English-Only Teaching Ignores Bilingual Benefits

Bilingualism helps in many ways, yet most states are teaching English only classes. You have to know your language well in order to completely learn another language, so this report makes good sense.    - - Donna Poisl

By ANDREA DYRNESS, The Hartford Courant

As a spate of new research shows, it's good to speak a second language.

Bilingualism, it turns out, is a lifetime benefit, and not just for traveling to other countries. The ability to use two or more languages promotes cognitive flexibility, improves attention processes and has been shown to delay the onset of Alzheimer's and dementia in old age.

The very bad news is that as this research comes to light, educational policy in U.S. schools is moving away from bilingualism. Since the late 1990s, a movement to restrict the use of languages other than English in instruction has gained ascendance, resulting in bans on bilingual instruction in three states so far — California, Arizona and Massachusetts — and the curtailing of bilingual education in many other states.
http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-op-bilingualism-makes-us-smarter-20120323,0,550496.story
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