Name: Srie Novita Winda

Nim : 20018035
Summary
Bilingualism, Intelligence, Transfer, and Learning Strategies

A. Varieties of Bilingualism

Most people define bilingualism as a person who is able to speak and understand two

languages, for example, Indonesian and English. If examined further, we take an

example in real life, we must have found people who understand a language (let's say

English). When they read writing in English they understand, but when asked to speak

they cannot. Another example, when someone can be fluent in a second language but

cannot write in that language. Such conditions can be categorized as bilingualism

because language can be obtained through various modalities; sound, sight, visual

motion. Then, we can say that someone is bilingualism if she or he knows; two

languages in the same modality, two languages based on different modalities.

B. Is bilingualism beneficial or detrimental?

Some people believe that if a second language is learned at an early age, it can be

harmful in two main respects: (1) the learning of the second language would retard or

negatively influence the learning of the native language, or (2) it would intellectually

retard the development of thinking and of such cognitive capacities as mathematics

and reading. Many states in the USA after the First World War banned the teaching of

a foreign language because the knowledge of that language was regarded as

potentially detrimental to young children's cultural values.

C. Effects of early bilingualism on first- language development and intelligence

1. Effects on first language development

conducted research at pre-schools in Iowa and then taught children in Hawaii. The

children at the pre-school in Iowa use English in their daily activities, they are

monolingualism, while the children in Hawaii are bilingual because they come

from various ethnicities, namely Korean, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Portuguese.

Smith observed every English utterance uttered by the two groups of children, and

the result was that children with bilingualism had more errors in their English

speech than children with monolingualism. So, Smith's conclusion that

bilingualism caused retardation in language development. However, Lambert and

his associates in Canada found positive results, the children were native English

speakers in the French immersion program, they learned a second language,

namely French, including reading and writing, the results showed that these

children had excellent abilities like children -Native French children and they

don't lose their first language, namely English. These children have excellent

creativity compared to children with monolingualism, and their math and science

scores are also higher. However, other researchers pointed out that there were

several aspects that these children did not master, such as productive skills,

namely speaking, because they did not get direct exposure to native French

speakers.

2. Effects on intelligence

Based on the results of research conducted by Goddard (1917) In the verbal

fluency section of the test, it was found that less than half of adult immigrants

could provide 60 words, a figure far below the 200 words that could be produced

by 11-year-old American children. Based on these results, Goddard classified 25

out of 30 people as 'weak minded'. and Saer (1922) Similar results were found in
 monolingual and bilingual comparisons in Wales (Saer, 1922, 1923). Saer tested

the intelligence of 1400 children between the ages of 7 and 14. Based on the

higher scores for monolinguals on IQ tests, he concluded that bilingual thought

processes are confused by the use of two languages. What's wrong with this study

and others like it is the fact that knowledge of the target language itself plays a

large role in determining the outcome of scores on intelligence tests.

Inversely proportional to the results of previous studies which showed negative

results, research conducted by Peal and Lambert (1962) found positive results.

they concluded that bilingualism results in greater mental flexibility and abstract

thought.

D. Sequential and Simultaneous Learning Situations

1. Sequential learning of two languages

An example of this section is, when a 5 years old child moves to America and

goes to school there, while at school the child learns to use English while at home

the child speaks his native language with his parents. conditions like this are

called sequential learning because the children learning English have different

starting times, namely a four years gap before the introduction of the second

language.

2. Simultaneous learning

One person speaks one language only or one person speaks two languages.

Typical of the first case is when the mother speaks one language while the father

speaks another. Or it can be a frequent babysitter or other family member who

speaks the other language. Each person uses one language exclusively. For

example, the mother might speak to the child only in Spanish while the father

speaks to the child only in English. This is the one-person uses-one-language-

different languages when speaking to the child. For example, the mother uses

both Spanish and English, and the father does the same. The two languages are

mixed by each parent. Thus, each person uses two languages.

E. Strategies for Second-language Production

1. The first-language strategy and the second-language strategy

In this section, if someone learns a new language, such as Japanese, when that

person does not have sufficient knowledge of the language being studied then

applying first-language knowledge to the second language. When second

language knowledge is lacking, this strategy is very useful. It is one that, we

believe, all second-language learners automatically use and rely on, especially in

conversation. Usually, it is better to say something, even if it is wrong than to say

nothing. This strategy will allow for something to be said, even though it is based

on knowledge of the first language.

2. Strategies for sentence production and communication

Communication strategies may also involve using words or phrases from the first

language when they are unknown in the second language (codeswitching), or

coining new words such as ‘airball’ for ‘balloon’.

F. Teaching Reading in a Bilingual situation at home

As for teaching reading, however, we recommend that the teaching be done

sequentially, with the second language following the first after a year or two. Suppose

that the parents start teaching the child to read English. At least one parent must be

involved, the one who speaks English to the child. (It would be beneficial if the other

parent joined in too, but just for reading and not for language teaching.)
Which language should be read first it is better that the language to be learned first is

the one that is most important for the child’s welfare. Basically, it should be the

language that is used in community and in school.