A new research has demonstrated that adults who have been bilingual since childhood are granted with sharper brains and working more efficiently. The study conducted by a team of researchers from the University Of Kentucky College Of Medicine revealed that those seniors with the ability of speaking two languages since they were children had better “cognitive flexibility” than the monolingual adults.
The team studied some 110 adults between ages 60 and 68 in two groups of monolingual and bilingual since childhood.
The participants were analyzed by brain imaging tests while they did a cognitive flexibility test, according to the study published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
The researchers found that both the monolingual and bilingual participants were able to complete the task, however, the ones who were bilingual were able to do so more quickly. The study also indicated that the frontal cortex brain regions of bilingual seniors used less energy compared with those ones in participants who were able to speak only one language.
“The results also suggest that lifelong bilingualism may exert its strongest benefits on the functioning of frontal brain regions in aging,” said the study researcher Dr. Brian T. Gold. Meanwhile, an earlier research published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences suggested that being bilingual could actually help to protect the brain from age-related disease such as Alzheimer’s.
I – Word Understanding
Demonstrated – clearly show the existence or truth of (something) by giving proof or evidence
Bilingual – speaking two languages fluently
Granted – admittedly; it is true
Efficiently – acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste
Revealed – make (previously unknown or secret information) known to others
Cognitive flexibility – the mental ability to switch between thinking about two different concepts, and to think about multiple concepts
Monolingual – a person who speaks only one language
Indicated – point out or show
Exert – apply
Alzheimer’s – attacks the brain’s nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills, and behavioural changes
II – Have your say
Other Advantages of Being Bilingual
1.Coming up with solutions to problems
2.The bilinguals are able to emote in more varied manners. Their temperament is generally adaptive and they can be more patient in behaviour than single language speakers.
3.Because they constantly have to filter content of different languages, their attentiveness, interactivity, inhibition and listening talents are also heightened, which is a requirement for good conversationalists.
