Mastering Two or More Languages

Mastering two or more languages prepares students to communicate in a language other than English and also increases academic performance in other subjects. For students who come to school as native speakers of the target language, also known as “English Learners,” the simultaneous development of both English and their home language is associated with stronger performance in English than students, both native English speakers and native speakers of the target language, who are educated exclusively in English.

Fluency in more than one language and the cross-cultural skills that students acquire are prized and rewarded with higher salaries by many businesses in the United States and throughout the world. Many more career opportunities are available to people who are proficient in English and another language in the global environment of the 21st century.

Students who study other languages display more tolerance for and interest in other cultures. The study of another language expands one’s worldview and builds cross-cultural understanding, a definite advantage in the global multilingual, multicultural world in which we live.

More than three out of ten of school children in California, and nearly one in ten across the nation, speak a language other than English at home. The development of strong bilingual and biliteracy skills that include the home language and English provide them the capacity and opportunity to participate actively in both worlds, leading to a strengthening of their family and heritage culture.