A professional opinion

Isis Nogueira Barbosa is 24 years old and graduated in pedagogy. She worked at Esfera, a bilingual school in Sao José dos Campos-SP. According to her own experience with the topic she answered some questions:


1) What are the good and the bad aspects of a bilingual education?

Some of the good aspects are:
1. Studies show that the earlier a child
learns a second language, faster she turns fluent and less chances she
has to develop accent.
2. Nowadays, being bilingual is essential to
have good job opportunities.
3. Bilingual kids tend to develop good
communication skills.
4. Bilingual programs usually put the kids in contact with varied cultures. I don`t know any bad aspects of a bilingual education, although it`s important to say that there is a difference between bilingual and international schools. Bilingual schools use the English language to teach the Brazilian curriculum and the kids learn how to read and write in Portuguese, then, afterwards, the child can study both in a Brazilian College or abroad. International schools usually teach foreign curriculums, so it`s not recommended if you want your child to study in Brazil.

2) What are the difficulties the teachers may face regarding the
students comprehension?

From 1st grade on, It`s very important that the school offers extra
classes for those students who find some difficult in understanding
the second language. In preschool, it`s important to have an assistant
teacher to be closer to the new students, helping them. In all levels,
bilingual teachers need to be patient, speak slowly and use as many
sources as possible to be understood.

3) Do you think that it affects the students' learning process any how?

For sure! As I mentioned before, bilingual kids tend to develop good
communication skills and they also find easier to solve problems.