Week 4

Article:

“The Multiple Benefits of Learning Two Languages”

This article really resonated with me personally. As a child growing up with immigrant parents, the mentality at the time of speaking a different language was that it was unnecessary. If you made it to the United States you spoke English and there was no need to know any other language because you weren’t going back. Now 30 years later, we live in a world that looks much different than it did back then. Being bilingual is not just convenient but an asset for most employers. There is a reason our country does not have a set language. When I was a kid growing up in the suburbs I spoke two languages and English was actually a second language for me. My parents saw that at a certain age I was resisting my home language due to students making fun of me in class, but mainly seeing I was struggling to keep up with school as well as the other students. They made a difficult decision to have me stick with only English and unfortunately to this day I can only speak English.

California is supporting families with a different home language than English. In November, voters overwhelmingly supported Proposition 58, which is an initiative that gives students in California the opportunity to learn English and another language. California residents recognize the tremendous impact speaking more than one language can have towards a student’s education and well-being.

In this article, a study conducted by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, has backed the voter’s decision. This study shows that children that speak English and their home language benefit from enhanced cognitive skills. These children often do well academically as well. I very much believe this to be true as I think mastering two languages or more requires high intelligence, as well as constant diligence and discipline. The same discipline required to keep grades up in school. With this, California has designed a road map which will embrace the language and cultures of their children.

The past thought by educators and doctors that a second language may slow a student down is being disproven. Scientific evidence is showing that human capacity can learn two languages as easy as one, especially before kindergarten. This is an extremely progressive statement and I hope that California is paving the way for other states to follow the same trend. If you are interested in the ways in which California is planning to move forward please click on the link to the article and scroll down towards the last few paragraphs, where there is detailed information about their initiative.