Izilandria Alcorn

In the news

Complete APA citation of the resource:

Irish , T. (2020, February 26). Babies from bilingual homes ‘faster at switching attention
between tasks'. Retrieved March 1, 2020, from
https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/science/2020/02/26/news/babies-from-bilingual-homes-
faster-at-switching-attention-between-tasks--1852096/
Two – three-sentence summary of the issue/topic/idea:
According to new research, babies that come from bilingual homes are better at switching their
attention between tasks, in comparison to infants with a single language spoken. This is
because babies from bilingual homes have a more unpredictable environment, which makes it
more challenging to learn in. Babies in bilingual homes can adapt better in a complex
environment, vs. babies from a monolingual home. This also means that babies that come from
bilingual homes were exploring more of their environment as well as redirecting their attention
based on eye-tracking technology.
Connection to ELLs:
This is connected to ELLs because this gives me more insight into students that come from
bilingual homes. When focusing on ELL students, there are many stereotypes that ELLs learn
slower because English is their second language. However, based on new research proves that
ELL’s can actually switch their attention between tasks faster than students from a monolingual
home. Researchers are finding out whether this has long term development differences
between bilingual and monolingual homes. ELL teachers can use this information by gaining
more insight on students as well as understanding ELL learners come from a more complex
learning environment and embracing it, as well aa reflect on what is next for multicultural
education.
Question: What does this mean for future generations? How could this change the stigma of
ELL learners?