Research shows that the early years of brain
development are of critical importance. “How early is early childhood?” The
answer is alarming. By age three, about 85 percent of the
wiring in children’s brains has already been formed.
So... The question is not “Is it too early to
start bilingual education?” anymore, because you can be late but never too
early!
Look at some
bilingual, even multilingual families which we have a lot especially in Dubai.
Mother is a native English speaker, father is French, grandmother is from Spain,
Germany or Italy… The children being in a natural bilingual family grow to
speak perfectly two or even three languages. Being in a natural bilingual
family, for sure, gives a lot of advantages for the children in a bilingual
academic life and later in life.
Advantages
of bilingual education
Being bilingual
leads to greater opportunities over all throughout life. Dual language programs
provide students a broader world-view, opportunity to integrate with different
cultures and equip them with great adaptation skills.
Research shows that
bilinguals score higher on tests involving creative thinking, abstract
reasoning skills and problem-solving.
Early reading skills
tend to come more easily to bilingual children. They develop a better
understanding of language usage.
Early bilingual
training increases a child’s ability to focus on mental tasks.
Children who start
second language in pre-school can benefit from dual language curriculum.
Some studies have
also found that the aging of the brain is slower.
Are there
really no disadvantages for the bilingual child?
Research backs me up
regarding the advantages of starting bilingual education in early years. When
we look at the other side, the personal experience walks the talk…
We are a Turkish
family moved to Dubai two years ago. My son was 6 years old back then and he
was coming from a Turkish education system with English as a foreign language. He
read at the age of 4 and started primary school at age 5. It was a shock for
the school administrations in Dubai that he already finished Grade 1 (Year 2), when
he was just 6 years old.
Being a family who
likes and seeks challenges and thanks to the amazing welcome and professionalism
of the Swiss Management, we selected Swiss International Scientific School of
Dubai and registered him for Grade 2 in the French-English bilingual program
two years ago. (He did not know a word in French back then.)
And comes the
learnings…
Learning a language
as a foreign language and using that language in an academic program are not
the same. It is like throwing your child who cannot swim to an ocean without a
life jacket and encourage him not to sunk.
Unfortunately, when
a child reaches the primary years, almost all of the brain wiring has been
completed and after the age of 3, new language acquisition does not come by
just being in the environment.
On the other hand,
you need to learn the language quickly and catch up with the academics. Here
comes the “Silent” or “Nonverbal” Period when a child is first exposed to a
second language. With the demands of the academic program this period can be even
longer than expected. You need to provide emotional support for your child and
extra support for the language.
The key is resilience! Being in and out, try and give it
a break, let’s wait and see approach does not help.
Studies say that advantages
of being in a bilingual system only become measurable in children with steady
and advanced development in two languages.
In our case it was a
brand new, truly multilingual setting. We always speak Turkish at home and
encourage him not to lose his proficiency in Turkish. On one hand being in a
Swiss School, in French-English bilingual stream with a vigorous academic
program, on the other hand six hours of Arabic have been quite challenging on
him and on the whole family as well. Fortunately, he loved the challenge and
his school.
Bilingual,
multilingual education requires strong dedication and commitment, but all the
hard work is worth it.
Children should play, children must play; why not
starting bilingual when they just play?...
This is the only
time just by being in the environment they can learn the language, before the
pressures of the academic life begin. I can see a living research center in our
school and I am fascinated by what I see.
You are never too
early to start being bilingual, but you may easily be late…
Hiç yorum yok:
Yorum Gönder