THE GIFT OF BILINGUALISM, part 2 Effects of bilingualism in childhood and beyond

Introduction Understanding two languages, and often two cultures, gives bilinguals a broader perception of people and society: they are inherently more socially open and flexible and have a deep understanding that people do not always think alike. Alongside this practical advantage lies a neuro-cognitive one. Numerous studies have shown that bilinguals surpass monolinguals in cognitive […]

THE GIFT OF BILINGUALISM, part 1 Becoming Bilingual

Introduction (This section provides background information about language learning, skip a few paragraphs to  “How children become bilingual,” if you wish)   There is a small window of time in which a person can truly become a fluent native speaker of a language, and that is during childhood. Native speaker fluency means acquiring a language […]