Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching - National University

As may be seen from this discussion, bilingualism likely confers many benefits on the
individual. Does it also confer benefits on a society We argue that bilingualism does indeed
offer advantages to a society in two important ways.
One way in which a society benefits from bilingualism is by tapping into the skills and
abilities of all of its members, regardless of first language. For instance, the demographic
situation in the United States and many European countries is changing dramatically. The
increasing diversity of U.S. society in particular makes it arguably impossible to ignore the range
of cultures, languages, and ethnic backgrounds that now make up this society. One important
way to utilize the skills, knowledge, and economic potential of those who emigrate is to ensure
opportunities for them to function in their own language. This is accomplished best in a society
that embraces bilingualism. In other words, as Hanson (2003) points out, a society functions best
when, instead of marginalizing its linguistic minorities, it includes them at all levels. Balanced
bilingualism promotes such inclusion. But the major advantage of such an approach is peace and
well-being of the whole nation.
Another important way in which societies benefit from bilingualism is related to the
increased globalization of most aspects of human life, but especially communication. Businesses,
governments, and other organizations are widening their horizons to win world markets.
Moreover, businesses are increasingly taking a more global perspective with respect to decisions
in such areas as factory locations, relocation of personnel, and advertising. This perspective
brings with it the need to communicate with members of other language communities (e.g.,
LoBianco, Liddicoat, & Crozet, 1999). Effective communication is greatly facilitated by an
understanding of other cultures and languages, and the consequences of not having such an
understanding can be grave.
Models of Language Acquisition
ESL and FL education 2 serve as a bridge between various nationalities and cultural groups within
the nation. ESL in the U.S. is going through a tumultuous process under the bilingual education
umbrella because the political forces and educational principles that influence policy are often at
odds concerning program goals. Bilingual education focuses almost exclusively on SL learning
for immigrants while leaving English-speaking students outside of this domain. For example,
Krashen’s additive model did not focus on the concept of bilingualism for native English
speakers (Krashen, 1996). This asymmetry is enhanced by commonly limited cooperation
between two instructional methodologies, SL and FL, and very few if any collaboration between
SL and FL educators. Mass FL education outside the U.S., however, often demonstrates
outstanding results though generally produces uneven outcomes depending on the instructional
methodology applied and other factors. In Europe, for instance, foreign languages, sometimes up
to three, are a common practice in school curriculum (Kinberg & Serdyukov, 2006). To be
multilingual is a tradition in many countries.
There are many reasons for ineffective SL learning. One explanation is that language is a
specific system that is extremely difficult to understand and interiorize. It is well known,
however, that all languages have certain similarities based on their function to convey meaning
2 We differentiate between second and foreign language learning; however, in this context they both perform the
same connecting function.
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