Bilingual Education In The Classroom
Bilingual education is the process of teaching students using two languages. Schools are much more diverse than they were some years ago.
Educators can no longer expect the majority of students to be predominately English speaking. The numbers of black, brown, and other races are fast increasing.
The main purpose of bilingual education is to maintain the native language and culture while the children learn English.
Principles of second-language acquisition
- The student is an active party in acquiring language
- Language is best learned in a non-anxious environment
- The environment should focus on meaning rather than on form
- Language development is continuous
- The ability to use language often occur before being able to verbalize it
The ideal environment for bilingual learning
- An environment in which learners interest is on tasks and activities to help them learn
- An environment where the learner feels free to make mistakes
Importance of bilingual education
- It helps in solving complex global issues
- A lot of global issues arising, such as climatic change, cybersecurity, and social unrest which requires citizens from different countries to engage and effectively see to complex global issues
- It helps develop important cognitive skills
- It helps to develop important cognitive skills such as problem-solving, logic, critical thinking, and creativity. It helps to exercise the brain and makes you make use of the vocabulary you possess in each language
- It serves as a means of connection