{"id":1591,"date":"2013-12-02T11:40:53","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T16:40:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/?p=1591"},"modified":"2020-10-02T13:35:55","modified_gmt":"2020-10-02T17:35:55","slug":"5-cognitive-benefits-of-bilingualism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/2013\/12\/02\/5-cognitive-benefits-of-bilingualism\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Cognitive Benefits of Bilingualism"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Speaking more than one language certainly doesn\u2019t hurt when job hunting or traveling, but the benefits of bilingualism go way beyond your resume or your passport. I\u2019m talking about your <i>brain<\/i>. You\u2019ve probably heard that bilingualism can stave off dementia or Alzheimer\u2019s in as you age, but what is it doing for your brain right now? A lot.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: 1px solid #CCC; border-width: 1px; margin-bottom: 5px; max-width: 100%;\" src=\"\/\/www.slideshare.net\/slideshow\/embed_code\/key\/Fo2MXXggkjph6U\" width=\"595\" height=\"485\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" title=\"Embedded video\"> <\/iframe><\/p>\n<div style=\"margin-bottom: 5px;\"><strong> <a title=\"5 Benefits of Bilingualism for your Brains\" href=\"\/\/www.slideshare.net\/TransparentLanguage\/benefits-of-bilingualism\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">5 Benefits of Bilingualism for your Brains<\/a> <\/strong> from <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.slideshare.net\/TransparentLanguage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Transparent Language, Inc.<\/a><\/strong><\/div>\n<h5>1.\u00a0Bilinguals are better multi-taskers.<\/h5>\n<p>Children who grow up learning to speak two languages can switch between tasks more easily than those who only learn languages. <strong>The bilingual brain is conditioned to switching between languages frequently, so it is better suited to switching between other tasks as well.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nih.gov\/news\/health\/apr2012\/nichd-03.htm\">study<\/a> funded by the National Institutes of Health asked both bilingual and monolingual children to press a computer key when viewing a series of images on the computer. When the images were limited to one key and one category, the children responded at equal speed. But when the task involved pressing different keys for different image categories (such as animals or colors), the bilingual children were faster to make the change.<\/p>\n<p>A separate <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/05\/31\/science\/31conversation.html?_r=0\">study<\/a> put bilinguals and monolinguals behind the wheel of a car and asked them to multitask. While all of the drivers\u2019 driving got worse while talking on the phone, the bilinguals didn\u2019t suffer as badly as the monolinguals. Bilingualism gives them the unique ability to add another task while concentrating on the task before them.<\/p>\n<p>I wouldn\u2019t recommend making a call while you drive, but I\u2019m sure we can all think of other scenarios where better multi-tasking skills would be beneficial.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5>2.\u00a0Bilinguals have more control over their attention.<\/h5>\n<p>Those who understand two languages must learn to subconsciously block out one language while speaking or listening to the other. In every day scenarios, this can lead to better attention and fewer distractions.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"http:\/\/dailynorthwestern.com\/2012\/05\/10\/campus\/campusarchived\/study-shows-bilingual-students-have-better-attention\/\">study<\/a> at Northwestern University used electrodes to measure sound waves generated in the brain stem while subjects listened to a simple sound over and over. Monolinguals and bilinguals processed the sound the same way, but <strong>when background noise was added in, bilinguals were better able to block it out and focus on the simple sound.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In a world where we\u2019re more connected and face more distractions than ever (I\u2019m talking to you, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Transparent.Language\">Facebook<\/a>), controlling your attention is more important than ever.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5>3.\u00a0\u00a0Bilinguals make more rational decisions.<\/h5>\n<p>When you get to think something over in two different languages, you get to double check your work, in a way, helping you make more rational decisions.<\/p>\n<p>A University of Chicago <a href=\"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/bilingual-people-make-better-financial-choices-2012-4\">study<\/a> found that <strong>when speaking of their non-native language, individuals are less likely to succumb to loss aversion because the foreign language does not ignite as emotional of a response<\/strong> when making tough decisions. Specifically, the students were given 15 $1 bills, which they could either keep, or bet on a coin toss. Native English speakers were far more likely to bet on the coin toss (a likely long-term gain), but only when presented with the scenario in Spanish.<\/p>\n<p>Betting on a simple coin toss: not a big deal. But as the article shows, without the tendency towards loss aversion, bilinguals are more likely to invest their money wisely early on, which is a very big deal.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5>4.\u00a0Bilinguals are more perceptive and observant.<\/h5>\n<p>When you\u2019re switching from one language to another, your brain is keeping track of what you\u2019re doing. It\u2019s so used to keeping track of these small changes that it is more attentive to small changes in your environment as well.<\/p>\n<p>One example of the enhanced perception of bilinguals is exhibited by young babies. At very early stages, all babies can distinguish between languages, even just by reading lips, without hearing the language itself. \u00a0But this ability fades in monolingual babies, while remaining strong in bilingual babies. <strong>The exposure to multiple languages offers these babies the ability to distinguish even among languages they\u2019re not aware of.<\/strong> Interesting, researchers <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/2011\/02\/25\/134059279\/being-bilingual-not-only-a-boon-for-native-tongues\">studied<\/a> this by placing babies in front of a silent TV. All babies got bored of watching a woman speak in mixed English and French after a while. But when that woman started speaking a third language, only the bilingual babies became attentive once again.<\/p>\n<p>Reading lips could have its own rewards, but there are plenty of viable situations and careers in which perceptiveness is a very attractive quality.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h5>5.\u00a0Bilinguals have improved working memory.<\/h5>\n<p>If you\u2019ve ever learned another language, you know how much time must be spent learning and storing new words, expressions, grammar rules, patterns, etc. So it\u2019s probably no surprise that bilinguals show signs of better working memory.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S002209651200166X\">Studies<\/a> by York University showed the <strong>bilingual children outperformed monolingual children on a series of tests that challenge executive functions such as working memory<\/strong>. For example, bilingual children could better remember the sequence in which a series of items was presented.<\/p>\n<p>A stronger working memory could come in handy in every day situations, even remembering a phone number or a sequence of account numbers and passwords. Who wouldn&#8217;t love to remember all of their passwords?<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>It\u2019s never too late to reap the benefits of bilingualism, cognitive and otherwise. Want to get started boosting your brain? Sign up for a free trial of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.transparent.com\/personal\/transparent-language-online.html\">Transparent Language Online<\/a>.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Speaking more than one language certainly doesn\u2019t hurt when job hunting or traveling, but the benefits of bilingualism go way beyond your resume or your passport. I\u2019m talking about your brain. You\u2019ve probably heard that bilingualism can stave off dementia or Alzheimer\u2019s in as you age, but what is it doing for your brain right&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/2013\/12\/02\/5-cognitive-benefits-of-bilingualism\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[542801],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1591","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-archived-posts"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/100"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1591"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8255,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1591\/revisions\/8255"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1591"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1591"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/language-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1591"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}