Is being bilingual good for you brain? | BBC Ideas
Summary
TLDRThis script reveals the cognitive benefits of bilingualism, debunking past misconceptions. Bilinguals not only enhance concentration, problem-solving, and creativity but also delay dementia onset by 4.5 years on average. The 2007 study by Ellen Bialystok confirmed cognitive reserve, which protects against age-related cognitive decline. Learning languages, especially in childhood, builds neural networks and boosts cognitive reserve. Recent studies show early bilingualism strengthens brain connectivity at rest, and bilinguals can perceive alternate viewpoints and react differently in each language, enriching personal and societal experiences.
Takeaways
- 😌 Contrary to past beliefs, being bilingual is beneficial and not detrimental to cognitive development.
- 🏋️♂️ Learning a new language is like exercising the mind, with bilingualism enhancing concentration, problem-solving, memory, and creativity.
- 🧠 Bilingual brains have all languages active simultaneously, which involves constant mental effort and can improve cognitive functions.
- 📚 A 2007 study by Ellen Bialystok and her team found that bilingual individuals develop dementia later than monolinguals, supporting the concept of cognitive reserve.
- 💡 Cognitive reserve refers to a 'bank' of thinking abilities that protect against cognitive decline and delay dementia onset.
- 🔑 Learning a new language, especially one that is complex, can significantly boost cognitive reserve.
- 👶 The brain's plasticity allows for the formation of new neural networks when learning a language as a child.
- 🤓 Learning languages later in life involves modifying existing neural networks, which can be more challenging but potentially offer greater benefits.
- 🧐 A 2023 study at Great Ormond Street Hospital found that early bilingual children exhibited stronger connectivity in resting brain networks.
- 🌐 Bilingualism can enhance the ability to understand different perspectives and react more emotionally in one's first language and more rationally in the second.
- 🌟 The benefits of bilingualism extend beyond cognitive advantages, fostering cultural experiences and societal connections.
Q & A
What was the common misconception about bilingualism in the past?
-In the past, it was believed that being bilingual could be a disadvantage, potentially causing confusion or holding people back, especially in children.
How does learning a new language benefit the brain?
-Learning a new language is akin to exercising the mind, similar to going to the gym. It involves the continuous effort of switching between languages, which exercises the brain, improving concentration, problem-solving, memory, and creativity.
What is cognitive reserve and how does it relate to bilingualism?
-Cognitive reserve is the idea that individuals develop a reserve of thinking abilities that protect against cognitive losses due to aging and disease, and delay the onset of dementia. Bilingual people have been shown to have a larger cognitive reserve.
What significant discovery about bilingualism was made by Ellen Bialystok and her team in 2007?
-Ellen Bialystok's team discovered that bilingual individuals develop dementia on average four to 4.5 years later than those who only speak one language, confirming the concept of cognitive reserve.
What is the best time to learn a new language according to the script?
-The script suggests that learning a new language as a child involves building new neural networks, while learning later in life requires modifying existing networks and making more connections, which can be more challenging but also provide greater benefits.
What did the 2023 study at Great Ormond Street find about the brain activity of early bilinguals?
-The study found that early bilingual children had the strongest connectivity in a network at rest, which is associated with mind wandering, similar to how muscles might appear larger at rest due to regular exercise.
How does bilingualism affect a person's ability to understand different perspectives?
-Bilingualism enhances the ability to see other people's perspectives or understand that different points of view are possible, which is a lesser-known behavioral effect of being bilingual.
What emotional differences are there between reacting in one's first language versus a second language?
-Recent studies suggest that people tend to react more emotionally in their first language and more rationally in their second language, possibly due to the different contexts in which each language is learned and used.
What are some of the societal benefits of learning new languages?
-Learning new languages can open doors to new cultural experiences, life opportunities, different people, communities, and different ways of seeing the world, benefiting not just individuals but also societies.
What is the script's final message regarding the importance of learning new languages?
-The script emphasizes that learning new languages and speaking more than one language is very important for both individual and societal benefits, including cognitive advantages and cultural enrichment.
Outlines
🌟 Benefits of Bilingualism and Cognitive Reserve
This paragraph discusses the misconceptions about bilingualism and the cognitive benefits it offers. It explains that being bilingual is not only beneficial but also akin to exercising the mind, improving concentration, problem-solving, memory, and creativity. The paragraph highlights a 2007 study by Ellen Bialystok that showed bilingual individuals develop dementia later than monolinguals, supporting the concept of cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve is described as a 'thinking reserve' that protects against cognitive decline due to aging and disease. Bilingualism is suggested to enhance this reserve, with the complexity of language learning contributing positively to cognitive abilities.
👶 Early vs. Late Language Learning Impact
The second paragraph delves into the timing of language learning and its effects on the brain. It contrasts learning a new language as a child, which involves building new neural networks, with learning later in life, which requires modifying existing networks. A 2023 study at Great Ormond Street Hospital is mentioned, which examined brain activity in children aged 8 to 10, including monolinguals and two groups of bilinguals with different exposure times to a second language. The study found that early bilinguals had stronger connectivity in resting-state networks, suggesting enhanced cognitive connectivity due to early language learning. The paragraph also touches on the behavioral effects of bilingualism, such as the ability to perceive different viewpoints and emotional versus rational reactions in one's first and second languages, respectively.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Bilingual
💡Cognitive Reserve
💡Dementia
💡Language Acquisition
💡Brain Connectivity
💡Early Bilinguals
💡Later Bilinguals
💡Cognitive Benefits
💡Mental Challenge
💡Perception
💡Cultural Experiences
Highlights
Contrary to past beliefs, being bilingual is beneficial for cognitive development, similar to exercising at a gym.
Bilingual brains keep all languages active simultaneously, which enhances concentration, problem-solving, memory, and creativity.
A 2007 study by Ellen Bialystok in Toronto suggested that bilingual individuals develop dementia later than monolinguals.
The concept of cognitive reserve, which protects against cognitive decline and delays dementia, is supported by the bilingual advantage.
Learning a new language helps build cognitive reserve, with language learning being particularly effective due to its complexity.
The best time to learn a new language is during childhood when the brain forms new networks, but learning later in life can also be beneficial.
A 2023 study at Great Ormond Street Hospital found that early bilingual children showed stronger brain connectivity at rest.
Early bilingualism may improve brain connectivity even when the brain is at rest, akin to muscles appearing larger after regular exercise.
Bilingual individuals have the ability to see other people's perspectives and understand different points of view.
People tend to react more emotionally in their first language and more rationally in their second language.
The emotional response in the first language and rational response in the second language may be due to the contexts in which each language is learned and used.
Learning new languages is not only beneficial for individuals but also for societies, as it opens doors to new cultural experiences and opportunities.
The benefits of bilingualism are continually being discovered, emphasizing the importance of learning and speaking multiple languages.
Bilingualism enhances not just cognitive abilities but also the capacity to engage with diverse communities and perspectives.
The study's innovative method of measuring brain activity while children were at rest provided unique insights into the effects of bilingualism.
The findings from the study at Great Ormond Street Hospital have practical implications for understanding the impact of bilingualism on brain development.
Transcripts
[Music]
it used to be thought that being
bilingual was a bad thing that it would
confuse or hold people back especially
children turns out we couldn't have been
more wrong learning new languages is an
exercise of the mind it's the mental
equivalent of going to a gym every
[Music]
day in the bilingual brain all our
languages are active all at the same
time the continue effort of suppressing
a language when speaking another along
with a mental challenge that comes with
regularly switching between languages
exercises our brain it improves our
concentration problem solving memory and
in turn our
creativity it's now widely accepted that
there are huge benefits to being
bilingual a key breakthrough came back
in 2007 in Toronto when Ellen B alisto
and her team made a discovery that shook
the scientific community and has massive
real world
implications it was the first study
which suggested that bilingual people
people who speak more than one language
develop dementia four to 4 and a half
years later than those who don't it was
a powerful confirmation of the idea of
cognitive
Reserve now what is cognitive Reserve
cognitive Reserve is the idea that
people develop a reserve of thinking
abilities and this protects them against
losses that can occur through aging and
disease as well as delaying the onset of
dementia bilingual people have been
shown to recover significantly better
after a stroke learning anything new
helps build cognitive Reserve but
there's something special about language
language is particularly Broad and
complex it affects ideas and Concepts
perception different sounds the more
complex certain skill is the more likely
it is to have a positive effect on
cognitive
Reserve so when is the best time to
learn a new language well here's part of
the
answer the brain is a complex set of new
networks when you're learning a new
language as a child you're building new
[Music]
networks but when you learn a language
later in life you have to modify the
existing
networks and make more
connections because learning languages
later in life can be more challenging
the benefits can also be
greater but a 2023 study at Great Orman
Street suggests this is just part of the
story so we invited three groups of
children that were aged 8 to 10 and we
had a group of children who were
monolingual
a group of children who had early
exposure to Greek and English from birth
they were our early bilinguals and
finally we had a group who had been
exposed to English between the ages of 2
and five and they were our later
bilinguals so what we did that no one
had done before is that we asked the
children to line the scanner while doing
nothing and just staring at a cross and
during this we measured their brain
activity so what we found that was
really exciting for us is that our early
bilingual group had the strongest
connectivity in a network at rest and
these group of regions are regions that
light up when we're doing nothing and
just mind wandering a little bit like if
you're going to the gym every day your
muscles might look bigger at rest where
similarly your brain might be better
connected at rest because you are
learning a language early and this is
something no one had found
before and there's more one lesser known
behavioral effect of bilingualism in
both children and adults is the ability
to see the other people's perspective or
to understand that it is possible to
have different points of view recent
Studies have also found that people tend
to react more emotionally in their first
language and more rational in a more
abstract way in the second and the way
it is usually explained is that the
first language is the one which we use
to speak with family with friends in
informal settings the second language is
usually learned at school at the
University at
work scientists are discovering new
upsides to be in bilingual all the time
and it's not just our brains that
benefit learning new languages and
speaking more than one language is very
important not only for individuals but
also for societies learning new
languages can open doors to new cultural
experiences life opportunities different
people different communities and
different ways of seeing the
world and with that we'll say a
[Music]
final
goodbye
bye poil vow
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