Bilingual Education: The Benefits Of Bilingual Education

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Bilingual Education

With all the people who travel the world today, there is a greater need for bilingual education than ever before. 40 % of the population is monolingual, speaks only one language, 43 % knows at least 2 languages, 13 % know at least 3 languages, and only 1 percent speaks 5 or more languages. These numbers have definitely grown over the years and will continue to grow. As the number of people who knew at least 2 languages was 11 % in 1980, 14 % in 1990 and now , in 2018 it is at 40 %. Children of linguistic minorities are the fastest growing part of the population of the United States. Between 1990 and 2000, the population of children belonging to linguistic minorities increased by 55 percent, while the population of …show more content…

However, multiple studies have shown that a bilingual child has advantages over the non-bilingual child. Studies have shown that young children who are bilingual are faster at solving problems and have fewer problems solving certain types of mental puzzles then do the children who know only one language. The knowledge of another language not only allows you to meet and talk with different people, but the evidence from many studies shows that bilinguals have improved the executive function of the brain, solving problems, and ignoring the distractions to stay focused. It also allows the person to better understand the different cultures and the way in which the people of those cultures think. Another benefit of being bilingual is getting a better job. Being bilingual is becoming a requirement for many jobs. It is becoming a requirement because of the number of people who move here and need medical care who do not speak English, but we still need to provide them with medical care. It also gives companies more customers when someone can help a person in their own language. However, the effort that the brain has to put into the management of knowledge of multiple languages leads to the cognitive advantages observed for bilinguals over monolinguals. Bilinguals have, on average, greater executive control, which means

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