Abstract:

Globalisation and the increasing use of technology have greatly influenced how people work and interact socially while simultaneously expanding their cultural experiences. It has also how they develop their personal and business relationships. Globalisation has forced people to expand their cultural, economic, and social understanding of other cultures and their languages. Knowing and understanding more than one language has become extremely important especially when searching for information. In today’s world being able to search for, organize and disseminate information from various sources is essential to a person’s success. Today’s businesses are becoming increasingly more competitive and are literally looking all over the world for new markets. They have also globalised their search for services and labor as well. Now, more than in any other time in history, an individual’s education experience can be the determining factor in an individual’s success. The better and stronger an education a person has in this digital society, the more qualified and prepared they are to evaluate information and act on it. Just a few years ago there were not many bilingual schools. Students were exposed to a second language only in junior or senior high school; they studied a second language was a question of culture and not considered essential. A second language like: German, French, or Spanish was introduced into the curriculum, but the students were not expected to become bilingual. There are many different types of bilingual schools that begin teaching other languages as early as preschool. Their mission is to teach their students to understand other languages as much as their mother tongue. A bilingual school’s approach to learning a second or third language is to enable learners to develop four basic communication skills: speaking, listening, reading, and writing. This form of teaching languages also involves understanding the cultural nuances of the second language. There is no need for these students to translate anything. Their skills include the ability to communicate and receive information taking into consideration two or more languages. Bilingual schools are a consequence and necessary part of the ever globalised world in which we all live in. In this context, our study analysed various academic articles published in Bibliometric Databases like Scopus and Web of Science between 2009 to 2019. It examined the beneficial effects of bilingual teaching to the development of language skills in children. The purpose of our research was to examine as much information as possible for us to increase our understanding and widen our point of view about globalisation and bilingual education. Some of the main results and conclusions are: (i) Students of bilingual schools understand global and cultural diversity and can communicate effectively in more than one language and using information and communication technologies. (ii) The best time to teach English as a foreign language is when children are acquiring their native language. (iii) Learning English earlier expands an individual’s access to multiple sources of information. (v) Learning English as a second language raises an individual’s status and power. (vi) Finally, bilingual individuals can be better critical due to their access to multiple sources of information which improves their understanding of complex issues.

Keywords:

Globalisation, communication, education, bilingualism.