BENEFITS OF BILINGUALISM ON COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN

Abstract

Language is a communication skill that children have had since birth. Over time, children will often hear new words or sentences from their environment and children will try to imitate them. Children’s language is usually simple and related to their environment, especially the family environment. Children’s language will continue to develop through their experiences. Through this language, children can express their feelings and communicate with others. Many children use more than one language in themselves, for example, at home children use Indonesian and at school children are required to know English. From this we can see children’s language skills and this will have a very good impact on children. Therefore, bilingual education has the potential to develop children’s cognitive and social abilities, especially elementary school children. For example, English has been taught in elementary schools, even since kindergarten and the family environment. This bilingual education adds to children’s cognitive development, memory, and problem-solving abilities. This shows that bilingual education fosters children’s cognitive abilities and social interactions. This insight emphasizes the importance of language learning from an early age which shows that it can provide long-term benefits for children’s academic and social journeys.