Bi-, tri-, quadrupal language education would never do anything but help children. I work with second graders who are at least bi-lingual. Their parents have poor English skills but and I don’t speak Thai or Chinese or Tagalo. We talk all the time anyway because I can understand badly accented English easily. This comes from living in different countries and learning four languages before I was ten. My “ear” is trained linguistically. Our communication is about the children, of course, and they deeply appreciate a teacher that can speak to them in their first language or in any language. The children do not need to speak to me in Spanish or Thai.They are completely fluent in Engish. Their minds are agile and they quickly switch from language to language.
Language comes from a part of the brain that is it’s own. That part of the brain needs as much development as any other, as we know. Bi-lingual education is something everyone should have, especially in today’s global society.
Europeans routinely speak many languages. They are better educated than we are so, obviously, learning multiple languages didn’t hurt them.
The US education system is poor but removing language learning is not the answer. Hiring teachers who speak multiple languages is.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Bi-lingual, tri-lingual, or quad-lingal (?) Education
To The New York Times-March 11, 2009
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The earlier children learn another language or more the better. Studies have shown that as soon as a child reaches puberty, the ability to learn another language begins to diminish. We should be teaching foreign languages to all children beginning in kindergarten! The more languages you know, the easier it is to learn and additional one. NEVER should we eliminate foreign language from our curricula.
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