Advocating for Emergent Bilinguals Ava De Jonge

What are the advantages of my child becoming bilingual?

Both children and adults can significantly benefit from becoming bilingual in various manners.
The first in which is communication advantages. Meaning, the bilingual individual can better
communicate with a greater scope, such as speaking with extended family, employment,
international opportunities, and the community. Through this aspect, the individual can create
and reinforce strong connections with individuals due to bilingualism. Without linguistic
proficiency, the individual may not make as great of connections due to language barriers.
Secondly, communication advantages allow for literacy in two languages. This ability opens
many doors in terms of education and career abilities. In writing and reading in two languages,
the individual can have greater access to resources to further their knowledge and contribute to
the development of global resources. The second advantage of becoming bilingual is the cultural
aspect. Bilingualism in connection to culture allows for a broader sense of enculturation,
meaning that the individual can understand surrounding culturally influenced dynamics, values,
norms, and global perspectives. The individual will also have a deeper and greater understanding
of multiculturalism to understand the many experiences within our world. By doing so, the
individual has the advantage of identity development. This advantage allows for increased self-
esteem, security within identity, and the development of multiple identities. This advantage is
significant because the bilingual individual will be learning cultural and linguistic differences
among the individuals within the bilingual program and the target language within the school. By
doing so, the individual will experiment with their morals and values to formulate a greater sense
of identity with the added influence of a global perspective, which allows for influential
relationships to flourish. The fourth advantage of bilingualism is cognitive benefits. These
benefits include creativity, flexible thinking, better memory, and so on. These cognitive benefits
within bilingualism become accessible due to the cognitive load associated with becoming
bilingual. Becoming bilingual holds many advantages, to which they should all be considered
when embarking on the journey to becoming bilingual. There are many resources on the internet
and in books that discuss the advantages of becoming bilingual, on being a book called A
Parents’ and Teachers’ Guide to Bilingualism written by Colin Baker.
Advocating for Emergent Bilinguals Ava De Jonge

I’m a one-parent family. How can I raise my child bilingually?/ Neither of us speaks a
second language. How can we help our child become bilingual?
Regardless of a single-parent home or if neither of the guardians in the home speaks a second
language, bilingualism is attainable. The first thing that must be addressed is that two languages
can be implemented within the home without the support of a native speaker. There are many
resources the guardian(s) can access, such as bilingual books, videos, tv shows, community
centers, and so on. By implementing such resources, raising and supporting a child’s bilingual
journey is more accessabile. The second thing that should be considered is what type of
schooling and exposure to bilingualism the child receives. Enrolling the child into a bilingual
program and daycare that allows for an immersive experience can support bilingualism. Also,
within bilingual exposure, communities can be formed to allow for support. Guardians can come
together to create resources and ideas for support to enhance the immersive experience in which
the children are exposed. This also allows the children to use their language and resources
outside of school as well. Regardless of what a household looks like and what language is
spoken, bilingualism is attainable via the implementation resources and enrollment within
immersion experiences. Through these implementations, the guardian(s) can form communities
to gain greater support of the journey towards bilingualism.

My children can speak two languages. How can I help them belong to two cultures?
When discussing bilingualism, it is essential to discuss biculturalism. Frequently, when speaking
two languages, there must be the identification of two separate cultures. However, if we alter the
thinking to amplify the diversities within the two cultures to create one identity, it allows for a
greater sense of multiculturalism. Both cultures can come together to nurture an identity for an
individual, using both cultures to influence morals and values. So when identifying ways to aid
children to develop their identity using both cultures, there are many ways to support an
individual. The first is to have an open conversation about how two cultures can form one
identity rather than have two separate identities with two distinct cultures. It is also crucial that
both cultures at hand both have a value and importance within our world, community, and for
that individual. As guardians (s), allow the child to share their cultural understanding with others,
including yourself. Creating communities with similar identities can also reinforce the
importance of biculturalism over having two separate cultures. Participating within the
Advocating for Emergent Bilinguals Ava De Jonge

communities where both identities are valued can allow for more significant identity
reinforcement and support similar identities. Overall, the idea surrounding two separate cultures
creates a division within an individual. However, within a plural society, the mixing of cultures
to form one identity allows for a greater sense of self and respect for the cultures at hand,
deepening the idea of biculturalism.

Will bilingualism have an effect on my child’s intelligence?

In the past, bilingualism had a direct correlation to lower intelligence. However, through the
identification of proper examination, the ideology of lower intelligence is incorrect and
inaccurate. With more accurate and up-to-date analysis, it is identified that bilingualism has
many benefits, such as cognitive development. With the cognitive development benefits from
bilingualism, students can perform better within the school. This idea is also reflected in exams
of all kinds. The cognitive load demanded by schools and exams is similar to the cognitive load
necessary to succeed with bilingualism. Therefore, bilingual students are better prepared to take
exams and perform in school, resulting in higher achievement. However, to achieve said
cognitive benefits, the child must have age-appropriate competencies in both languages to
receive the full benefits.

My child mixes the two languages. What should I do?

Mixing languages is super normal. It requires a high level of cognitive load to use both
languages when referring to one conversation or context with success. When looking at the
mixing of two languages, we must consider what type of strategy is used to mix both languages.
For example, there is translanguaging, transference, code-mixing/code-switching, and
interference. Language mixing can occur for various reasons, such as accepting language mixing
and language experiences both quality and quantity. It is crucial to break down all stigma
surrounding the mixing of language because the mixing of language is a language in itself and a
factor in the developmental process of language. When providing support, the guardian(s) could
set boundaries for when the language is used, such as reading time is dedicated to the L2 and
dinner time is devoted to the L1. However, it is vital to allow the child to use both languages in
various situations. This is crucial because if the child only knows how to use a language in a
social setting, the ability to succeed in an academic environment will be challenging. Therefore,
Advocating for Emergent Bilinguals Ava De Jonge

support and challenge of both languages are necessary, along with the destigmatization of mixing
language.