In recent years, bilingual education has gained more and more parents who look for schools with dual language training, thanks to the many academic, professional, and social advantages and opportunities it offers. It provides both personal and professional benefits for the children who take it.

In a world as globalised and hyper-connected as ours, where personal and professional relationships reach practically anywhere in the world, it is increasingly essential that people can communicate fluently with other people.

But, do you know what bilingual education is and what its advantages are?

What is bilingual education?

Bilingual education is a type of academic training where lessons are taught in two languages. Usually the mother tongue and another language. This way, the learning of basic subjects such as History, Mathematics, or Chemistry is combined with language teaching.

Even though bilingual education has both advantages and disadvantages, it is true that the majority of the children who take this modality in basic education can combine without problems the learning of a language, standing out in many cases for their skills in both writing and speaking.

In fact, some recent research has shown that bilingual children are more intelligent and that their success rate in Secondary Education is twice as high as that of students who know only a language.

Advantages of bilingual education

Bilingual education has many advantages, allowing students to acquire a wide range of skills and enjoy better job opportunities in adulthood. Here we explain which are all the benefits of bilingual education.

1. Cognitive development

Bilingual education stimulates the mind. Numerous studies have shown that thanks to the use of two different languages, bilingual children develop a better memory and can easily switch their attention to different tasks, leading to better professional performance during adulthood, especially in multitasking, management, and problem-solving jobs.

2. Encourages imagination and critical thinking

Bilingual children understand more quickly that the relationship between a word and its meaning is arbitrary. A process that encourages analytical and abstract thinking, and semantic development, which is the base of critical thinking and our ability to create new ideas.

3. Professional opportunities in the future

Bilingual education allows children to speak and write more fluently in the language they learn. This type of education allows children to achieve a high level, and can even match the linguistic skills of native speakers. It is one of the most highly valued aspects in today’s job market, and, in some cases, it is even a determining factor when choosing a candidate for a job. As a result, bilingual children can enjoy a wider range of professional opportunities.

4. Better salaries

Bilingual people can earn up to 7% more than monolingual people. Globalisation and the increase of international relationships between businesses mean that there is a need for professionals who know different languages. In addition to this, on many occasions, they become an essential part of the company.

5. Cultural enrichment

Bilingual teaching is more than learning to speak and write in another language. It also involves immersing yourself in other lifestyles and cultures, which provides children with an open mind to different nationalities and social contexts.

Bilingual education at an early age

We should also highlight the importance of bilingual education at an early age. Experts emphasise that this is the time when the brain is more plastic and assimilates knowledge best. Specifically, before the age of 6, which is when neuronal connections are being created and the brain perceives a greater quantity of stimulus. It is essential to eliminate the barriers that many people face when learning new languages.

Thanks to this methodology, young children learn both languages as a matter of course,and at the same time they learn basic subjects, being part of the school day simultaneously. In this way, they develop linguistic skills in both languages.

Is it worth choosing a bilingual school?

At this point, you may be wondering if a bilingual school is worth it. Bilingual education has advantages but also disadvantages.

As we have seen in this article this type of training has many advantages, especially at an early age. Of course, knowing languages, but also the openness to other ways of thinking and cultures, and the improvement of communication skills and teamwork.
However, it also has some inconveniences such as the price, the imbalance in the attention given to each language, or the overload it can place on children. Despite this, the advantages of this type of education far outweigh the disadvantages, achieving incredible development on the part of the children.