According to the most recent results delivered by the Program for International Student Assessment of the OECD (PISA), Colombia remains in the last positions in bilingualism of the list made up of the member countries of the Organization. In the most recent tests, Colombia obtained 31.1% in the use of a second language in children under 15 years of age compared to 68.2% of the other nations.
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According to studies in econometrics carried out by Joshua Angrist, 2021 Nobel Prize winner in Economics, there is a direct relationship between educational level and the academic quality of institutions. Likewise, he has referred to the importance of strengthening basic education in private schools compared to public institutions, allowing access to a greater number of the population regardless of their economic income and guaranteeing better job opportunities in their professional future.
Taking into account the figures produced in this report, Colombians showed the need to reduce the barriers between the interest in learning a second language, which would allow them to achieve better academic opportunities and how today there are difficulties in accessing this type of knowledge.
In this regard, experts have affirmed that the command of English allows to expand personal and professional possibilities, eliminate social gaps and accelerate the exchange of information between communities.
In order to reduce these limitations, educational institutions have implemented new strategies focused on promoting children’s bilingualism, facilitating access to quality education and guaranteeing a broader field of action in the future of students.
“We know the importance of strengthening the education of the Colombian population and the best way to do it is through innovative systems and strategic alliances. For that reason, we have created academic programs that generate communicative skills in a second language from childhood, based on integrative teaching and social, emotional and cognitive development ”, stated Javier Eduardo Arévalo Arango, expert in pedagogy and Academic Director of MonteHelena Bilingual School.
This is the case of Jenny Buenaventura, who has had the opportunity to demonstrate the academic transformation of his son, thanks to the bilingual education he received at an early age. “The change from virtuality to presence was positive for everyone and especially for my son, as he was able to interact again with other students and strengthen his knowledge in English.
For us, bilingualism is a tool that allows us to open doors and generate opportunities. I project my son in ten years as a person with a broader view of the world, disciplined and committed to his environment ”.
Through the development of different studies, It has been shown that bilingual children have a double capacity to interact in these two learned languages, they tend to be more creative and can acquire a more open mind to the world. These characteristics also allow them to stimulate the capacity for intellectual development and have extensive knowledge thanks to their easy access to global information.
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Tangible benefits of bilingualism
According to specialists, promoting comprehensive English learning from an early age facilitates in the future to be able to have a good command of the mother tongue and the second language.
In the same way, brain development, intellectual construction and the strengthening of the executive function of the brain are favored through which decision-making, following instructions, concentration and proper management of the start and end of tasks are facilitated by part of the minors.
This is especially important considering that the amount of stimuli they receive from electronic devices, television and other media often promote difficulties with attention and concentration.
