Benefits of Bilingualism

(Part 3 of 3) Students at Kalamazoo’s El Sol Elementary learn in both English and Spanish. But they don’t use their knowledge just to complete their

Published by the Huffington Post, November 13, 2014

People who speak two languages may have brains that are more efficient at language processing and other tasks, new research suggests.

Scientists have long assumed that the "bilingualism advantage" — the enhanced ability to filter out important information among nonimportant material — stems from how bilingual people process language. The new study confirms that assumption, and goes on to suggest that bilingual people are more efficient at higher-level brain functions such as ignoring other irrelevant information, said Ellen Bialystok, a psychologist at York University in Toronto, who was not involved in the research.

Published by the Turlock Journal, November 6, 2014

The Turlock Unified School District Professional Development Center was teeming on Tuesday with families and friends of students from TUSD high schools who lined up to receive their Stanislaus County Office of Education’s Seal of Multilingual...

Published by The Atlantic, October 17, 2014

“Speaking different languages means you get different frames, different metaphors, and also you’re learning the culture of the language so you get not only different words, but different types of words,” Lakoff told me.

But the benefits of speaking multiple languages extend past just having access to different words, concepts, metaphors, and frames.

Multilingualism has a whole slew of incredible side effects: Multi-linguals tend to score better on standardized tests, especially in math, reading, and vocabulary; they are better at remembering lists or sequences, likely from learning grammatical rules and vocabulary; they are more perceptive to their surroundings and therefore better at focusing in on important information while weeding out misleading information (it’s no surprise Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot are skilled polyglots). And there’s certainly something to be said for the cultural pleasure of reading The Odyssey in ancient Greek or Proust’s In Search of Lost Time in French.

“Cognitive traps,” or simple mistakes in spelling or comprehension that our brains tend to make when taking linguistic shortcuts (such as how you can easily read “tihs senetcne taht is trerilby msispleld”), are better avoided when one speaks multiple languages. Multi-linguals might also be better decision-makers. According to a new study, they are more resistant to conditioning and framing techniques, making them less likely to be swayed by such language in advertisements or political campaign speeches. Those who speak multiple languages have also been shown to be more self-aware spenders, viewing “hypothetical” and “real” money (the perceived difference between money on a credit card and money in cold, hard cash) more similarly than monolinguals.

One theory on why this might be is that there’s increased psychological distance when speaking a language that isn’t your mother tongue. Researchers in the spending study posited that subjects had less of an emotional reaction to things heard in their second (or third, or fourth) language, perhaps allowing for a more levelheaded decision.

More recently and perhaps most importantly, it’s been found that people who learn a second language, even in adulthood, can better avoid cognitive decline in old age. In fact, when everything else is controlled for, bilinguals who come down with dementia and Alzheimer’s do so about four-and-a-half years later than monolinguals.

Via Charles Tiayon

Published January 31, 2014

Dual language education provides a unique and powerful opportunity to strengthen children's highest cognitive brain potentials.

Broadcast by BBC Radio, September 28, 2014

How is the brain affected by juggling between different languages and how does this affect identity? And what is the impact on a child's development if they speak one language at home and another at school? Bridget Kendall talks to poet and cultural critic Gustavo Perez Firmat, developmental linguistics researcher Antonella Sorace, and cognitive development specialist Ellen Bialystok.

Published by the Latin Post, December 8, 2014

Bilingual people are more efficient at higher-level brain functions.

New research suggests that those who speak two languages likely have the "bilingualism advantage," meaning that they're more efficient at language processing and other tasks.

Published by Multilingual Living, October 20, 2014

Raising bilingual children? Raising multilingual children? Are you bilingual/multilingual? Here is a long list of the benefits of bi/multilingualism!

Published by Bilingual Kids Rock, October 18, 2014

It stands to reason that bilingualism strengthens the language centers in the brain. That shouldn’t be a surprise!

But there are some interesting — and useful — side effects. These develop passively as a result of being exposed to multiple languages. They are not instructed skills, but rather emerge as a natural result of brain development.

One unique trait of bilinguals is the ability to recognize different languages, even if the bilingual is not fluent in them. And, startlingly, scientists have found that this ability starts long before verbal skills develop — even infants in bilingual households possess it!