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What is Bilingualism?

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by Maxim H. (5 years old)

"First of all, it's a gift! A gift for the children, a gift for life. Probably one of the best gifts you can give your child. It will stay with your child for the rest of his or her life and will be of great use.
Let's have a look at what bilingualism is in the academic world...
There's a guy called Francois Grosjean who defines: "Bilingual are those, who use more than one language in their daily life, not only those who do so in perfect equivalent levels".

What is interesting about that?

Well, most people when you ask them what bilingualism is, they say "Well, someone who speaks two languages perfectly". And isn't it interesting that that's not at all what bilingualism is? It's actually about using the languages daily - two languages or more than that (which makes you multilingual).

It's about using languages, because another language is not something that you can put in a museum, it is something that you are meant to use to communicate. And if you do that daily that makes you bilingual." 
- from author of "Make Your Child Multilingual !: The 10 Step Success Plan to Raising Bilingual / Multilingual Children" and www.themlnetwork.com


Advantages

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"1. First of all, your kids get exposure to another culture. So rather than thinking there is only one way to everything, they stay open to possibilities. How fabulous is that? They know from the start that different people do things differently. And that's OK. It's not better, it's not worse, it's just different.

2. Bilingual children build bridges to new relationships because they have the capability: they can talk to diverse people, they build different sorts of relationships, and they can be the bridge between two kids who can't talk to each other - they can actually translate and help out.
3. There are also potential economic advantages, of course. Later in life when your child finishes school, with a second language he or she will be more in demand. We live in an ever smaller world where languages are the only barrier, distances are no longer. So if your child speaks a second or third one, there's a clear economic advantage.
4. Another advantage is the more flexible and divergent thinking. Researches actually show that kids who grow up with several languages think differently. They know from the start that there could be more than one word to one concept. So their mind stays more flexible and that often also led to the fact that bilingual children do at least as well in school as their monolingual counterparts, if not - and some studies have shown that - even better. Just because their flexible or more divergent thinking skills. Exiting, isn't it?
5. Finally, the self-identity of your child will be affected as well. How? Your child will see himself or herself as a language or culture bridge. It's not only that they just are this bridge, they are actually conscious about it! And that is even more than doing it. It is about who your child is, the self-image your child adopts. And that means that bilingualism actually affects the child, it's not just about communication, it's not just about functional benefits. It's actually about the personality, about who your child is. Beautiful. It increases, as a result, the self-esteem and the self-confidence." 
- from author of "Make Your Child Multilingual !: The 10 Step Success Plan to Raising Bilingual / Multilingual Children" and www.themlnetwork.com

Other Resources

Check out these articles and websites for more info on Bilingual Education(click links below):
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Great Book!


"Different languages state things in different ways, reflecting the culture in which each is spoken." - Peggy McCardle, a linguist at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development






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