Bilingualism

Bilingualism and Learning

L.S. Verplaetse, E. Schmitt, in International Encyclopedia of Education (Third Edition), 2010
Bilingualism is defined as a speaker's ability to use two languages for communication. Due to the complexity of its nature, the study of bilingualism relies on several fields within linguistics, anthropology, psychology, neuroscience, and education. The study of bilingualism describes language behaviors of bilingual speakers, social and pragmatic patterns of using two languages, language development, and acquisition and loss, among other issues. Researchers attempt to explain the effect that bilingualism has on human cognition, societal relationships, and education of bilingual children. This article discusses bilingualism and learning from three perspectives: types of bilingualism, bilingual processing, and bilingualism and academic learning.

Bilingualism and Second Language Learning

T.K. Bhatia, in Encyclopedia of Language & Linguistics (Second Edition), 2006

Effects of Bilingualism

Does bilingualism have an adverse linguistic and cognitive effect, particularly on children? Earlier research in the United States pointed out that exposing children to more than one language during their childhood leads them to semi-bilingualism and confusion. Crowding their brain with two or more languages, this research suggested, not only leads children to linguistic deficiency, both in competence and performance levels (semi-lingualism, stuttering, etc.), but also to a wide variety of cognitive and psychological impairments such as low intelligence, mental retardation, left-handedness, and even schizophrenia.
Research by Peal and Lambert (1962), however, put to rest such a negative view of bilingualism: their findings and the work of succeeding researchers provide ample evidence that these negative conclusions of earlier research were premature, misguided (biased toward immigrant communities), and unnecessarily pessimistic. Solid on methodological grounds, Peal and Lambert's study revealed a positive view of bilingualism, including the conclusion that bilingual children demonstrate more cognitive flexibility than monolinguals. Contrary to previous studies, bilinguals performed better than monolinguals in both verbal and non-verbal measures. The study, which was conducted in Montreal, was revolutionary in its own right, changing the face of research on bilingualism forever (see Hakuta, 1985: Chap. 2 for details). This study has been replicated in a number of countries confirming the positive effects of bilingualism.