Bilingualism A Trait That Benefit The Individual

Bilingualism is known to be a trait that benefits the individual in numerous ways. The cognitive process of bilingual people is known to be better than monolinguals, whether substantial or minimal. Scientists conducted experiments that show bilingual children are able to accomplish conflicting tasks more efficiently than monolingual children. There are arguments that include being a bilingual hinders the learning speed of an individual and that monolinguals can learn at a faster pace. Ultimately, the question is to what extent does bilingualism benefit an individual? People tend to think that being bilingual makes a person have more intelligence than those who only speak one language. Ellen Bialystok, a professor psychology at York University in Toronto, Canada, disagrees with this assumption and states that bilingual brains only differ in their use of executive function. Executive function is â€Å"a system that helps the brain access particular regions or memories when prompted.â €  Bialystok, in contrast to media reports, claims that executive function and intelligence are two different things. She uses the scenario of two people, monolingual and bilingual, looking at a dog. The first thing that comes to mind of the monolingual would be the word â€Å"dog†. For a bilingual, he/she presented with two alternative words, and one must be chosen. Therefore Bialystok claims that â€Å"these micro-decisions strengthen the executive function; the more your brain has to make the same kinds ofShow MoreRelatedLanguage and Communication1290 Words   |  5 Pagesamongst groups of people, but can there be more advantages in a bilingual society than disadvantages? This paper will explore both the societal and individual perspectives of bilingualism and find the advantages as well as disadvantages for the bilingual individual. It has been shown through studies that the regular use of two languages by bilingual individuals has quite a broad impact on both language and cognitive functioning. Being bilingual makes one more aware when speaking, so as to get the wordsRead MoreBilingualism Is Harmful And Interferes With Healthy Development2515 Words   |  11 PagesBilingualism, or an ability to use at least two languages (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2004), has been studied for decades. A quick literature search will reveal that research on this topic goes back as far as the 1800s. This is hardly surprising considering that at least half of the world’s population is bilingual (Grosjean, 2010, p. 13), with some European countries reaching rates as high as 99 percent (European Commission, 2006, p. 3). Interestingly enough, until relativelyRead MoreHow Bilingualism Affects Cognition And Whether Or Not The Effects3756 Words   |  16 Pagesor multilingual individual. However, with this new trend, controversy has arisen as to how this affects performance in terms of cognitive abilities. The purpose of this essay is to find out to how bilingualism affects cognition and whether or not the effects are positive. Cognitions is the term used to describe the process of knowing, reasoning and remembering. Many researchers have set out to solve this contentious mystery. For years, it was believed that a bilingual individual meant that one wasRead MoreBilingual Education Has Many Advantages Essay1481 Words   |  6 PagesAs elementary students learn the concepts of a second language they are able to understand concepts better than individuals who only speak one language. The significance of learning two languages at an early age is that children’s minds are able to produce cognitive benefits, such as having more linguistic tools towards thinking, creativity, and flexible in problem solving. 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