Page 396 - Tài Liệu Ôn Thi THPT Quốc Gia Môn Tiếng Anh

It was once thought that forcing a child to learn more than one language
could slow academic devolopment but according to Protessor Colin Baker, a
world expert on bilingualism, the effect is the opposite. The evidence is that
bi- and trilingualism actually increases mental capacity and that multilingual
children tend to do better at school. “Tho latest research shows that in
intelligence tests, children with two or more well developed languages have
higher scores,” he says. “Bilingual children have two or more words for
objects and ideas, so the links between words and concepts are looser,
allowing more íluent, ílexible and Creative thinking.” lie adds that children
learning languages young also tend to have more conhdence and better
general communication skills.
Proíessor Tony Cline is an educational psychologist specialising in language
development in children. He says, “We used to think [the brain] had a limited
capacity, like a milk bottle, and that it was impossible to pour two pints of milk
into a pint bottle. Now we undorstand that our brains are capable of making
an inhnite number of connections; there is no limit to what we can take in.”
He concedes that there might be minor disadvantages in having a bi- or
trilingual childhood: “The child sometimes applies the rules of one language to
another, and so makes mistakes - but these grammatical “errors” are soon
outgrovvn, as long as the child is exposed to good models of language.”
It seems that by giving your child the option of becoming multilingual,
you are offering them far more than just the acquisition of a foreign language.
That certainly seems to be the case for the Gray girls. AU three are getting top
grades at school and are literatc in three languages, Naomi has also
successhilly taken on German, where she is proof that bilingualism increases
language-learning aptitudc. Says Prof Clinc: “Multilingual children pick up
other languages quickly because they have a more ílexible approach and are
used to handling diíTerent forms of syntax, grammar and vocabulary.”

Jane thinks her daughters have gained more than just language; they
have also gained culturally. In fact, the girls are all enthusiastic about
Breton culture: Naomi does extracurricular Breton step dancing and loves
singing in Breton and attending dance evenings known as fest-noz while
Nina takes part in the Breton sport of Gouren, a form of Celtic wrestling.
Says Prof Baker: “Multilingual children gain the benefits of multiple sets of
literatures, traditions, ideas, ways of thinking and behaving.”
And, he stresses, if parents have the opportunity to give their child the
gift of another language, they should jump at it. Because in today’s global
marketplace, on top of all the above, multilinguals are far more employable
than monolinguals. “I find it a great shame that languages don’t have a
higher place in the classroom in the UK because English is a mainstream
language of business but, in the futurc, that is going to change.”

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