasis by the Bilingual Education Act of 1968.This together with the decision made by the Supreme Court in 1974 mandates the helping of students who have limited proficiency in English through the usage of their first language.
Despite the various fallacies relating to the limited capacity of human brain and that one language cannot lead to understanding of another, bilingual education is positive. It is useful when someone wants to visit various foreign countries that must be using a different language. It is out of bilingual education that in a foreign country, someone is able to communicate effectively and be freed from the interpreters or someone to translate what is being said. Globalization of the 21st century requires one to at least be able to speak two languages for the opening of study gates abroad. Students who can speak a language of a particular nation other than his or hers is considered first when applying for a study abroad. This is due to the added advantage of communication that is attached to being a bilingual student.
Bilingualism natures in a student the creative thinking skills in a wider and elaborate manner as opposed to monolingual perspective. A bilingual person develops the ability to think in a more flexible way that is not only related to words but to other variables as well. It is argued that once one has known two languages, the third one becomes automatic because the idea that has to be communicated is designed in a wide variety of ways. It is prevalent for people who live in Europe to have knowledge of two or more languages due to the diversity of the 21st century in their context. Bilingualism then does facilitate ones adoption to the cultural and natures diversity.
Bilingualism gives a wider range of choices to the matters that affect human being on daily basis. It enables one to easily move to another nation during times of instability and political unrest or war breakages and communicate effectively with the original citizens of the place. It is proven that a child with bilingual parents enjoys the rich heritage that the family accords to him or her, as she will fluently be able to communicate in both languages. Thus, bilingual education does facilitate the creation of the bridges necessary for generations and establishment of a sense of being a member of the extended family.
Being bilingual enables one to have accessibility to more varieties of information spring. This is because the bilingual education that he underwent through enables him to read and comprehend books that have the prose that he might be looking for in relation to various aspects. Exposure to wide edifying backgrounds, mores, and traditions makes bilingual education more exciting as well as gratifying to have come across to by the student. Multiple language knowledge facilitates the visualization of what language is and this makes one to have a reflection of the roles it plays and in summary shall absorb it as an element of thinking.
The cognitive flexibility is too due to the bilingual education system (Virginia 8). This is a system or a chance to the bilingual students toward deciding on which language to adopt for ensuring the intended aim is achieved through its usage. It is relative more so to the students who are still in school for the purpose opening of the platforms from which different points of view can be used for a comprehensive understanding of matters pertaining to school work. Different languages do also create the possibility of getting solutions to the problems by the embrace of varied strategies made available by it.
Sociological sensitivity is also built across bilingual education. It is argued that having a better understanding of bilateral languages facilitates the scene in which one has to apply either. It enables one to distinguish environments and the social stratum that a monolingual feller is not able to do, and make a decision on the kind of language to be used, and which shall be acceptable by the persons within the locale. A single language person just speaks using the same even if he or she is together with the aged population, which demands an authentic mode of communication. Bilingual education can be said to be beneficial in that it natures the social understanding.
Bilingual education nature’s students that are open minded. Exposure of the students to a varied cultural background opens up their minds to what they have seen happening and being utilized to the individual and communal benefit. One gets to know and visualize the realities of life in different angles as opposed to a monolingual student who has one way and no option. Open-mindedness is natured in a student who covers a bilingual language syllabus.
Bilingualism does facilitate the economical as well as employment opportunities filing that are available in the job market. Student who have a bilingual background have a wider scope to choose from for the sake of their satisfaction with the job that they shall be doing. If a graduate can speak two or more languages it means that, he or she is outgoing and versatile to the working environment. Dual languages then open up chances of being picked up for the job as opposed to the jobseekers who can only read, speak, and write their native language only. Monolinguals are disadvantaged therefore in the job market when a bilingual if not a multilingual potential candidate is too eyeing the same chance.
Idea comprehension is also one of the merits of having a bilingual education system in the school prospectus. Being able to comprehend two languages comes with the benefit of having to frame ideas in the language one is more conversant with and then changing them to fit in the context of the situation or the languages applicable. Commonly accepted concept is that it is simple to make a transfer of ideas from the already understood state to another as opposed to gambling with them in a language that from the word go is not comprehended.
Bilingual education assist the student with the knowledge and literacy that enables them to move into the society prepared enough to face the challenges and bottlenecks with a firm hand. It has the ability to grow in a student the hard way of life and how to pave way where their seems to be no indicators of a path. It opens up student eyes, critical skills and the relative keenness that is paramount to the realization of successful transitional avenues. A monolingual student knows one way of doing things and if a snag feels sufficient to block the way, the person usually tries a way out and forfeits what he initially sought to achieve. This is what a multilingual student is freed from and it accrues to well placed and outgoing graduate.
Bilingual language nature enables the student to get to understand the concepts that the teacher is out to deliver first using the native language or rather the one, which he understands better and then he goes on fighting with the English proficiency when things are already set. This improves class performance and the overall GPA during the final exam, which could not be possible if initially the student was reduced to struggle with English as he too battled with grasping the teacher’s concepts.
Self-esteem is influenced by the bilingual nature of a student. Through bilingualism, the ability to be proud and not to secrete ones culture is natured. In addition, biculturalism, whereby the students wish to get an insight of their cultural affiliations and language is enhanced. It makes the student want to learn other people’s culture and giving them the superior image that is positive to self-actualization.
Bilingualism does affect the children behavior and codes of conduct. From Crawford (41) this is in relation to the diverse culture that a bilingual student is tuned to operate on while the monolingual is specifically made to thrive in particular conditions. A child is made to get to know how he or she should be acting and behaving in relation to the accepted ethical concerns of the society and family life as well. A student who struggles with the teachers work in different languages is able to adopt a behavior of multitasking and multiculturalism as opposed to a student who is natured in the limited environment. Thus, it is reasonable to say that behavior is influenced by bilingual educational systems that are available to the diverse student schools.
Bilingualism being the process of subjecting the students into a double language setting does facilitate the way a student grows and the kind of preparation that he acquires towards life’s sustainability and adoption of survival tactics. Through it students are made to see the need of being outgoing and ready to know what the culture of the other person carries after you have explored yours to the full. It is through bilingual educational systems that creativity is natured and preparedness to face Life. Critical thinking is too brought into the sight to boost how the bilingual educational students systems are different from the single language ones.
Works cited
Collier, Virginia & Thomas, Wayne. A National Survey of School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students’ Long-Term Academic Achievement. Santa Cruz: Crede. 2002. Print.
Crawford, James. Bilingual Education: History, Politics, Theory, and Practice Los Angeles: Bilingual Educational Services.1991.
Virginia, Mueller. Bilingual Education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism Vol. 13(5), 2010.print.