Sunday, May 07, 2017
The Bilingue Bounty
Probably no one deserves more credit for putting Canada on the bilingual path than Pierre Trudeau. Many of my generation achieved high school French and little more. Both of my kids, however, attended French immersion elementary schools and they're still fluent. My eldest worked for a few years in Quebec. My youngest works for a software giant in Dublin and regularly uses her French fluency in E.U. dealings.
While the emphasis on bilingualism seems to have waned somewhat over the past decade or so, new evidence shows that it carries some significant advantages we might not have expected.
Research has found that people who are bi- or multi-lingual experience time differently according to the language they're thinking in in any given situation. They also found that bilinguals are more "flexible thinkers," enjoy learning advantages and also have better mental well-being.
So there.
I think PM Trudeau Sr. deserves a lot of credit for the many ways he affected this country- our justice and 'corrections' policies, for example.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the bilingual experience. My daughter also attended a French immersion elementary school. She was a 'natural' and picked it up easily and early.
With Brexit, the EU has said that English language will no longer be so desirable or influential.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest that French language will make a comeback as the international language.
It my take time.
The USA and the UK are in free fall ; who knows where the bottom is?
FWIW.
Is it not time to see PE Trudeau in a different light?
His Canada first foreign policies and energy policies are looking quite enlightened at this moment in time.
TB
Trail Blazer, I'm not familiar with this Trudeau with these Canada first policies. Please enlighten me. The Pierre Trudeau I recall is the one who pursued, among other things, the North-South dialogue, recognition of China and similar outreach policies.
ReplyDelete