1. Early research from 1920-1960 associated bilingualism with cognitive deficiencies, lower IQ scores, and even mental retardation. Bilingual children were seen as having terms like "mental confusion" and being up to 3 years behind monolingual peers. 2. Later research from the 1960s-1980s challenged these views, finding bilingualism did not necessarily lead to cognitive delays and could develop both languages fully with the right environment. 3. Current understanding is based on the Common Underlying Proficiency model, which posits bilinguals have one integrated thought system and developing skills and knowledge in either language helps the whole cognitive system.

1. Manuella Farias
Camaragibe, 2011

3. 1920 - 1960 Early researches on Bilingualism
Based on SUP : Separate Underlying Proficiency (now
discredited)
•Bilingualism resulted in cognitive
deficiencies, lower IQ scores, and even mental
retardation.
• Studies often associated bilingual children with
terms such as ‘mental confusion’ and ‘language
handicap’.
• Monolingual children were up to 3 years ahead of
bilingual children in various skills relating to verbal
and non-verbal intelligence.

4. 1920 2000
60’
1933 – Bloomfield - Native proficiency in L2.
too strict…
1965 – Macnamara – Minimal competence in any of the 4 skills
in L2
too lose…
1972 –Totine – Capacity of speaking L2 following its structure
rather than paraphrasing L1.

5. Unidimensional or Multidimensional approach?
Based on CUP: Common Underlying Proficiency
(Jim Cummins 1981)

6. Unidimensional or Multidimensional approach?
Based on CUP: Common Underlying Proficiency
(Jim Cummins 1981) Baker (2006) defines CUP in 6 points:
• One integrated source of thought.
• People have the capacity to easily store two or
more languages
• The language a student uses in the classroom needs to
be sufficiently well developed for them to be able to
process the cognitive challenges that are presented.
• The 4 skills in L1 and L2 help the whole cognitive
system to develop.
• Inf. processing skills and educ. attainment may be
developed through both 1 or 2 languages.
• When one or both languages are not functioning fully
students’ cognitive functioning and academic
performance may be negatively affected

7. Unidimensional or Multidimensional approach?
1998 – Baker, Prys, Li-wei – Individual
who have 2 languages.
1998 – Spolky – The identifying criteria
(psycholinguistic, neurolinguistic, sociolinguis
tic, etc…) is more important than the
definition.
1999 – Grosjean – When one can make social use of 2
languages in his daily life. Proficiently or functionally, no
matter how often L2 (3,4,5..) is used in which context with
whatever purpose.

8. Multidimensional
2000 (1989) – Harmer and Blanc – “the state of a
linguistic community in which two languages are in contact
with the result that two codes can be used in the same
interaction and that a number of individuals are bilingual,”
while “bilinguality is the psychological state of an individual
who has access to more than one linguistic code as a means
of social communication.”

9. Summary table of psychological dimensions of Bilingualism
Balanced
Relative competence
Dominant
Compound
Cognitive organization Coordinate
Childhood :
Simultaneo
us
Age of acquisition
Consecutive
Adolescent
Adult
Endogenous
Exogeneity
Exogenous
Additive
Social cultural status Subtractive
Bicultural
Monocultural
Acculturated
Cultural identity
Deculturated

10. A form of education in which information is presented in two (or more)
languages.
Technically, any educational system that utilizes more than one language is
considered bilingual.
This means that many school programs are bilingual …..
(in at least a literal sense of the word)
The main difference between programs toted as ‘bilingual’ is the degree
to which multiple languages are used.
It is all about literacy and knowledge…

11. Myths or facts…

12. 1 - Bilingualism is the
need and norm in many places
and hot fashion in others.
2- Bilingualism leads to cognitive
and linguistic delays.

13. 3 - Bilingualism leads
to linguistic confusion.
4- Bilingualism is “genetics” –
it just comes naturally and
spontaneously when parents are
speakers of different languages.

14. 5 – Bilingualism is always possible
and easy during childhood.
No matter when it starts.
6- Bilingualism is useful only if
both languages are useful
(ie.if they are widley spoken).

15. 7 – Attitudes do not influence
Linguistic development.
8- Bilinguals and monolinguals
make similar mistakes.

16. 9 –A child should first fully acquire L1
and only then learn L2.
10- The more exposure one has to a
language, the more quickly one will
learn it.
11- Students learn L2 the same way.

17. One wheel (one language)can get you places…
So can a big wheel and a little one…
However, when your wheels are
nicely balanced and fully inflated,
You’ll go furhter…
Provided, of course, that the people
who made the wheels
knew what they were doing…

18. References
-Harmers, J.F; Blanc (200). Bilinguality and Bilingualism . Second edn. Cambridge University
press
-Hodges, L; Nobre, A. (2010). The Bilingualism-cognition relationship in the literacy process.
Ciencias e cognição vol. 15.
-Spolky, B. (1998) Sociolinguistics. Bristol:OUP.
- Cummins, J. (1981).
-Baker, C. (2006). Foundations of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. Fourth edn.
Multilingual Matters, Clevedon
- Megale, Antonieta Heyden. B (2005) Bilingüismo e educação bilíngüe – discutindo conceitos.
Revista Virtual de Estudos da Linguagem ReVEL. V. 3, n. 5
- www.umich.edu Bilingual Education
- www.joanwink.com
-

19. ❝Tohave another language
is to possess a second soul.❞
‒Charlemagne