A Review for Teachers and Other Early Education Program Providers
Learning more than one language is an asset to individuals, families, and our entire society. Early childhood teachers can share the benefits of bilingualism with families and their communities, find ways to support children’s home languages, and encourage families to keep their language strong. Developing the child’s home language provides the foundation for reading and writing, preparing children to be biliterate. Researchers have found many benefits to being bilingual and biliterate. Below are just a few!
LEARNING
School readiness and success for children who are dual or multi language learners is tied directly to mastery of their home language. Bilingual and multilingual children benefit academically from knowing more than one language in many ways. Because they are able to switch between languages, they develop more flexible approaches to thinking through problems. The ability to read and think in two (or more) different languages promotes hirer levels of abstract though, which is important in learning.