Another Benefit of Bilingual Education

I often find myself reading many articles and research addressing the benefits of being bilingual. Today one of the weekly newsletters I read included the article titled Bilinguals Single Out Second Language While Reading. The article focuses on “a new study in Cognition that shows that bilinguals who are highly proficient in their second language can not only overcome those difficulties but can thrive in their second language and engage in reading strategies just like their monolingual peers.”

This is a great example of why learning a second language is so important for children at an early age. The ability to activate and in-activate strategies while reading or problem-solving gives bilinguals an advantage when problem-solving. I’ll also add that just being exposed to other languages gives bilinguals the advantage of learning new cultures that expand available resources. I often experience this when I am trying to solve situations as an educational leader. I tend to think back and search for ways and ideas within my brain that can solve a situation that may arise.

There have been plenty of times where people have said to me, wao how did you come up with that? and I will often say is my bilingual brain… but is not just my bilingual brain, it is my experience growing up in a different culture that I think has given me an advantage as an individual. Including what I experienced and learned when I had to transition into the american culture learning English as a second language and what I have learned working with other cultures of such a diverse population.

Why not give younger children this exposure knowing it would only benefit them in the long run? Many other perks come with being bilingual, and as the article Bilinguals Single Out Second Language While Reading mentions, being able to engage in reading strategies in multiple languages is just one more quality to add.