Is Bilingual Education Worth Implementing in Colombia?
Flora Lewis once said, “Learning another language is not only learning different words for the same things but learning another way to think about things". It is in this sense that we are able to understand in a clearer way that this is a process in which we broad our cognitive reasoning. Therefore, one can say that the implementation of bilingual education may represent an advantage not only for learners to acquire a second language but also for them to learn from it. Since this type of education may have problems for its implementation in countries where there is not a high sense of importance for bilingualism, it is fair to wonder is it worth implementing in a country such as Colombia? Nevertheless, given its positive impacts in learners’ cognitive processes such as improvement of memory, acquisition, and reinforcement of language skills, and development of wisdom and creativity, it should be a question to be considered carefully.
As mentioned above, bilingual education improves learners’ memory and attention. When students are exposed to new knowledge, concepts, and experiences, they develop better process capabilities. A study conducted at the University of Granada and the University of York in Toronto has revealed that bilingual children develop a better working memory than monolingual children do. Additionally, according to Sorace (as cited in Kamenetz, 2016) “Bilinguals can pay focused attention without being distracted and also improve in their ability to switch from one task to another”. However, there may be people who argue that learning specific content can be difficult, especially when there are not qualified teachers for teaching specific content through the target language, as it is the case of Colombia. Nevertheless, the use of both, first and second language may ease the learning processes when it turns hard. In this sense, the teacher can appeal to the first language to support some explanations; as Ellis (1985) points out, "the learners' first language is one vital determinant in the process of the second language learning".
As a second advantage, one can consider that bilingual education provides second language skills and, at the same time, it reinforces the ones of the first language. As the process of learning the first language works along with the process of learning a second, learners can link the two languages and in this sense make connections between them (Horst et al, as cited in Salmona, 2014). Therefore, they become aware of some aspects of their native language they did not know. On the other hand, the interference of the first language can be seen as a great problem because it may avoid the second language learning process from being as natural as the one for the native language. Nonetheless, the learners’ mother tongue can be a valuable contribution to the second language classroom. As Krashen and Terrell (1983) suggest, learners should draw upon their first language to fulfill the gaps in communication.
Finally, as a third argument, one can take into account that bilingual education encourages wisdom and creativity. A person who speaks more than one language has the capacity to find different solutions for a problem. Moore (2012) establishes in her study that “bilingualism can have demonstrable benefits not only in the language but in arithmetic, problem-solving and enabling children to think creatively”. In contrast, others may insist that bilingual education can hinder the learner’s ability to develop the skills that they need in other areas. In spite of that, learners who are prepared to adapt to the rapidly changing world will be much better equipped to face the problems of the future. In Bhattacharjee’s view, “speaking two languages rather than just one has obvious practical benefits in an increasingly globalized world” (2012).
Summing up, Bilingual education provides a range of advantages for learners. It not only involves acquiring a second language but also being able to function in two different languages and cultures. It provides the opportunity to enhance learners’ cognitive processes and the first language skills since some knowledge about the first language may be useful for the second language and vice versa. It also will prepare our learners to face the world and the problems of the future making use of a broader understanding of the world itself and the issues and circumstances. Even though bilingual education is a huge challenge, it is worth implementing in our Colombian classrooms.
References
Bhattacharjee, Y. (2012). Why Bilinguals Are Smarter. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-benefits-of-bilingualism.html?_r=0
Ellis, R. (1989). Understanding second language acquisition (Vol. 31). Oxford University Press.
Julia Morales, Alejandra Calvo, Ellen Bialystok. Working memory development in monolingual and bilingual children. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 2013; 114 (2): 187 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2012.09.002
Kamenetz, Anya. 6 Potential Brain Benefits Of Bilingual Education. nprEd How Learning Happens. 2016. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/11/29/497943749/6-potential-brain-benefits-of-bilingual-education
Krashen, S. D., & Terrell, T. D. (1983). The natural approach: Language acquisition in the classroom.
Moore, A. (2012). Bilingual Kids Better at Creative Thinking. Medical Daily. Retrieved from https://www.medicaldaily.com/bilingual-kids-better-creative-thinking-241752
Salmona, M. (2014). The Use of First Language in the Second-Language Classroom: A Support for Second Language Acquisition. Gist Education and
Learning Process Journal, 2014; pp. 50-66. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1062663.pdf
