Waltham Forest Bilingual Group - Guest speaker Colin Baker

Colin Baker who is the Professor of Education at Bangor University, is the author of a number of books including : A Parent and Teachers Guide to Bilingualism, Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education and B is for Papillon, Biliteracy in the home. Although an academic, Colin Baker is clearly committed to practical aspects of how to make bilingualism work in the family and at school.

Colin set out 10 advantages of bilingualism – he indicated that it takes quite some energy, commitment and perseverance to raise children bilingually and that reminding yourself of the advantages when things don't seem to be going well can help you to keep going. The balance of scientific evidence shows that each of the 10 advantages below is true – with the exception of no 4, which has not been researched enough. There is more detail on each of these points in his book "A Parent and Teachers Guide to Bilingualism".

Communication advantages

Wider communication – bilinguals can communicate with extended family, community, international links. Bilinguals may also be bridge builders between different language communities.
Biliteracy – gives knowledge of different world views and values

Cultural advantages

Broader enculturation, "deep multiculturalism" and two language worlds of experience; two windows on the world !
Greater tolerance and less racism? It seems likely that bilinguals would be more tolerant of difference and diversity and less likely to be racist but this is yet to be scientifically tested.

Cognitive advantages

In tests that measure creative thinking or divergent thinking (e.g. imagine you have a brick/tin can/cardboard box – how many ways could you use it?) bilinguals regularly score higher i.e. they think of more uses than monolinguals. (Most tests do not measure this i.e. IQ measures convergent thinking when there is only one right answer). Bilinguals seem to think more freely, more elaborately and more creatively.
Curriculum advantages
Increased curriculum achievement – bilingual children do better at school – this may result from multiple factors e.g. higher self esteem, creative thinking, a wider worldview. Also possible if homework discussed with a parent in another language may lead to deeper understanding of content as opposed to reciting. NB The child needs two fairly well developed languages not just a passive knowledge before this is true. Studies have found this result in Canada, Finland, and Spain.
Bilinguals find it easier to learn a third language than monolinguals find it to learn a second language – two thirds of studies show this result, the other third could find no difference. It is not yet known why this should be – it could be down to higher confidence.

Cash advantages

Economic and employment. Value addedness of bilingualism. Studies show that bilinguals earn more on average in the US and more recently in the UK. As companies become more and more international there is a need for bilinguals in media, sales, marketing, customer services.
Although children may resist one language, by the time that they are young adults almost without exception they are extremely grateful to have two (or more) languages. The short term struggle is worth it in the long term.

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