Benefits of Bilingualism in Early Childhood: A Booster of Teaching English to Young Learners

摘要

For many years, bilingual program continues to receive criticism. Many experts believed that it could affect intellectual development. A number of opinions on bilingualism are often based on myths and misinterpretations, but less on scientific findings. There are numbers of myths about bilingualism and in particular about teaching children a second language early such as, language learning delay, split personality, cerebral confusion or mixing language that affects confusion. In spite of receiving criticism, there are many advantages that support bilingualism. This article is going to discuss about the definition of bilingualism, benefits of bilingualism in early childhood; cognitive advantages, social-emotional advantages, and career advantages. Furthermore, this article highlights about the phenomenon of teaching English to young learners in Indonesia in relation to benefits of being bilingual. Since English has gained the status of international lingua franca, therefore teaching English as a foreign language (afterward EFL) has become one of the major issues both to governments and individuals. Introducing English to young learner meets the benefits of bilingualism in early childhood.