Myths & Realities for Native English Speakers
Myth:
Bilingualism results in language delay: children who learn two languages at once acquire speaking, reading, and writing skills more slowly than children who speak just one language.
Reality:
Language learning has a positive effect on intellectual growth and cognitive development, improving a child’s understanding of his/her native language.
Myth:
Students in immersion programs have poorer academic performance than their peers in conventional all-English classrooms.
Reality:
Students in language immersion programs learn to read, write, speak, and listen in English just as well or better as students in all-English programs. In addition, students who learn second languages tend to do better on standardized tests (like the SAT and the ACT) and in college.
Myth:
You can’t learn subjects like math and science in another language.
Reality:
Students learn new skills and knowledge just as effectively when these are taught in a second language. Immersion students perform at the same level in their academic subjects as students in conventional classrooms and content that is learned in one language will transfer to another, once the appropriate vocabulary is learned.
Myth:
Students who struggle academically in their first language will only fall further behind the pack if they’re in a language-immersion program.
Reality:
Studies have found that even students who struggle in their first language attain the same levels of achievement in English as similar students in all-English programs – and by acquiring functional competence in a second language, they increase their professional opportunities in the future.
Myth:
Immersion programs are traumatizing to elementary-school students – they’re too young to handle the shock of being immersed in a foreign language.
Reality:
Being bilingual allows a child to make new friends and interact with people he/she otherwise couldn’t. It expands students’ horizons and introduces them to cultures and traditions that aren’t their own – and students value this.
