Resumo

SIGNORET DORCASBERRO, Aline. Bilingüismo y cognición: ¿cuándo iniciar el bilingüismo en el aula?. Perfiles educativos [online]. 2003, vol.25, n.102, pp.6-21. ISSN 0185-2698.

Bilingualism is a subject that has generated two different research lines. Until the sixties, bilingualism was criticized and all but recommended, whereas since this decade studies show a mostly favorable opinion. This subject recently has received a new boost in the field of psychology, neurolinguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, linguistic planning and education, and its literature has been growing rather quickly. In this article the author reflects on the importance of bilingualism within the current sociopolitical context. Starting from a psycholinguistic point of view, she focuses on the relation between bilingualism and cognition and so offers theoretical propositions that can help to reflect on the following question: When is it appropriate to start bilingual education in the classroom?

Palavras-chave : Bilingualism; Cognition; Psycholinguistics; Teaching; Classroom.