The Bilingual Advantage

from www.spanish360withFabiana.com

Dr. Ellen Bialystok, a Canadian cognitive neuroscientist, has spent her professional career studying the characteristics of bilingual individuals. One of the primary questions of her research has been, How does the acquisition of a second language change thought processes? A key finding to come from Dr. Bialystoks work is that bilingual and monolingual children process language differently. In an interview with New York Times writer Claudia Dreifus, Dr. Bialystok states, We found that if you gave 5- and 6-year-olds language problems to solve, monolingual and bilingual children knew, pretty much, the same amount of language. But on one question, there was a difference. We asked all the children if a certain illogical sentence was grammatically correct: Apples grow on noses. The monolingual children couldnt answer. Theyd say, Characteristics of Bilingual Individuals: Thats silly and theyd stall. But the bilingual children would say, in their own words, Its silly, but its Improved ability to attend to important grammatically correct. The bilinguals, we found, information manifested a cognitive system with the ability to attend to important information and ignore the less Better at multitasking than monolingual important. individuals

Delayed onset of Alzheimers disease Through the use of advanced imaging techniques Dr. Must use both languages all of the time Bialystoks research has shown that an area of the brain known as the executive control system to realize the benefits controls tasks such as of task-switching, dual-task performance and processing of multistep tasks, all of which are improved when we regularly use two languages. Every time a bilingual individual speaks, both languages pop up and the executive control system has to sort through everything and attend to the most relevant items. Bilinguals use the executive control system more frequently than monolingual individuals, and therefore, become more efficient in the tasks that are controlled by that system.
Dr. Bialystoks also observed that being bilingual delays the onset of Alzheimers disease. An important footnote, however, is that one does not get the Alzheimers delaying benefit from the occasional use of a second language. Her research indicates that You have to use both languages all the time. In addition to having the benefit of delaying the onset on Alzheimers disease, bilingual individuals are also better at multitasking. Dr. Bialystok sums up her research by saying, Bilingualism is good for you. It makes brains stronger. It is brain exercise. We at Spanish 360 with Fabiana agree. Bilingualism has many benefits, one of which is that it is good for your brain. However, to achieve the full potential of your bilingualism, you have to use both languages all of the time. Aprovechen los beneficios de ser bilinge y hagan ejercicios cerebrales cada da con Spanish 360 with Fabiana!

Dr. Ellen Bialystok with a neuroimaging electrode cap which she uses to map the sections of the brain responsible for improved functioning of bilingual individuals
Dr. Ellen Bialystok has spent almost 40 years learning about how bilingualism sharpens the mind. Dr. Bialystok is a distinguished research professor of psychology at York University in Toronto, Canada and was awarded a $100,000 Killam Prize in 2010 for her studies of bilingual individuals.
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