Bilingualism And Bilingual Education Theories Essay

Bilingualism And Bilingual Education Theories - Essay Example One of the most common theories developed is the balancing theory. The theory, also referred to as the balloon theory, was first proposed by Fritz Heider. The theory is based on a motivational theory of attitude change. The theory draws a picture of the cognitive consistency motive as the primary drive towards a psychological balance. In bilingualism, the theory looks at the theory suggest that the languages in the subject are always in balance provided that the affect valence in the language development multiplies into a positive result (Baker, 2006, P165, Ll2).Jim Cummins one of prominent bilingual and second language researcher proposed the iceberg analogy. The iceberg analogy is a theory that is centered on a more accurate model that depicts the relationship between the mind and the bilingual acquisition (Baker, 2006, P167, Ll7). The model, common underlying proficiency (CUP) is presented in the form of two icebergs. The two icebergs appear separate on the surface an indication o f the outward difference between the two languages. Underneath the surface, the icebergs have fused an indication that both languages are stored in the in a single processing system (Baker, 2006, P165, Ll2). The two languages can access, contribute and make use of the central processing system.Cummins also contributed to the bilingual pool of knowledge by suggesting the threshold theory. This theory places a strong argument on language development in a balanced bilingual individual (Baker, 2006, P167, Ll2).