advantages of a bilingual educationhave been discussed and researched for decades and are well documented. It has been shown that learning a second language, particularly from an early age, has a cognitive and academic benefit. Even if students have difficulties entering French immersion programs in the beginning, I see bilingual education as a precious gift that we can offer our children. Beside cognitive and academic benefit that have been proved by many researchers, economic advantages are also very important. Beside higher employment rates, bilingual advantages extend to individual income. We live in a very competitive world, where being able to speak another language is always an asset. In addition, in an increasingly globalized world where we become more inter-related, bilingual education offers so many opportunities. Bilingual education also gives the opportunity to discover another culture and expands your personal horizons. In my opinion, it is also a positive factor in social development (imagine how many new friends you can make if you speak one more language). Additionally, bilingual education builds a solid base, where learning a third language will be much easier and I can confirm it. Personally, despite all debates, I see more advantages in bilingual education. I believe that it is a precious gift that students will often appreciate after graduation.
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Luke van Schaik, Mizuki Hoshino, Joanne Barette, & Larisa AverkievaThe contributors/creators of this website are Primary/Junior Teacher Candidates at the University of Ottawa. ArchivesCategories |