Bilingual is the ability of speaking by using two languages which is mostly the mother

tongue of the speaker and the world wide use language like English.

Both articles read is a very good article, however, there is something lack about it. Both
articles did not provide the step on how to raise the bilingual children as it is very important for
the parents to plan their daily life in the track of making their son and daughter as a bilingual
children. The parents can organize playtime with their kids who speak the same minority
language. Moreover, parents can also organize visits to or from speakers of the minority
language. If it’s possible to do it as, visiting countries where people speak minority language
always boosts children’s interest in the culture and ability to speak the language. Then, read
and tell stories in the native language, and encourage the child to join in. Use dress-ups and be
creative. Plus, parents can also play games in the native language – for example, ‘I spy’, bingo
or memory or even sing songs, dance and play music in the language. Children love music, and
melody is a great way to help them remember things. Go to the library and borrow CDs, DVDs,
picture books, junior fiction and magazines in the first language. Listen to radio programs in your
first language, including popular music programs and channels for teenagers. Think about what
make child is interested in for example, soccer, music, TV shows, cooking and so on. Try
incorporating the native language into these interests. For example, find the child’s favourite
recipe or a typical recipe from the community and cook it together using only the native
language. Stick with the language choice, and give the child plenty of opportunities to listen to
and speak this language. Look out for cultural activities that the parents and them child can do
together, to tap into the family’s cultural heritage and identity.

However, this article is good not only for the children, but also for the family and
community. Speaking more than one language for the children may help them to achieve better
academic results. This is because bilingual children can often concentrate better, have better
analytical skills and are better at multitasking increased sense of self-worth, identity and
belonging. This includes feeling good about cultural heritage and minority language, feeling
confident about communicating and connecting with extended family members, and being able
to enjoy art, music, movies and literature in more than one language. The children also can
benefit from diverse career opportunities later in life.

Besides, for the family, developing the native language in the children can improves
communication among the family members thus, makes it is easier for the parents and the
children to be part of the culture. Next, it is also boosts the family’s sense of cultural identity and
belonging. For the wider community, when children speak more than two languages, it means
that everyone in the community gets a better appreciation of different languages and cultures.
Furthermore, children can more easily travel and work in different countries and cultures in the
future when they start to understand and appreciate the different cultures.

Cognitive ability, involves brain activity and flexibility at it relates to mathematics, problem
solving, logic and memory. Unprepared Latino students in English-only classes can experience
stunted cognitive ability growth. “Solving math problems is a great example of one way to
employ the flexibility thinking skills because you have to think about different ways you might
solve a problem, in the same way if you’re growing up in a bilingual household you need to think
of different words,” Lytle said. “And if you can’t activate a word in one language, you need to
think of a different way to describe the word.” Some research suggests that students who
receive second language instruction are more creative and better at solving complex problems
than those who do not (Bamford and Mizokawa, 2010). Other studies suggest that persons with
full proficiency in more than one language (bilinguals) outperform similar monolingual persons
on both verbal and nonverbal tests of intelligence, which raises the question of whether ability
inmore than one language enables individuals to achieve greater intellectual flexibility (Bruck,
Lambert, and Tucker, 2011; Hakuta, 2008}

Next, parents and educators sometimes express concern that learning a second
language will have a detrimental effect on students’ reading and verbal abilities in English.
However, several studies suggest the opposite. For example, a recent study of the reading
ability of 134 four and five-year-old children found that bilingual children understood better than
monolingual children the general symbolic representation of print (Bialystok, 1997). This is
because, living in this modern world, the children need to be equipped with everything as they
can survive and will be able to stand on his or her own foot.

As a conclusion, bilingualism is not a new thing, but it is a crucial for everybody as

nowadays is the challenging world that no-one can help you to stand forever unless the person
itself. Thus, the ways on how to raise bilingual children together with the benefits can be used
as a guide to build bilingualism nation.
Rujukan:

Bamford, K. W., and D. T. Mizokawa. 2010. “Additive-Bilingual (Immersion) Education:

Cognitive and Language Development.” Language Learning 41 (3): 413–429.

Bialystok, E. 1997. “Effects of Bilingualism and Biliteracy on Children’s Emergent Concepts of

Print.” Developmental Psychology 30 (3): 429–440.

Brickman, W. W. 1988. “The Multilingual Development of the Gifted.” Roeper Review< 10 (4):
247–250.

Bruck, M., W. E. Lambert, and R. Tucker. 2011. “Bilingual Schooling Through the Elementary
Grades: The St. Lambert Project at Grade Seven.” Language Learning 24 (2): 183–204.

Curtain, H., and C. A. Pesola. 1994. Languages and Children: Making the Match. Second
edition. White Plains, NY: Longman. Curtiss, S. (speaker). 1995.

Hakuta, K. 2008. Cognitive Development of Bilingual Children. Los Angeles: University of

California, Center for Language Education and Research. ERIC Document Reproduction
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Rafferty, E. A. 1986. Second Language Study and Basic Skills in Louisiana. Baton Rouge, LA:
Louisiana State Department of Education. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED
283 360.

Schneider, E. 1996. “Teaching Foreign Languages to At-Risk Learners.” ERIC Digest.

Washington, DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. ERIC Document
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Simon, B. R. (2012). Bilingual Education. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Bilingual-

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YUDHIJIT, B. (2012). Why Bilinguals Are Smarter? Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/opinion/sunday/the-benefits-of-
bilingualism.html?_r=0