Comments on: Giving children the gift of bilingualism

By: Rosan Ogayon

Rosan Ogayon — Tue, 29 Nov 2022 18:45:56 +0000

The bilingual bonus is enthralling! In today’s interconnected world, learning to connect and communicate with people of different cultural backgrounds effectively is immensely important. The ability to speak multiple languages is essential to thriving in the global economy, and a bilingual approach to education has proven tremendously beneficial.

I am grateful that in our country, which is the Philippines. The education system has this Bilingual Education Program (BEP). English is the medium of instruction in Science and Mathematics, and Filipino, is the national language, in all other subjects. It has been recognized as one of the earliest comprehensive bilingual education experiments in the world.

By: Francis Gozon

Francis Gozon — Sun, 27 Nov 2022 09:41:56 +0000

Thank you for sharing with us the contents of your research, it sounds very fascinating. I find it very noteworthy that you bridge the gap between bilingualism and ‘good parenting’ in regard to language acquisition. It is understandable for parents to consider teaching their children multiple languages, bilingual competency can produce many benefits and a wide range of future opportunities. However, you did state that these kinds of ideologies can have contradictions, I find it intriguing that in the findings that the families’ experiences are similar to your experience many years ago. I wonder if this kind of research can be applied in the Philippines context since we learn our mother tongue from our parents and we learn English at an early age in school.

By: Jann Kyla Discallar

Jann Kyla Discallar — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 07:53:30 +0000

What a truly-enlightening post ! The portion about this “bilingual bonus” is also an interesting finding. Growing up, I’ve been told and have learned about various misconceptions surrounding bilingualism—how it can presumably delay language development, make children develop a small vocabulary, lead to a stutter, and more. These statements, however, are very much untrue, and the findings suggested not just in this article but also the studies that precede it support the competencies associated with bilingualism.

I also noticed that one user in this comment section mentioned about the possibility of looking into the state of parenting and bilingualism in other countries. I must say, this is an academic opportunity worth endeavouring. It makes me wonder about how things are in nations where English is not the dominant language.

By: Gyro Guevarra

Gyro Guevarra — Fri, 25 Nov 2022 07:15:18 +0000

This study was interesting because it linked the benefits of bilingualism to the importance of learning English. In the Philippines, Filipino and English are the official languages. Filipino is usually taught by parents, while English is the medium of instruction in schools. In my experience, however, some parents, especially those from wealthy families, abandon Filipino altogether and teach their children only English due to the latter’s ideology as the language of the workplace. The child would learn Filipino only from friends or popular culture. The way I see it, it is common for Filipino parents to feel conflicted about raising their child bilingually while prioritizing English.

By: Eric Estefan B. Badong

Eric Estefan B. Badong — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 07:44:14 +0000

This article is a good and helpful eye-opener for those people who are in the study of Bilingualism focusing on learners that are situated in other countries. As for myself, I really got interested while reading this blog entry because of how it was able to link and connect bilingualism and even the role of parenting in order to teach young learners not just different target languages aside from their L1 but also on the huge importance of the the learners’ parents as their first language teachers. For I actually believe in the idea that parents are the earliest linguists that any child or learner can actually encounter since they were their first instructors at home and that their parents passes down to their children their own communicative skills on any kind of language that will later on as the child matures and enter formal schooling, those skills will be further shaped and developed and of course will help the learners by that time how to be communicatively competent with the use of the languages he or she learned.

By: Ingrid Piller

Ingrid Piller — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 02:48:39 +0000

In reply to Daniel Earl Juanga. Thank you for your interest, Daniel, and good luck with your own research! Looking forward to hearing about the results of your study in another context!

By: Daniel Earl Juanga

Daniel Earl Juanga — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 02:21:49 +0000

This article is an interesting study considering the favorable aspects of bilingualism and the perceived idea of English as a dominant language. What is more interesting about your article is its attempts to link good parenting with language learning inside the household. Although I understand that this study is situated in the online parenting communities in Australia, I am curious to situate this discussion in a different country or in a different online parenting community to know whether or not the possibility of a “bilingual bonus” occurs there or is somehow given importance within their household.