Bilingüismo

Since we are bilingual, we have noticed some positive changes in the way in which we think, speak, memorize and other activities related to exercising our brain. For this reason, we wanted to know by doing research if being bilingual really has some advantages. In order to find out what these advantages are, we have based our research on the following data: The Cognitive Benefits of Being Bilingual, by Viorica Marian and Anthony Shook. The following list summarizes the most relevant characteristics of being bilingual:

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• Cognitive Benefits

 

What Marian and Shook explain in their work is that when a bilingual person uses one language, the other language is active at the same time. This phenomenon is known as language co-activation, that comes from studying eye movements (we tend to look at things whilst we are thinking, talking or hearing). For instance, we are English and Spanish speakers and sometimes we can guess the meaning of some words because we tend to find similarities in previous knowledge of the languages we already know: opinion/opinión, provoke/provocar, permit/ permitir, cause/causar, etc. But language co-activation can cause difficulties, such as interferences (problems in speaker’s comprehension. For example: false friends, such as actually is not actualmente) and switching (that is a problem of communication if the listener does not know one of the speaker’s languages). To avoid these kinds of barriers and maintain the balance between languages, bilingual brains count on the executive functions: “a regulatory system of general cognitive abilities that include processes such as attention and inhibition”, “the inhibitory control is the ability to ignore competing perceptual information and focus on the relevant aspects of the input”. (Marian & Shook, 2012)

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• Neurological Benefits

 

In order to discover what happens in our brain when we are using different languages, researchers have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to see which parts of our brain are activated. They have come to the conclusion that bilingual people make quicker brain connections and have a greater blood flow in the brain stem due to the constant interaction in different languages. These connections are related to sensory processing, which manages the process of encoding and pitch perception. When knowing different languages the brain makes more and diverse connections, these connections help to increase the gray matter (which has to do with our neurons and their function). This increase of the gray matter affects the brain’s structures causing higher proficiency in a second language and earlier acquisition of that language.  (Marian & Shook, 2012)

 

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• Learning New Languages

 

As we have explained, our executive functions have an improvement in cognitive and sensory processing that help to process information better, which is a clearer signal for learning. Once we know a language it is easier to learn a new one by following the same strategies and procedures: the more languages we know the easier to find similarities. Thus, a bilingual person learns a new language quicker than a monolingual person. To sum up, bilinguals are more skillful in learning languages. (Marian & Shook, 2012)

 

• Medicine Against Age-Decline

 

According to Marian & Shook (2012), being bilingual supports the maintenance of the cognitive reserve: “efficient utilization of brain networks to enhance brain function during aging”. For example, my uncle, who is 77 years old and is multilingual, continues exercising his brain by listening to the radio in English, watching the news in Spanish and talking with his family in Dutch.

Bilingualism can also be seen as an insurance which hasten against mental ilnesses like Alzheimer disease.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to the scientific data we get to know that knowing several languages can make significant cognitive benefits in bilingual people’s future. The changes they make between two or more languages develop parts of the brain that control the switching between different mental activities. The improvement of this ability of mind control can make bilingual minds to be more flexible and to develop multitasking; and this allows them to think beyond the palpable things.

 

 

 

 

WORK CITED LIST

Foy, E. (n.d.). Parents. Retrieved from http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/executive-function-skills/

Jukonyte, L. (n.d.). Psych2go. Retrieved from http://www.psych2go.net/learn-a-new-language-and-get-a-new-soul-6-facts-about-bilingualism/

Marian, V. & Shook, A. “The Cognitive Benefits of Being Bilingual”. Cerebrum. 2012 Oct 31. Accessed 2016 Dic 21. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583091/

Russell, H. (n.d.). Central Illustration. Retrieved from http://www.centralillustration.com/illustrators/harriet-russell