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Why Bilingualism Should Be More Common: Blog Post Introduction

April 26th, 2021 by Shanjing Kang

Language is something that we have started to learn at the very beginning. It is the key to communication and culture. Though I have a different feeling when it comes to languages, I was born in Jilin province of China, Mandarin was one of my mother tongues. There are 56 ethnic groups in China, and one of them is Chinese Korean which I belonged to. Hence, as a child, I had to speak two different languages, Mandarin and Korean. Later in life, I came to America; therefore, English became another important element in my life. As far as I’m concerned, languages are not only the tools that we use to communicate but also keys that lead to learning about different cultures. I was amazed by how languages could affect a person’s social interactions, but in real life, I am more introverted which is why I have decided to get my hands with numbers. Therefore, I will introduce what I have in mind with numbers and graphs on how languages could affect our lives, and what it would result in when a person gets to interact with a second language. 

What are bilingualism and the advantages?

Bilingualism is a method of mastering two different languages, then why is it so popular nowadays? According to the data collected by Languages.org, globally approximately 43 percent of people are bilinguals. Reasons for people becoming bilinguals vary. Some started at a young age because of their family backgrounds, some had seen the advantages and decided to become one, and some others had to study another language in order to study or get a job from another country. What are the benefits then, why are some organizations prefer to have bilinguals as their members? According to studies, advantages such as improving cognitive skills, control over attention, and inhibition. Early bilingual education can even improve children’s functioning and brain development.

In addition, according to the researchers Marian and shook, the improvements in cognitive functioning caused by bilingualism education would help a bilingual person to digest information in a new environment faster and lead to a clearer signal for learning. 

How bilingualism affects the markets?

  • Job Requirements: Nowadays, lots of jobs that are associated with selling products are largely involved in multiple languages’ interactions. Bilinguals became way more popular than before in the job markets, especially in some international businesses. Based on the study, there is a growing number of positions nowadays that list a second language as a requirement(Matt 2017). Especially when mentioning positions that require a second language, hospitals or healthcare services that have recently needed doctors, nurses that could speak a second language in order to provide the patients from different cultures a correct treatment. Not to mention, speaking a second language could also higher the chance of getting hired by foreign corporations or governments’ departments.
  • Needs to communicate and business’ purposes globally: Jobs as translators and interpreters are in the top 15 fastest-growing occupations in the United States, with nearly 25,000 translation and interpretation jobs expected to become available by 2020. This estimate does not even include jobs in the military, which actively recruits people with a variety of language skills.
  • Educations: According to the study in Scotland and Italy, results reflect that bilingual children were more successful than their monolingual peers in problem-solving and creative aspects. Meanwhile, another study stated that people who mastered more than one language can take information more efficiently. Besides, the improvements in cognitive functioning caused by bilingual education would help a bilingual person to digest information in a new environment faster and lead to a clearer signal for learning(Marian & Shook, 2012).
  • Services: Services where people handle immigrants’ papers or information. As immigrant’s culture grows rapidly for centuries, most of the regions have their unique services that have been set up for newcomers to understand and adapt to the new environment. 

Bilingualism and Immigrants.

  • Relationships between immigrants and bilinguals: Some families that have members from two different countries in which they speak two different languages are 40 percent of the reasons for most children becoming bilingual. Stats may vary. Immigrants have always been another popular topic throughout these years, it is not simply the idea of moving into another country but also a variety of reasons. There are families that want to give their children a new environment for them to adapt to or parents that have to move into another country for job purposes. Bilingual education has appeared in these situations without noticing or forcing which has been one of the most common ways of how people have become bilinguals.
  • Jobs or lovers:  Chances by students or adults working or studying in a new environment yet met their soul mates. On the other hand, where employees have the opportunity to work overseas or on business trips could also cause bilingualism. There is a small number of people who have fallen in love with foreign people when they are on a vacation or traveling, the purpose for getting to know them or marry them has become another resource of people who have become bilinguals.
  • Study purposes: Most percentages of people being bilingual are students, mainly international students, according to studies, each year, almost 50 percent of new bilinguals are international students. Once students have emerged into Post-Secondary education, there are a variety of options such as choosing a school that nears your home, or a dream school that you have always wanted to go to since childhood, or a country that you have always been interested in. In recent years, going to a school from a different region has become more popular because not only it gives the opportunity for the student to explore new environments and a completely different study atmosphere but also the chance to be independent earlier than peers. Therefore, it is a whole bucket of benefits.

What are other future trends?

  • Competitive markets: The fact that the population of bilinguals is even more than monolinguals. There will be more advantages for bilinguals when it comes to career options. As more and more people have become bilinguals by moving into another country or international studies, it has become more competitive in the markets. There are also jobs that have already set a second language as a common requirement for certain positions. 
  • Social media: The key to attracting and exploring the different regions and cultures’ events, there is the requirement to understand or communicate with another one or more languages. In addition, making a friend in a different country is also an option if the person has known a second language, not only it could have increased the chance to have social interactions but also a wider perspective of the world.
  • Racism: Most cases of racism are because of misunderstandings or lack of knowledge between cultures, while mastering a second language, it is a very effective way to understand that language’s culture which could significantly reduce racism. The ability to start a conversation in a second language is significant, but being able to connect with people who have different backgrounds or religions is equally important, a second language could be considered as a way to bridging the cultural gap(Matt 2017).

To conclude, the benefits of bilingual education and becoming a bilingual are magnificent. Current status and research have shown that bilinguals could have more options, more priority, and profit from the competitive job markets. Also, bilingual education could positively affect a person’s functioning through many categories, emotional, attention control, abilities to be flexible, problem-solving and creative…etc. Other aspects of advantage for learning a second language other than individuals such as, a connection between two different cultures, a fast track for people who need to move into a new environment. Hence, the imperative of becoming bilinguals is essential to most people who have researched and are interested in topics like these, though there are still people who have less in common about why people should learn a second language. So I have prepared this blog in order to provide another little puzzle to this whole language environment, so maybe one day that communications between different cultures would not be as hard as today and before.