bilingualism is not a learning disability.
Maria Konniva writes a relatively neutral article: Is Bilingualism Really an Advantage? In it, she follows and interviews Angela de Bruin, a psychology student at the University of Edinburgh. Bruin had analyzed and researched through many scientific journals on bilingualism and most "...show no effects of bilingualism..." on an individual's IQ or cognition. If you choose to look into the debate today, the debate of how bilingualism affects the brain will more likely turn in favor of there being some cognitive advantage but not by much.
comparable experiment to being bilingual.
A substantial amount of scientific journals can give credible "...evidence that in a bilingual's brain both language systems are active even when he is using only one language..." It also should be portrayed that "...this interference isn't so much a handicap as it is a blessing in disguise." Essentially, someone, in our case, a child can be quicker in contradictory thought and cognition compared to other children that only speak one language. An example of this would be taking the Stroop Effect test as imaged above. Some journals will say that children who speak more than one language are noticeably faster at these sort of mental puzzles than the latter.
will i notice ell in my classroom?
Below I've provided an excerpt from the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association on bilingualism. This is also be an indication that the specialist whom you would want to contact in cases of multiple miscommunications and lack of academic performance, one should be in contact with a Speech-Language Pathologist. But, this of course, is after speaking with the child's parent(s).
ASHA
What should I expect when my child learns more than one language?
- Like other children, most bilingual children speak their first words by the time they are 1 year old (e.g., "mama" or "dada"). By age 2, most bilingual children can use two-word phrases (e.g., "my ball" or "no juice"). These are the same language developmental milestones seen in children who learn only one language.
- From time to time, children may mix grammar rules, or they might use words from both languages in the same sentence. This is a normal part of bilingual language development.
- When a second language is introduced, some children may not talk much for a while. This "silent period" can sometimes last several months. Again, this is normal and will go away.