Ahead of the Pack: How Becoming Bilingual Now Can Leap your Child Ahead of Their Peers
Does a bilingual student stand out in class? A huge number of studies conducted around the world have confirmed that yes, a bilingual student possesses significantly higher mental stamina as compared to their monolingual peers.
Here’s a closer look at some of the findings about bilingual students and their keys to success.
They Navigate Noise
A bilingual brain has practice switching from one set of words to another. This mental side-step helps students beyond Spanish class, it improves their focus in big, noisy classrooms. They also focus without strain as their brain knows to filter out background voices or the sound of traffic outside the window.
This ability extends to understanding a completely new language. BBC.com reported on a Greek language test given to eight year-old students that students who spoke a second language, (not Greek), were able to apply their additional linguistic knowledge to the test and guess correctly more often than their peers.
They Stay in School
Several studies have looked at how bilingual students perform throughout their academic careers. Their goal was to see if the students stayed in school and why they might choose to continue their studies despite some hardships.
What they found was that a second language was a huge self esteem boost for a lot of their subjects. It also helped them develop a sense of cohesion; these students felt closer to their Spanish-speaking relatives or a group of friends who spoke Spanish with them on the playground. They dreamed more as they felt lofty goals were in fact attainable ones.
This was a major discovery as high school dropouts are more likely to experience difficulties with jobs and earning money after leaving their studies behind. A second language helps a student see the finish line and feel it’s worth crossing.
They Earn More
It can’t be overstated how badly the job market needs bilingual workers. Many companies want people who have a good understanding of English and Spanish and reward bilingual workers with higher wages.
A study conducted by Rubén G. Rumbaut of the University of California stated, “..fluent bilinguals still are seen to earn $2,234 more than English monolinguals.” He also looked at how gender and overall grade point averages earned in universities changed the numbers, but found bilinguals at the top no matter what. You can read the whole study, English Plus: Exploring the Socioeconomic Benefits of Bilingualism in Southern California, here.
They Have Better Spatial Reasoning
To speak more than one language is to ask one’s brain to do a constant workout. Even when a bilingual speaker isn’t using their second language, they have more mental stimulation than a monolingual. Like a bodybuilder who spends hours in the gym each day, a bilingual’s brain becomes more agile thanks to this constant mental workout.
The heavy lifting takes place for a lot of students when it’s time to do geometry, paint a picture or manage a space. However, bilinguals have quicker, stronger mental power that helps them navigate subjects beyond Spanish.
This study, (previewed here), looked at how well bilinguals could mentally picture a problem and then solve it. Unsurprisingly, the students with all that mental exercise did much better than those who focused on one language only.
Increased mental ability also crosses into help with science, creative thinking and arithmetic.
Overall Intelligence
Scientists do these studies to demonstrate one main point – a brain that works harder is stronger and more prepared for any challenge that comes along. Students who push themselves to learn Spanish have mental muscles that make them feel able, strong and secure in their abilities.
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