29 Benefits of Bilingualism for Children

Everyone knows being a bilingual is a gift. Here we have gathered some scientific results. Enjoy!

  1. A child’s brain has a higher number of synapses (compared with an adult brain) and greater plasticity. This means children naturally can learn languages better than adults.
  2. A study which assessed math and language scores of 2 groups (1 group studied 30 minutes of Spanish for 1 semester and the other comparable group did not) found that the group which studied the foreign language for 1 semester had higher math and language scores at the school.
  3. A study which looked at the reading scores of average intelligence children concluded that there is a close relationship between studying a foreign language and better reading scores.
  4. According to the IQ test scores of 2 groups: immersion French class vs. regular class, immersion French class students had higher IQ scores (e.g. classifying dissimilar objects etc.)
  5. An analysis of the Louisiana State Basic skills Tests scores of 13200 3rd and 5th graders showed that students who took foreign languages classes did better in the English test.
  6. Bilingual babies are more perceptive to nonnative languages/easily discriminate different sounds
  7. Bilinguals can better deal with distractions
  8. Bilingual kids have better problem solving skills . Having more linguistic and cultural information enable bilinguals to look at different aspects of the problem.
  9. Bilingual kids can read better than their peers.
  10. Bilingual kids can understand more about any other culture
  11. Bilingual kids gain flexibility in acquiring any kind of new information
  12. Bilingual kids have the upper hand in a multicultural, multilingual, multi-ethnic world
  13.  Bilingual kids perform better in the situations that require multitasking
  14. Bilingualism delays dementia and Alzheimer’s
  15. Bilingualism helps kids become more creative (Bialystok, 2001): field independent thinking…
  16. Bilinguals can better understand other cultures and countries
  17. Bilinguals can easily interact with multinationals
  18. Bilinguals can effortlessly learn a 3rd language
  19. Bilinguals can have a better use of language creatively
  20. Bilinguals gain competitive advantage in future jobs
  21. Bilinguals have better memory when it comes to remembering language dependent words
  22. One in five Americans speak another language besides English at home. Two thirds of the world’s children are brought up bilingually.
  23. Only bilingual kids in immigrant families can understand the true heritage of their ancestors
  24. People who know more than one language are better at handling with conflict
  25. People who study languages in early age get better in creativity and divergent thinking
  26. Saunders (1998) found that students in the ESFL program of a high school in Georgia, scored higher on the Math portion of the e Iowa Test Of Basic Skills test
  27. Students who study a foreign language in elementary school have better communication skills, improved cognitive development and advance cultural awareness.
  28. Students who study another language get higher scores in college entrance exams
  29. Studying foreign languages increases SAT score. Cooper (1987) analyzed 23 metropolitan high schools in the south and found that student who studied any foreign language for at least 1 year in general had higher SAT scores.

SOURCES
1 Research Notes: Language Learning and the Developing Brain. (1996) Learning Languages, 1/2, 17.
2 Armstrong, P. W. and J. D. Rogers. (1997). Basic Skills Revisited: The Effects of Foreign Language Instruction on Reading, Math and Language Arts. Learning Languages, Spring, 20-31.
3 Garfinkel, A. and K. E. Tabor. (1991). Elementary School Foreign Languages and English Reading Achievement: A New View of the Relationship. Foreign Language Annals, 24/5, 375-382
4 Samuels, D. D. and R. J. Griffore (1979). The Plattsburgh French Language Immersion Program: Its Influence on Intelligence and Self-esteem. Language Learning, 29/1, 45-52.
5 Dumas, L. S. (1999). Learning a Second Language: Exposing Your Child to a New World of Words Boosts Her Brainpower, Vocabulary, and Self-Esteem. Child, February, 72, 74, 76-77.
6 http://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135043787/being-bilingual-may-boost-your-brain-power
7 Seven steps to raising a bilingual child. Naomi Steiner, Susan L. Hayes, Steven Parker, 2008
8 Kessler& Quinn, 1980,87, Hakuta, 1986
9 Seven steps to raising a bilingual child. Naomi Steiner, Susan L. Hayes, Steven Parker, 2008
10 Seven steps to raising a bilingual child. Naomi Steiner, Susan L. Hayes, Steven Parker, 2008
11
12 Seven steps to raising a bilingual child. Naomi Steiner, Susan L. Hayes, Steven Parker, 2008
13 http://www.frenchtribune.com/teneur/113581-bilingual-people-can-be-best-doing-multiple-tasks
14 http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn10954-bilingualism-delays-onset-of-dementia.html
15 Seven steps to raising a bilingual child. Naomi Steiner, Susan L. Hayes, Steven Parker, 2008
16 Seven steps to raising a bilingual child. Naomi Steiner, Susan L. Hayes, Steven Parker, 2008
17 Seven steps to raising a bilingual child. Naomi Steiner, Susan L. Hayes, Steven Parker, 2008
18 Seven steps to raising a bilingual child. Naomi Steiner, Susan L. Hayes, Steven Parker, 2008
19 Seven steps to raising a bilingual child. Naomi Steiner, Susan L. Hayes, Steven Parker, 2008
20 Marcos, K. M. (1998). Learning a Second Language: What Parents Need to Know. National PTA Magazine, August/September, 32-33.
21 Seven steps to raising a bilingual child. Naomi Steiner, Susan L. Hayes, Steven Parker, 2008
22 http://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135043787/being-bilingual-may-boost-your-brain-power
23 common sense 

24 http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-he-bilingual-brain-20110227,0,6215645.story

25 Marcos, K. M. (1998). Learning a Second Language: What Parents Need to Know. National PTA Magazine, August/September, 32-33.
26 Saunders, C. M. (1998). The Effect of the Study of a Foreign Language in the Elementary School on Scores on the Iowa Test Of Basic Skills and an Analysis of Student-participant Attitudes and Abilities. Unpublished dissertation, University of Georgia.
27 Marcos, K. M. (1998). Learning a Second Language: What Parents Need to Know. National PTA Magazine, August/September, 32-33.
28 College Board, 2003
29 Cooper, T. C. (1987). Foreign Language Study and SAT-Verbal Scores. The Modern Language Journal, 71/4, 381-387

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