5 reasons why bilingual education is important and should be incorporated into your school:
1. Studies in language development show that when young children have more exposure to all languages at an early age, it actually gives them a distinct academic advantage throughout life.
2. However, even children who learn their first Spanish words at the age of 5 can benefit from dual language curriculum. Learning is learning. The more that children can take advantage of new concepts, the more in tune their brains will be to all learning throughout life.
3. The children who come from English-speaking homes can lend their language expertise to friends from Spanish-speaking homes, and vice versa. Contemporary communication technology has eliminated many global barriers when it comes to socialization and even doing business.
4. Dual language programs show students a broader world-view, whatever the native language of the student, and lead to greater opportunities for collaborative learning.
5. It generally takes 5–7 years to be proficient in a second language. Second-generation Hispanic children raised in the United States usually learn to speak English very well by adulthood, even though three-quarters of their parents speak mostly Spanish and are not English proficient. However only 23 percent of first-generation immigrants from Spanish-speaking countries—those that began learning later in life, say they speak English very well. Pew Hispanic Center statistics have shown that 88 percent of the members of the second generation—those children that were introduced to English at an early age, described themselves as strong English speakers.
