Development and application of a Spanish-English bilingualism attitude scale

Abstract

A review of literature on bilingualism reveals that from the outset of intelligence testing during the 1920's, researchers and educators tended toward a consensus that monolinguals were intellectually superior to bilinguals. This early majority of professional opinion held that indefinite but inherently harmful effects of bilingualism accounted for the lower scores generally made by bilinguals on tests. The reversal of the direction and effect of professional attitude toward bilingualism during the course of recent decades is evidenced by the fact that the literature scarcely contains any opinion toward bilingualism which is not an unqualified endorsement of its potential worth. ...