First and second language acquisition. Bilingualism.

A Closer Look on Bilingualism

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Bilingualism

Bilingualism is not uncommon to many people and in many parts of the world . As long as there are people who migrate from far off countries to different places in the world , bilingualism will exist , and prosper This has become a bigger reality in today 's world where different countries are brought closer by technology , and globalization has become commonplace , especially to more prosperous and industrialized countries where migrants tend to gather . Hence , cultures become

interrelated and languages are no longer limited to their areas of origin . In fact , it is normal for many people to use two languages , or even more , in the course of day-to-day living , some by choice and some by necessity . As evidenced by studies and observation made by scientists and educators , bi- or multilingualism exists because humans are not limited to learn a single language in the course of his /her lifetime . Although there were no studies that have determined how many languages a person can learn in his /her lifetime , there was no question that it could be done , given the relative ease by which children learn languages . The brains of a human being hold endless possibilities . It is not a jug that has limited capacity it can absorb so much more information (Alladina 6 . Hence , it is not surprising that more and more people are learning and making use of different languages . It is not uncommon to see a person who makes use of a different language at home , in school or in buiness , a particular language is used depending on the appropriate situation

As we attempt to explore different facets of bilingualism , it would be most logical to explain briefly the meaning of bilingualism and how it is commonly perceived in to offer a better understanding as to why it has such great impact on the society . More importantly , this will deal on the overall effects of bilingualism on children , adults and families , as well as the influences of schools , its systems , and society at large to people who are bilingual , and vice versa . We shall also delve on the choices that different bilingual-background families have or have made with regard to rearing their children as bilingual or monolingual , and the subsequent effects of these choices

We shall shed light on these concerns , partly , by going through the personal experiences of three individuals , with different degrees of bilingualism , who were interviewed exclusively for this . We shall examine how bilingualism played a part in their lives . Their bilingualism resulted from different circumstances surrounding them as they were growing up that were mainly rooted from their families . For instance , the first interviewee and her parents migrated to Norway from Pakistan , where she was actually born and raised until she was eight years old , the second one has parents whose mother tongues were different from each other , while the last interviewee was adopted from Colombia when she was eight...