Bilingual students gain twice the benefits with two languages

Bilingual students gain twice the benefits with two languages

Isabela Diaz

Staff Writer

“Being bilingual has definitely [had] a big impact on me,” Catherine Valencia (9) said. Valencia knows how to fluently speak Spanish and English. She shared that there are many benefits from just being able to speak two languages. Friederich Ostertag (11), who speaks German and English, said that he has been able to cohere with many students and family members.

“I’ve gained the ability to connect with new people that otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to connect to,” Ostertag said.

Many teachers believe that even trying to learn a new language (or already knowing more than one language) can really help a student in the education department. French teacher Ondra Couch said that she thought being bilingual was extremely beneficial for students.

“Students have the opportunity to increase comprehension of their own language, have exposure to different cultural beliefs than their own and use a part of their brain that strengthens critical thinking skills,” Couch said.

Spanish teachers Lana Coverdale and Brandon Jerrell agree that Spanish has benefited their lives and has helped them in many different areas, such as speaking to others and traveling.

“I use Spanish quite a bit during the summer because I always spend about two weeks in another country,” Jerrell said.

“It’s extremely useful not just in other countries, but right here in Scottsburg too,” Coverdale said. “When I encounter some of my Spanish speaking friends at Walmart, we’ll speak Spanish.”

Lily Walsh (10) takes Spanish II said that even a little Spanish has helped her.

“Sometimes I catch little phrases or see a word at the grocery store that I learned from Spanish and I’m like, ‘Hey, I know what that means,’ and it’s just so cool to know that my learning will actually stick with me,” Walsh said.

Being bilingual has its perks. However, almost everyone shared the same drawbacks that people who are polylingual share. Both Valencia and Ostertag said that they have difficulty switching their brain from one language to another.

“I sometimes forget what I was going to talk about just because I’m focusing too much on one language,” Valencia said.

Overall, they both agreed that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

“My attention span is great,” Valencia said.

“I definitely consider it to be a more than helpful tool that I have,” Ostertag said.