The advantages of binlingualism

How many times do we hear the term ESL and think of a struggling student, having difficulty in reading, writing and daily academic tasks because of a language barrier? Do we stop and think that bilingual students often have to process in one language before transferring the information into another to act upon it? (At least during the early stages of language acquisition.) Wow..talk about higher order thinking skills at work! Unfortunately, the notion of being "bilingual" in our educational system frequently has negative connotations, often impacting a student's beliefs about their own identity and culture. The following article is an amazing account of the benefits of being bilingual. By the way, this is a great website for teachers. It's called "Layered Curriculum: Dr. Kathie Nunley's website for educators.) Check it out and prowl around; you'll find some neat info. http://www.help4teachers.com/bilingualism.htm