The 4 Cognitive Benefits of Learning as a Second Language
Speaking a second language is not only beneficial when looking for a new job or when travelling to new places, but it also offers a treasure trove of cognitive benefits. While the allure of multilingualism is often associated with cultural immersion through the ability to interact with people in their mother tongue, the incredible impact on the mind is often overlooked. In fact, there are many illuminating studies conducted right here in the United States that explore the many cognitive benefits of learning a second language and today we are going to look at 4 of them
1. Enhanced Executive Control
In the world of psychology, there is a lot of talk about executive control. Executive control is a set of cognitive skills that are meant to be done in the background of other cognitive processes – it should not take too much brain power. Executive controls are skills like inhibition, switching attention, and working memory and these skills support processes such as high-level thinking, multitasking, and sustained attention.
Research conducted by Rodriguez-Fornells et al., (2012), found that bilingual individuals exhibited enhanced executive control functions when compared to non-bilingual individuals. Executive control is key to academic achievement as many tasks presented in school require high-level thinking, multitasking, and sustained attention. As such, sharpened focus, the ability to adapt to new challenges seamlessly and efficient multitasking become the superpowers of bilingual learners which extends their influence well beyond language-related tasks to enrich many different aspects of their daily lives.
2. Improved Cognitive Skills
While executive control is a very abstract concept, this next benefit is very concrete. Adesope et al., (2010) noticed that bilingual individuals had more cognitive flexibility and were better at problem-solving and switching between tasks. They also found that bilingualism has a positive effect on self-monitoring and self-regulation of learning strategies. This is because as students learn a second language, their brains are navigating the intricacies of grammar and vocabulary and forging an unbreakable bond with analytical and reasoning abilities. However, this unbreakable bond does not just exist when the child is school-aged.
When investigating the cognitive benefits of foreign-language experiences in infancy, Khul et al., (2003) made a shocking discovery: early exposure to multiple languages can potentially help infants to tell the different letter sounds which helps them learn a language to begin with! This means that as soon as a child is exposed to a second language, their brain starts to form different and more complex pathways.
3. Protection against Cognitive Decline
It is no secret that as you age, your mind starts to lose some of that sharpness that it had when you were younger. However, Bialystok et al., (2004) propose a fascinating hypothesis: bilingual individuals may experience a delay in age-related cognitive decline. By engaging in constant linguistic acrobatics, jumping between languages, and diving into the pool of vocabulary in their brain, searching for the correct word in the language being spoken, the bilingual student’s brain builds a cognitive reserve.
This reserve is like a fortress that shields them against the onslaught of cognitive impairments like dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. This however does not mean that being bilingual is a cure or a preventative measure against dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, but it does mean that bilingualism can delay the onset of symptoms of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
4. Enhanced Language Skills and Metalinguistic Awareness
Many parents fear that teaching their children a second language will cause them to lose proficiency in their mother tongue. If you are a parent with this concern, that is okay! This is a very common misconception. Lazaruk (2007) identified that students who speak French become more proficient in both English and French. Furthermore, he also found that French-learning students typically perform as well as, if not better than their monolingual peers in their English proficiency assessments. Sultan and Gullbert (2016) also found that this was not just unique to French-English bilinguals!
In exploring the dynamic world of Mandarin-English bilinguals, they discovered that the knowledge of a first language imparts a significant advantage in mastering a second language. Additionally, Adesope et al., (2010) found that bilingual individuals had a better understanding of the way that language works and how language is used – this is called metalinguistic awareness. Moreover, they also found that bilingual individuals performed better on verbal and non-verbal intelligence tasks. Essentially, if the student continues to speak, read, and write in both languages, neither language suffers – in fact, both languages flourish!
The best part about learning a second language is that it is never too late to start. Whether you are a student or an adult, the cognitive benefits await you. So, embark on the journey of language learning today and unlock the remarkable cognitive advantages that come with it!
References
Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I., Klein, R., & Viswanathan, M. (2004). Bilingualism, aging, and cognitive control: Evidence from the Simon task. Psychology and Aging, 19(2), 290-303.
Adesope, O. O., Lavin, T., Thompson, T., & Ungerleider, C. (2010). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the cognitive correlates of bilingualism. Review of Educational Research, 80(2), 207-245.
Kuhl, P. K., Tsao, F. M., & Liu, H. M. (2003). Foreign-language experience in infancy: Effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(15), 9096-9101.
Lazaruk, W. (2007). Linguistic, Academic, and Cognitive Benefits of French Immersion. Canadian Modern Language Review/ La Revue Canadienne Des Langues Vivantes, 63(5), 605–627. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.63.5.605
Rodriguez-Fornells, A., Krämer, U. M., Lorenzo-Seva, U., Festman, J., & Münte, T. F. (2012). Self-assessment of individual differences in language switching. Frontiers in Psychology, 3, 388.
Sultan, S., & Gullberg, M. (2016). Native language benefits for perception and production in a second language: Evidence from Mandarin-English bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19(2), 407-422.
