Discussing a topic on bilingualism is very interesting, as defining what it means can be problematic. Bilingualism also raises some controversial issues lately in several countries. Before discussing further about a part of bilingualism, it seems to be better to limit what bilingualism is. According to Weinreich (1968) in Hoffmann (1991), bilingualism is “the practice of alternately using two languages”. Additionally, Bloomfield (1933) in Hoffmann (1991) defines bilingualism is result of not losing the native language when a perfect foreign language is learned, so the state is native like control of two languages. So, bilingualism can be defined as ability in communicating two languages and possess native like control of the two languages. …show more content…
On one hand, in early bilingualism, the child acquires two languages naturally as a means of expression, communication, and social contact. On the other hand, late bilingualism could be a result of second language learning and natural or artificial kind. In relation to these bilingualisms, there is a belief that early bilingualism is better than late bilingualism. However, actually, both early and late bilingualism have their advantages and disadvantages which are going to be reviewed in the next …show more content…
Bak and Alladi (2014) in Bak, Mendoza, and Sorace (2014) state bilingualism influences cognitive aging and dementia. Kroll and De Groot (1997) in Bak, Mendoza, and Sorace (2014) also add bilinguals have great cognitive flexibility as people choose to produce language quickly and appropriately from their common conceptual store, which contains a large number of words and concepts mappings. Cognitive processing of bilinguals might be affected by the age of second language acquisition as
The definition of bilingualism is fluency in or use of two languages. Martín Espada is the author of the essay “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School” which is about the act of Spanish being a forbidden language in a school full of multicultural children. In the essay, his main argument is the idea that the language of Spanish, or Bilingualism as a whole is interpreted as a burden for a young immigrant. Another author named Richard Rodriguez wrote about his struggle to juggle between his 2 languages, his public language (English) and his private
The timeliness of the article is recent, it was published in 2014. The authors are reliable, both Bialystok and Craik have degrees in psychology, as well as conducted some of this research themselves. This article proves its truthfulness with citing where they received some of their information about advances of bilingualism. The purpose of this article is to educate the scientific audience that there is evidence of bilingualism being a benefit on our
Adults who attempt to learn a new language can understand the logic of the new language but can’t fully master jargons, diction, and exceptions to grammar rules. Researchers discovered that when adults mastered two languages in childhood, both languages were located in the same areas of the brain with no influence on the cortex. Bilingual adults keep the two languages unconnected, starting one and temporarily stopping the other when speaking to an individual who only speaks one
In his essay about being a bilingual student, Richard Rodriguez makes the claim that a family’s language is intimate. As an intimate language it is unfit for use in school or in public and that attempts to do so demonstrate a misunderstanding of the purposes of school and the intimacy of a family’s language. To create this argument, Rodriguez recounts numerous parts of his childhood to serve as examples to support his claim. Rodriguez uses some of his examples to state that English is a public language. In one segment of his essay, he explicitly says that English is the language of society when he says “for it is now the sound that of my society,” (Rodriguez 12) his society being Americans.
Language forms a part of culture and identity. Bilingualism is the right to speak multiple languages. Part of bilingualism is keeping and developing a passion for language. In the essay “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” Martín Espada suggests the definition of bilingualism and the importance of keeping it. Espada understands the difficulty of continuing to speak Spanish.
Most individuals are apprehensive about changes, but there may be no reason. Changes can bring benefits to those who experience them. In the essay “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood” Richard Rodriguez explores his life as a bilingual child. He discusses the many changes he experiences as he goes from being fluent in Spanish to being fluent in English. Rodriguez dissuades the reader against bilingual education which is the education of nonnative English speakers in their native language.
However, in order for one to truly understand the arguments made by the authors they must also understand the context behind these arguments; therefore, knowing how the individual authors’ definition of bilingualism lets the reader truly absorb what points they’re trying to make and why. In Espada’s essay, he defines bilingualism as a way for a person to remain in contact with their different cultural identities. There are many areas in the essay where the reader could interpret this definition from. However, the most significant piece of evidence appears at the beginning of the essay where Espada mentions his friend Jack Agueros’ analogy to describe his bilingualism “English and Spanish are like two dogs I love. English is an obedient dog.
If students begin their bilingual education as early as kindergarten, they are more likely to successfully acquire a second language. Children are like sponges and soak up information easily. Research conducted by Dr. Patricia Kuhl at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences at the University of Washington shows that by 8-12 months, if babies are exposed to a second language, they retain the ability to distinguish those foreign sounds. Moreover, through the age of 7 or 8, children are able to learn to speak a second language with fluent grammar and without an accent.
The outcomes of the research will be intended to increase understanding about bilingualism and used as an aid to parents to choose suitable school for the children and to students to decide which university to go to study. The research includes several different methods. This enable the data and information accumulated by one technique to be checked and affirmed by an alternate.
According to the researchers at the University of Washington’s Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, bilingual
A person who speaks more than one language is described as being bilingual. According to the United States Department of Education, “about 21% of school-age children speak a language other than English at home,” (Lowry, 2011). As Wayne Thomas and Virginia Collier describe in, “Two Languages are Better Than One,” children who come into school having a first language besides English, tend to struggle. Usually when a child struggles with a particular subject, they are taken out of the main classroom and brought somewhere for a remedial class. But according to Thomas and Collier, in order to help narrow the gap in comprehension, English learners and English speakers need to be kept together in order to be fully enriched in a successful learning
The ability to develop foreign language become reduces. Besides the age factor Experience and school environment as well as the teaching. They play an important role in the development of language skills. So the bilingual is necessary: using
Being bilingual has got many advantages. It has been debated that bilingualism has multiple advantages such as cognitive, cultural, academic benefits as well. Cognitive benefit reveals that being bilingual help to facilitate human brain. People who are bilingual have two language systems which are working simultaneously. These systems don’t create hindrance in individual’s performance and ensure brain’s functioning of both cognitive aspects (Bialystok, 1999).
The notion of bilingualism is frequently connected to the idea of code-switching since a person should have ability to speak using two or more than one variety. Researchers have made countless studies describing bilingualism as they create awareness in different ways. To begin with is Bloomfield (1933) who defined bilingualism as having the “native- like control of two languages”. However, Haugen (1953) pinpointed that bilingualism is the ability of a speaker to communicate and understand an additional variety. This is to mean that the concept of bilingualism exist only when an individual of a certain variety has the capability to communicate effectively in an additional variety.
Bilingualism is slowly becoming a popular “trend”. Those who are able to speak a second language at an advanced level and not only, are clearly considered by the society intellectually capable of great things. As a bilingual, the individual must not only know the grammar rules or achieve a high level in communication. He also has to study the cultural background of that specific language. Knowing a second language has a major impact on one’s life.