School should be a safe, welcoming, and uplifting environment for students to grow, create friendships, and discover themselves. To do so, schools must recognize diversity and inclusivity. Schools with a diverse population of students have a unique opportunity to implement bilingualism and create a space for students of all backgrounds to grow as global citizens.
Why Incorporate Bilingualism
Bilingualism comes with a multitude of benefits. Students in schools that offer bilingual programs and curriculum have an exceptional opportunity and advantage. Research shows that bilingualism strengthens cognitive abilities associated with problem-solving, attention control, multi-tasking, memory, and logic and reasoning (Marian & Shook, 2012) . Knowing more than one language also improves creativity and outside-the-box thinking. Those who are bilingual have both an academic and competitive advantage in the job market. They often outperform monolingual students and are more lucrative to potential employers. Finally, bilingualism increases cultural awareness—an essential skill for students to have. Having cultural awareness makes students more empathic, understanding, and inclusive citizens.
How to Embrace Bilingualism in the Classroom
#1: Familiarize Yourself
As you build relationships with students, make it a priority to get to know their backgrounds. Teachers and school leaders can foster more meaningful relationships with students and parents when they understand their unique linguistic and cultural backgrounds. It can help establish a relationally centered and inclusive environment that welcomes new ideas and conversations.
#2: Integrate Into Lessons
Integrating both languages in the lesson plan can help enrich it and promote inclusivity and diversity in the classroom. Incorporating bilingual activities throughout the lesson can strengthen students’ brainpower and attention control. The curriculum can also dive deeper into various cultures to highlight and embrace cultural awareness.
#3: Increase Class Availability
Students’ ability to grow their linguistic skills depends on the availability and level of classes offered. Offering high-level dual language/literature classes allows students the opportunity to continue to improve their bilingual abilities as they become more advanced. Electives centered on culture and diversity provide students additional options to develop into global citizens and bond with students from cultures similar to and different from their own.
#4: Offer Extra-Curricular Peer Groups
Schools that offer a blended curriculum of English and Spanish have a unique opportunity to bring together pupils who excel in different languages. Offering bilingual peer groups as an extra-curricular provides an enriching way for students to learn from one another. Spanish-speakers and English-speakers collaborate to improve their comprehension, verbal, literature, and writing skills in both languages.
