"Over the past two decades, there has been a broad shift in American education from emphasizing monolingual language development to favoring student exposure to multiple languages and cultures. Recent policy shifts in California, Massachusetts, and Arizona have opened the door to the formation of new dual language programs, however, after years of restrictive English Only policies in these states, such as California's Proposition 227, we now face a major shortage of qualified dual language teachers. There is ample research ...
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"Over the past two decades, there has been a broad shift in American education from emphasizing monolingual language development to favoring student exposure to multiple languages and cultures. Recent policy shifts in California, Massachusetts, and Arizona have opened the door to the formation of new dual language programs, however, after years of restrictive English Only policies in these states, such as California's Proposition 227, we now face a major shortage of qualified dual language teachers. There is ample research to support the cognitive benefits of multilingual proficiency including "a heightened ability to monitor the environment" (Bialystock, Martin-Rhee, Costa, 2008), maintaining one's focus, retaining information (Bialystock & Martin-Rhee, 2008), problem solving and critical thinking. Moreover, multilingualism holds significant cultural benefits including enhanced receptivity to different cultures and openness to broader perspectives. While we often associate bilingual education with English learners, privileged parents who are attuned to the substantial benefits of multilingualism will push hard (and often pay large sums of money for private schooling) to enroll their children in bilingual programs"--
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