Bilingualism In The Aging: A Valian Analysis

What do we know about the effects bilingualism has on cognitive development? Our world is becoming progressively bilingual; in the US 21% of school age children between the ages of 5-17 years old can speak other than English at home and this number is expected to increase in the coming years. On top of social reasons, the positive effects to the cognitive development of the brain when introduced to a second language are of many. The age of acquisition is vital due to the plasticity of the brain, which according to the critical period hypothesis, begins to level after five years of age. In addition to plasticity, bilingual speakers are more capable of focusing their attention to solve complex problems compared to monolingual speakers.

In Being bilingual pushes back dementia by nearly 5 years: study Tracy Miller states that, “People who were bilingual or multilingual developed dementia an average of 4.5 years later than those who spoke only one language, researchers wrote in the journal Neurology.” Yet another reason bilingual education is important, and another point to prove to the critics of the far reach that the correct education can have.

“Cognitive functions can be defined as cerebral activities that lead to knowledge, encompass reasoning, memory, attention, and language that leads directly to the attainment of information and, thus, knowledge” (What are cognitive functions). Many students at Doulos are unaware of the benefits of knowing two languages. Ironically students also don’t know that their own brain and its skills are improving because of their second language. Doulos teaches classes throughout the whole day in both English and Spanish. Students are regularly changing between languages and their brain is always active with both languages. “This constant practice strengthens the control mechanisms and changes the associated brain regions” (Marian, Viorica, and Anthony Shook). People who are bilingual are capable of switching between tasks more efficiently. “For example, when bilinguals have to switch from categorizing objects by color (red or green) to categorizing them by shape, they do so more rapidly than monolingual people, reflecting better cognitive control when changing strategies on the fly” (Marian, Viorica, and Anthony Shook). Students’ cognitive and sensory process skills are more developed due to being bilingual (Marian, Viorica, and Anthony Shook). These improvements allow students to better process and understand information in different environments, thus leading to better

The study also showed that the brains of elders who were bilingual worked similarly to young adults. Literacy does not play a role in the effects of bilingualism on the brain (Alban). Some studies have shown that simply attempting to learn a language is enough to have an effect on delaying Alzheimer’s or dementia. The delay in Alzheimer’s and dementia is not due to a good memory, but the ability to focus on the details of a language (Delistraty). Scientists are working on finding out whether being multilingual has even more benefits.

For language development, there is a popular debate on whether there is an advantage to being a bilingual individual. There is a large amount of evidence that supports both sides of the argument. In terms of bilingual advantage, various studies focus on how bilingual or multilingual individuals outperform individuals on executive control tasks that are either linguistic of non-linguistic in nature. The advantages stem from greater foundations of executive function, such as cognitive flexibility and inhibitory control, in bilinguals than in non-bilinguals. Young and older bilingual individuals show a cognitive advantage because they outperform non-bilingual individuals during executive function tasks for enhanced attentional control, conflict

835 eleven year olds underwent an intelligence test in 1936 focussing on their memory, general intelligence, verbal fluency and speed of information processing abilities. The subjects were retested after turning 70 in 2008. The results proved that those with bilingual abilities scored higher for tasks involving cognitive capabilities, independent of their intelligence levels. The study suggests that there are stronger results possessed in those knowing over two languages versus only two, and that it is immaterial whether one’s second language is passively used or used frequently. This is because the brain must unconsciously select certain words and suppress unneeded linguistic material throughout every conversation which stimulates frontal executive functions of the brain and thus increases cognitive capabilities in old

Finally, bilingualism offers a means of averting the natural decline of cognitive function and enhancing brain function during aging. This is due to keeping the cognitive mechanisms sharp and replacing damaged brain networks during aging. Researchers compared the brains of bilingual and monolingual patients with Alzheimer. The brains of “bilingual people showed a significantly higher degree of physical atrophy in regions commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease” (Marian and Shook, 2012, p. 1). This suggests that the use of two languages protects bilinguals from the symptoms of the disease. Bilingualism itself does not directly affect Alzheimer’s disease, but the use of two languages provides a level of cognitive reserve, which enables

In a study of bilingual adults, non-verbal executive functions were found to be a key mechanism system used to solve two or more linguistic conflicts caused by the process of manifesting language co-activation of bilingualism (Ellen Bialystok, 2015). Behavioral visual tracking, event-related potential and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies support the argument of co-language activation. The two implications are related to the viewpoint that this language conflict management is the basic mechanism for the bilingual effect on cognition. The first suggestion is that this effect is inherently available due to training in increasing experience frequency. Therefore, there is evidence that bilingual experience increases cognitive benefits.

Marian and Shook (2012) described a stronger ability to recognize pitch and a longer onset of dementia or Alzheimer’s as effects of bilingualism. The authors

Being bilingual can also allow one to multitask, and ultimately, drastically improve themselves in other subjects. As for the same reason being bilingual prevents Alzheimer's and dementia, it also allows bilinguals to better multitask. Judith Kroll, a distinguished professor of Psychology at Pennsylvania State University, spoke of the connection between multitasking and bilingualism while at the 2011 American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Washington D.C: “recent research indicates that bilingual speakers can outperform monolinguals … [in areas] such as editing out irrelevant information and focusing on important information” (qtd. in Kroll). Being better at prioritizing tasks and working on multiple projects at one time is what

Possessing adequate knowledge of Spanish is not only important for job applications or business procedures. Studying a foreign language broadens one's horizons in many other ways and offers a plethora of benefits. For example, “research indicates that knowing and using two languages reduces your chances of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's disease” (“Top Ten”). This is because being bilingual facilitates a healthier brain and creates stronger pathways for memory retention and increased concentration. Moreover, this increase in cognitive function may be due to elevated levels of “blood and oxygen [flowing] to the brain” (Perry).

Since the early 20th century numerous studies, in psychology as well as linguistics, have been conducted on the effects of bilingualism on cognitive abilities (Saer, 1923; Smith, 1923; Gowan & Torrance, 1965). Until the 1960s there was some consensus among experts about the detrimental effect of bilingualism on cognitive development. However, after the publication of Peal and Lambert’s article on the relation of bilingualism to intelligence, most of these theories were discredited due to methodological flaws (Peal & Lambert, 1962). A majority of the studies conducted before this period did not take into consideration the differences in age, gender, culture, second language proficiency and socio-economic status between the monolingual and bilingual participants. Research conducted thereafter has found largely positive effects of bilingualism on cognitive functions (Landry, 1974; Holtzman, 1980). Recent research in the field has focused on understanding the relationship between bilingualism and specific aspects of cognition, such as inhibitory control, creativity and metalinguistic awareness, as opposed to the earlier studies which tried to associate bilingualism with intelligence. Even though, most studies have found a positive correlation between bilingual proficiency and cognitive benefits, there is still much debate in this area of research (Leikin, 2012). In 1992, Ricciardelli

According to them, bilingual children suffer on average from delays in terms of vocabulary and are disadvantaged in the language understanding and acquisitions (“The Latest”). It seems there is nothing special about bilinguals (“The Latest”). They have better cognitive abilities because language is something that we use all the time, and doing it with more than one is harder. It engages the brain in multitasking (“The Latest”).

1 Emmorey, Karen, GiGi Luk, Jennie Pyers, and Ellen Bialystok (2008): The Source of Enhanced Cognitive Control in Bilinguals. Psychological Science.

Learning a second language at a young age has long-term benefits that can be felt even in old age. As human’s age their brains atrophy, but bilingual people can delay the consequences of this damage. These individuals are constantly experiencing the world using two languages so, while a monolingual person remembers how to ride a bike in one language, a bilingual person stores that memory twice, once in their first language a once in their second. This allows bilingual