Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
UWRT 1102
Inquiry Paper
access to language results in higher cognitive development specially for kids and teenagers who
have an easier capability of acquiring and speaking more than one language. According to the
National Institute of Health, the benefits of being bilingual start in an early age. Studies have
shown that bilingualism positively affects attention and conflict management in infants as old as
seven months (Viorica Marian). The increased access to language allows for advantages that that
transfer beyond language and improves many more cognitive skills. Environment and
surroundings greatly impact the access to language. Infants that grow up in a bilingual home are
more likely to learn and develop cognition skills faster than those who live in a monolingual
household. Apart from the benefits in the neurological aspect, bilingualism also shows an
increase of social benefits. Among these benefits is the ability to explore a culture through its
native tongue and advantages in the international market. The human mind experiences life in
more than one language, therefore the importance of being bilingual is an advantage to
The idea that increased access to two sets of languages allow for better cognitive
development within kids and young adults is the basis of a question that is to be answered
through further research. The benefits of bilingualism in cognitive aspects may completely
change the architecture of the brain. The benefits on humans can be divided into two sets:
Neurological and Social. The idea of the research is to develop a clear understanding of how the
access of languages and bilingualism can shape the activity of the human brain. In addition to
the access to language and a persons linguistic abilities. Bilingualism affects cognitive
analyze, and think about language independent of the concrete meaning of each word (Pearson).
Metalinguistic awareness allows bilinguals to view and analyze language as a subject of study,
this is due to the fact that languages never coincide with concept and structure. Having the
cognitive capability to apply and grow metalinguistic ability allows children and teens to
perform divergent and creative thinking, have high interactional and pragmatic competence, and
many bilingual kids and young adults is to view language as something more than just symbols
and letters. This cognitive skill provides the awareness that symbols and words in a language can
go beyond its meaning and provide cultural and intrapersonal reasoning (Alipour). Such benefit
can affect the way kids and adults interpret literature and language. Apart from that it has
benefits in both social and neurological aspect. Some characteristic of metalinguistic awareness
Most metalanguage skills develop beyond childhood however children with access to two
sets of language have a higher percentage of metalinguistic ability (Edwards). Although some
results favor a much higher positive correlation between bilingualism and cognitive development
it is highly due to the access they have to both their native and acquired language. A study
showed that bilingual childrens ability to detect grammatically incorrect sentences in their
Native Language was correlated with their vocabulary measure in their Native Language. A child
with a limited knowledge of a language affects his or her cognitive development (Raschke). The
Sergio Jerez
UWRT 1102
researched explored allows the conclusion that a cognitive development skill such as
metalinguistic awareness is higher in bilingual children and teens who have access to both their
Apart from a persons metalinguistic abilities, bilingualism also improves ones ability to
pay attention and memory retention. A study done on monolingual Spanish speakers and
easier to maintain focus for a long period time (Ellen Bialystok). This might be due to the fact
that bilinguals have facilitated control over certain regions of the brain which in turn allow them
to maintain different parts of the brain occupied. The areas activated during the tests were the left
inferior frontal cortex and the left striatum. The left inferior frontal cortex is responsible for
syntactic processing. Syntactic processing is an action of the human brain that allows humans to
process the structure of grammar in different languages (Tyler LK1). The left striatum is mostly
involved in cognitive retention and movement fluidity (Schultz). However, these two areas of the
brain combined tend to be involved in language control. The monolingual participants activated
different part of the brains that connect different pathways less involved with language control.
These different connections also cause the monolingual participant to deviate from the task and
lose attention. Due to the fact that bilinguals must be able to have to separate mechanisms for
controlling attention to their language systems they tend to have a longer attention span.
Controlling the attention of two language systems is a key aspect in order to achieve fluidity in
each language without confusing one with the other. Controlling attention to two languages
Being able to communicate in two different languages can provide can aid the
neurological process of human beings in ways that many people would not even consider. An
Sergio Jerez
UWRT 1102
example of such is the ability to resolve or come up with a wide number of solutions to a specific
problem. Being exposed to two languages as a kid allows for better and faster responses to
conflict conditions (Craik). When comparing an adult who speaks two languages to an adult who
only speaks one, the adult who speaks two languages is more likely to have an enhanced
performance when looking for a solution to a problem. Enhanced performances in conflict driven
situations require perceptual analysis, which is something that based on research bilingual
speakers tend to have more of. In a study done to test the speed of response in conflict conditions
on adults, bilinguals were less disrupted than monolinguals when the response to a stimulus
required all participants to ignore a competing but irrelevant feature of the stimulus. Some of the
results showed that bilingualism may protect against age related cognitive decline (Craik). The
enhanced performance by bilinguals tends to continue in older age. There is normally a slower
decline in neurological performance in bilinguals than that found in older monolinguals. The
results were considered to be highly accurate when talking about the improved ability of
bilinguals to ignore and move past the disruptive effects of a misleading stimulus.
neurological and social benefits. As seen in a study done from January to June of 2011 by Annals
of Economics and Statistics being able to speak a second languages raises wages from five to
fifteen percent in countries such as Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain (Jean Gabszewicz). An economic benefit of bilingualism is
possible for several reasons. First, fluency in two languages can widen the range of commercial
opportunities in ethnic and general markets. Second, businesses in the global economy want to
hire workers with language skills who can give an extra resource to the international market. And
third, the increasing immigrant population will raise the demand for bilingual workers (Alba).
Sergio Jerez
UWRT 1102
The demand for bilingualism is growing around the world and therefore giving bilinguals the
edge over monolingual speakers, which adds yet another social benefit for bilingualism.
In addition to effects on earnings, a foreign language makes it possible for the human
brain to be immersed into a different culture and to gain unfiltered access to its history, its arts
and its literature. This is something that enhances the cultural and social knowledge of a person
to its full capacity. In addition, it gives people an edge when communicating there by creating
the possibility to form deeper connections with other people. Lack of cultural identity can
sometimes be present in monolingual kids and young adults. This happens when kids with a
multicultural background are unable to speak to their grandparents or extended family due to not
being able to speak their language (Prieto). This is due to the fact that in their home they only
hear one language and have not been exposed to any other languages. This can create a barrier
between them and a family culture that they will be unable to experience because they dont
understand it. This might cause a lack of belonging with in monolingual kids. Bilingual kids
however, are able to take part in the two cultures from the two languages that they are able to
speak. Benefits as such show the importance that being bilingual can have in kids and adults.
Bilingualism does not only have cognitive benefits but also social benefits that give people a
sense of belonging and humanity. Bilingualism can make people who come from completely
Culture in many cases is what hold nations together, and humans are able to learn in
many ways; one of those being culture. Teenagers most of all draw more from cultural
experiences. Culture is also linked to the acquisition of language. Taking in account that culture
is connected to language then we must also consider that environment also plays a role on the
access to a second language. Some studies show that acquisition of langue is more closely related
Sergio Jerez
UWRT 1102
to number knowledge and that the ability to perform mathematics skills allows for an easier
acquisition of a second language (Viorica Marian). However, human learning come from the
basis of interactions and experiences. A broader access of languages provides access to cultural
norms and circumstances that ultimately allow children and teens to differentiate between right
and wrong behavior (Elizabeth Hughes Fong). With increased access of language, the ability to
reason and understand abstract material become a much easier task. But the ability to understand
where that abstract material comes from would be null without understanding the culture and
history behind it. Culture and history that can only be accessed through the native tongue.
Therefore, to fully comprehend the point and ideas of people who speak a different language
then you must fully be able to understand their language. That is key aspect and benefit of
Overall the research has showed that bilingualism has positive effects on both the
cognitive skills and attributes. Examples of this include metalinguistic awareness which allows
humans to analyze and understand language and perform divergent and critical thinking. It was
mentioned that bilingualism also aids in memory retention and surpasses that of monolingual
speakers. Being able to control two languages at the same time can even change the architecture
of the brain and speed up the development of cognitive control within youth. The social aspect
also improves and develops as much as the neurological. Bilinguals have better conflict
management and self-control. In addition, bilingualism provides a closer relation to culture and
people all around the world while at the same time increasing the amount of wages that are
earned. It is fair to say there is a large number of benefits that come with being bilingual that can
affect in positive ways how one lives their life. A bilingual brain is always thinking and therefore
Sergio Jerez
UWRT 1102
always improving many facets of the human. Having access to more than one language not only
makes people smarter, but it also pulls people together. Two languages can give a person the
cognitive machinery that allows them to live a life full of constant growth and development in
Works Cited
Alba, Hyoung-Jin Shin and Richard. "The Economic Value of Bilingualism for Asians and Hispanics."
Alipour, Sepideh. "Metalinguistic and Linguistic Knowledge in Foreign Language Learners." Theory
Craik, Ellen Bialystok and Fergus I. M. "Cognitive and Linguistic Processing in the Bilingual Mind."
Quigley, and Sean Field. "Developing the Cultural Awareness Skills of Behavior Analysts."
Jean Gabszewicz, Victor Ginsburgh and Shlomo Weber. "Bilingualism and Communicative Benefits."
Prieto, H. Victoria. " Two Languages, Three Languages... More?" Young Children 64.1 (2009): 52-53.
Raschke, Denise Davidson and Vanessa. Metalinguistic Awareness in Monolingual and Bilingual
Children and its Relationship to Receptive Vocabulary Scores and Performance on a Reading
Readiness Test. Research. Loyola University Chicago . Chicago : Loyola University Chicago ,
2011.
Schultz, Raymundo Bez-Mendoza* and Wolfram. "The role of the striatum in social behavior."
Tyler LK1, Marslen-Wilson WD, Randall B, Wright P, Devereux BJ, Zhuang J, Papoutsi M, Stamatakis
EA. "Left inferior frontal cortex and syntax: function, structure and behaviour in patients with
Viorica Marian, Ph.D. and Anthony Shook. "The Cognitive Benefits of Being Bilingual." Cerebrum.
(2012).