Dual-Language Immersion Programs

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Avatar of Steve Virgadamo.

Dual-Language Immersion Programs

Executive Vice President @ Bursari
New York, NY, USA
Originally published on SteveVirgadamo.org In today’s global economy, it is more important than ever to learn a second language. Not only do dual-language immersion programs benefit the non-native English speakers by allowing them a chance to learn in their native tongues, English speakers are gifted with the opportunity to pick up another language while continuing their education. This unique education model has demonstrated a host of benefits to all involved, but here are the top three advantages: GLOBAL COMMUNITY: Exposing children at a young age to cultures different than their own has immeasurable benefits that will follow them for the rest of their lives. As children develop friendships with kids of diverse backgrounds, they learn a greater understand and tolerance for people with different views. A healthy respect for the global community is also cultivated in dual language schools. In today’s shrinking world, this empathy and knowledge will take open-minded children further than their sheltered counterparts. BILINGUAL ACHIEVEMENT: The overriding reason that parents choose this educational model for their children is because they want them to learn a second language. Short of moving to another country, a dual-language immersion school is the fastest and most effective way to teach a child a new language. By graduation, most students are considered to be fluent in at least two languages, a life skill that will prove invaluable for the rest of their lives. Not only will learning two languages expand the worldview of the students, but it will also open up a myriad of additional job opportunities later on in life as they enter the workplace. HIGHER OVERALL ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Learning a new language provides a host of benefits outside of the basic new dialect skill. Dual-language immersion students achieve a higher level of metalinguistic awareness, enabling them to understand the basic workings of any language. This understanding can be applied to a variety of learning tasks and situations. Students in these type of programs also continually exhibit greater performance on problem-solving skills, pattern recognition, and other types of divergent thinking capabilities. Learning a second language helps to unlock different areas of the brain that lay dormant when learning in just one primary language. This benefit is seen in both the non-native speakers as well as the dominant language speakers.
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Published: Jun 14th 2019
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