Benefits of Language Immersion
Exciting new research from neuroscientists and psycholinguists on the impact of learning two languages during the infant-toddler years has highlighted the human brain’s extensive capacity to learn multiple languages, as well as the infant’s ability to separate out each language and to interpret contextual cues to know which language is appropriate in a given context.[i] There is wide scientific consensus that bilingual infants develop two separate but connected linguistic systems during the first year of life.[ii] We now know that infants have the innate capacity to learn two languages from birth and that this early dual language exposure does not delay development in either language. Recent research also suggests that the development of two languages benefits the brain through the development of greater brain tissue density in areas related to language, memory, and attention.[iii] Young children learning two languages also have more neural activity in the parts of the brain associated with language processing.[iv] This increased brain activity and neural density may have long-term positive effects on specific types of cognitive abilities, such as those that require focusing on the details of a task and knowing how language is structured and used.[v]
These studies have also demonstrated that knowing more than one language does not delay the acquisition of English or impede academic achievement in English when two languages are supported. Research on children who learn English after their home language has been established — usually around age three — has also shown that most young children are capable of adding a second language during the ages 3 through 8 and that this dual language ability confers long-term cognitive, cultural, and economic advantages.[vi] The multi-language approach is one of the few instructional methods that seem to benefit children, as measured by standardized achievement testing and positive reports from parents, teachers, and administrators.[vii]
Footnotes:
[i] Kuhl, P.K. Early language acquisition: cracking the speech code. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 5(11), (2004), 831843.
[ii] Genesee, F., J. Paradis, and M.B. Crago. Dual Language Development and Disorders: A Handbook on Bilingualism and Second Language Learning. Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing, 2004.
[iii] Mechelli, A., J.T. Crinion, U. Noppeney, J. O’Doherty, J. Ashburner, R. Frackowiak, & C.J. Price. “Structural Plasticity in the Bilingual Brain,” Nature, Vol. 431 (2004), 757.
[iv] Kovelman, I., S. Bakers, & L.A. Petitto. “Bilingual and Monolingual Brains Compared: An fMRI Study of a ‘Neurological Signature’ of Bilingualism.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, Atlanta, GA, October 2006.
[v] Bialystok, E., F.I.M. Craik, & J. Ryan. “Executive Control in a Modified Antisaccade Task: Effects of Aging and Bilingualism,” Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, Vol. 32, No. 6. (2006), 13411354.
[vi] Bialystok, E. Bilingualism in Development: Language, Literacy, and Cognition. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
Hakuta, K., Y.G. Butler, & D. Witt. How Long Does It Take English Learners to Attain Proficiency? 2000. http://lmri.ucsb.edu/publications/00_hakuta.pdf (accessed February 13, 2007).
[vii] Collier, V., & W.P. Thomas. Reforming education policies for English learners means better schools for all. The State Education Standard, 3(1), (2002), 3036. & Collier, V., & W.P. Thomas. The astounding effectiveness of dual language for all. NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 2:1 (Winter 2004), 120.
Thomas, W. A national study of school
Additional Research
Center for Applied Linguistics
- “What Parents Want to Know about Foreign Language Immersion Programs” (research from University of Minnesota) by Tara Fortune and Diane Tedick. Parents who are considering an immersion program for their child usually have many questions. This digest provides introductory responses to some of the questions most commonly posed by parents.
- “Raising Bilingual Children: Common Parental Concerns and Current Research” (research from Georgetown University) by Kendall King and Lyn Fogle. This digest reviews common parental concerns related to bilingual childrearing and shares the current science on bilingual child development.
Popular Press
“Does dual-immersion learning pay off in better test scores?” (An audio interview hosted by KPCC’s Larry Mantle) This public radio interview opens up a discussion about the pros and cons of language immersion. Be sure to check out KPCC’s entire series on dual-language immersion.
“Why Bilinguals Are Smarter” (New York Times) by Yudhijit Bhattacharjee. In recent years, scientists have begun to show that the advantages of bilingualism are even more fundamental than being able to converse with a wider range of people. Being bilingual, it turns out, makes you smarter. It can have a profound effect on your brain, improving cognitive skills not related to language and even shielding against dementia in old age.
“Hearing Bilingual: How Babies Sort Out Language” (New York Times) by Perri Klass, M.D. Once, experts feared that young children exposed to more than one language would suffer “language confusion,” which might delay their speech development. Today, parents often are urged to capitalize on that early knack for acquiring language.
“The Bilingual Advantage” (New York Times) by Claudia Dreifus. Among other benefits, the regular use of two languages appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease symptoms.
“Being Bilingual May Boost Your Brainpower” (NPR) by Gretchen Cuda-Kroen. Research suggests that the growing numbers of bilingual speakers may have an advantage that goes beyond communication: It turns out that being bilingual is also good for your brain.
“The Benefits of Multilingualism” (Multilingual Living) by Michal Paradowski. The advantages that multilinguals exhibit over monolinguals are not restricted to linguistic knowledge only, but extend outside the area of language. The substantial long-lived cognitive, social, personal, academic, and professional benefits of enrichment bilingual contexts have been well documented.
“K-8 foreign language demand up” (San Francisco Chronicle) by Jessica Kwong.
“Language Immersion Programs” (PBS) by Britton Redbord and Rachel Sachetti. Children are often able to acquire a foreign language much easier and faster if they begin their course of study at an early age and some research also show that learning a second language at an early age has a positive effect on intellectual growth and leaves students with more flexibility in thinking, greater sensitivity to language, and improved listening skills.
“Learning Languages ‘Boosts Brain’” (BBC). Learning a second language “boosts” brain-power, scientists believe.
“Bilingualism good for the brain, researchers say” (Los Angeles Times) by Amina Khan. The skill helps improve multitasking and prioritizing, and helps ward off early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, experts say.
“The Astounding Effectiveness of Dual Language Education for All” (research from George Mason University) by Virginia Collier and Wayne Thomas. This is a research report and a wake up call to the field of bilingual education.