Compulsory?
Compulsory means required by the rules.
That means everyone has to do it, even 7-9 year old children like you.
That means everyone has to do it, even 7-9 year old children like you.
Bilingualism?
Bilingualism means being able to talk in more than one language.More Questions?
You probably have questions like these:- Why should every child be required to learn more than one language?
- Does that help me?
- Can't I learn them when I am older?
- How do I help that happen for me?
Why be required to learn more?
The United States is a really big country and it has always believed it can do whatever it wants. Over time America has lost it's ability to keep up with the rest of the world. Most of the world does not speak English and it is time for America to catch up.
Does it help me?
Yes! There is a lot of good stuff that comes from learning two or more languages.- Our brains will work better.
- We will make better grades in school.
- We will make more money when we grow up.
- We will be able to keep up with everyone else in the world.
Can't I learn them when I am older?
Of course you can, but:
Children learn easily.
Children learn fast.
The ability to learn easy and fast goes away.
Studying it early helps you never forget it.
How do I help this happen?
Learning more than one language should not be such a weird idea in the United States. The solution is that every school, from preschool to college, start teaching another language, besides just English, every year. We do not do that right now so to start we have to change the rules.
Your job is to tell people you want the rules changed.
Tell your parents.
Tell your teachers.
Tell everybody.
Before you know it the rule will change and we will all
be able to speak to other people around the world.
Some really important people who helped me learn about bilingualism.
Brownlee, S. (1998, June 7). Baby talk. U.S. News & World Report, Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/usnews/culture/articles/980615/archive_004142.htm
Stewart, J. (2005). Foreign Language Study in Elementary Schools: Benefits and Implications for Achievement in Reading and Math. Early Childhood Education Journal, 33(1), 11-16.doi:10.1007/s10643-005-0015-5
Walker, C. (2004). Foreign language study important in elementary school. Unpublished manuscript, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, Retrieved from http://www.wfu.edu/wfunews/2004/062404r.html
