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Essay / Research paper on the benefits of bilingual education as an educational approach
Technological advances, increased mobility and globalization have facilitated the development of multiculturalism across the world, but some deep-rooted cultures persist this day. Indeed, many countries have retained an official language, but their inhabitants may have different first languages, or what are commonly called mother tongues. However, people are expected to strive to become global citizens through which they acquire highly developed cultural intelligence. Indeed, cultural intelligence has been shown to facilitate the integration of people from diverse cultural backgrounds, thereby enabling them to engage effectively in global economic, social, and political activities. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay However, many schools continue to uphold official language culture by insisting that students be taught in a single language, which is believed not only to facilitate the assimilation of diverse people but also promotes uniformity between them. Thus, a widely held belief is that when school children are multilingual rather than monolingual, particularly in the language of instruction, they may suffer from language and mental development disorders, which would lead to poor academic performance. The ensuing discussion argues for bilingual education as an educational approach that would actually improve academic performance. Thus, an argument for the beneficial effects of long mother tongue and official language proficiency among school children will have to be put forward, hoping that misconceptions regarding the harmful effects of using more than one language teaching at school will be dissipated. Dominant cultures of the world such as English, French, German, and Chinese, among others, have dominated the languages of instruction in the educational institutions of their countries and the countries they colonized. For example, the United Kingdom and all other countries formerly colonized by the British, including countries such as the United States, Australia and many African countries, employ English as their official language and therefore as the language of teaching in their schools and colleges. So, students in schools in these countries are not only taught in English, but they are also expected to take tests and exams in English and even use English in their workplace once they graduate. The idea behind monolingual culture is that it facilitated the development of cultural uniformity by eradicating ethnicity, which helped colonial masters better govern their colonies. In fact, in countries where cultural diversity was significant, students would be taught in their native language from the earliest stages of primary school, while gradually being weaned to English, the official language. However, over time, children in these countries learn English at higher levels. the start of schooling, with their indigenous languages relegated to home and interactions outside of school. Indeed, the transitional bilingual education model was anchored in this concept. The rationale for adopting English in school was that certain subjects, such as mathematics and science, could not be taught effectively in any other language. However, with advances in the understanding of learning processes, bilingual education has become recognized as a facilitator oflearning process in children and can actually help in the learning and understanding of math and science concepts. It should therefore not be considered negatively that a child born and raised in only one language would be disadvantaged at school if the use of the mother tongue was perpetuated throughout the learning process alongside the official language. This is indeed a dominant belief among immigrants who may not be aware of the benefits of bilingual education. Cross-linguistic transfer theory has helped design school programs that help students reap the benefits of mastering two languages, resulting in improved learning outcomes. Specifically, the theory suggests that when learning two languages, the transfer of language skills occurs simultaneously rather than sequentially and remains an ongoing process throughout the learning experience. Thus, when children proficient in a native language undergo a learning experience in a second language while learning the second language, the learning process becomes enriched, facilitating the learning of new concepts when both languages are used to teaching. For example, a Spanish-speaking learner taking courses in English while learning content in parallel, using both languages simultaneously can make the content easier to understand. Indeed, this conceptualization has led to the development of bilingual educational programs that have proven to be more effective in improving the learning process than programs that first teach the second language and then use that language to learn new content. Two operational bilingual educational models in use today include two-way bilingual education programs also known as bilingual immersion bilingual education programs and bilingual programs. The two-way bilingual education program begins with using more of the more familiar language during instruction while developing proficiency in another language. However, over time, as proficiency in the second language develops, school education progresses toward the equal use of both languages. However, the bilingual program uses two different languages for teaching in different aspects of the educational process, which allows the use of two different learning approaches. Bilingual education offers more advantages than monolingual education. For example, bilingual children had higher cognitive abilities and academic achievement than monolingual children. Indeed, Lauchlan, Parisi, and Fadda (2013) were able to show that bilingual Scottish children performed better than Sardinian bilingual children because the Scottish children received formal bilingual language while the Sardinian children used one of the languages to the house. Additionally, bilingual education has also helped children develop their language skills faster. Additionally, bilingual education not only helped children maintain their diverse cultural identities, but also helped them better understand the cultures of others, a relevant condition for the development of cultural intelligence and appreciation of multiculturalism . Bilingual education has made parents more involved in their children's learning process. . Indeed, parental involvement in the learning process was relevant because it motivates children to pursue higher education. Indeed, for young children, parental involvement has helped children in the learning process at home in addition to helping teachers and the school meet..