The Idea of an Essay, Volume 3

Research Writing 161 of Child Development, Feldman stated, “Learning in one’s native tongue is associated with higher-self esteem in minority students” (302). Many people think English is the “successful” language, so they stop using their native language. For immigrants or people who do not know English, it is an excellent choice to learn English, but their native language cannot be forgotten. This idea is especially important to children because they often become discouraged and frustrated when learning a new language. Parents and teachers need to educate the bilingual children about all the benefits bilingualism has on them. Children learning a second language need to be properly educated, so they do not become discouraged. Lastly, bilingualism helps with behavior and communication of all forms. Neuroscientists and psychologists have come together to state that language is deeply mixed with thought and reasoning, which leads to the question as to why some bilinguals act in certain ways, depending on the language they are speaking at a particular time (DeLang 51). DeLang quotes Susan Ervin-Tripp from the University of California, Berkeley claiming, “ [Japanese- English] bilinguals consistently used very different endings depending on the language. For example, give the sentence “Real friends should” a person using Japanese replied “help each other out,” yet in English opted for “be very frank” (51). Her study concluded that bilinguals use two mental channels, one for each language, like two different minds. DeLang claims that she has witnessed small personality variations when one person switches from one language to another. One explanation for this change is that each language brings to mind the values and traditions of culture one experiences while learning the language or being submerged in a particular culture. Also, the memories that are brought to mind might deal with the change in personality and way of thinking. DeLang states, “Language shapes human experience – our very cognition as it goes about classifying the world to make sense od the circumstances at hand” (52). Bilingualism affects the way we act and the words we say. Language has the ability to shape the mind. There are a numerous amount of opportunities one would have if he/ she knew three or four languages. As previously stated, bilingualism helps to minimize speaking errors, and bilingualism helps express feelings and emotion. With a broader vocabulary in two languages and the ability language has