Creating bilingual minds | Naja Ferjan Ramirez | TEDxLjubljana

Summary

This script explores the remarkable linguistic capabilities of infants, highlighting how they can naturally become bilingual without the struggles often experienced by older learners. The speaker, a researcher at the University of Washington's I-LABS, discusses her studies using Magnetoencephalography (MEG) to observe brain activity in bilingual babies, revealing that their brains specialize in processing both languages from an early age. The talk dispels myths about bilingualism causing confusion or slowing language development and emphasizes the cognitive advantages and potential of nurturing bilingual minds from birth.

Takeaways

• 🌍 Being bilingual is common in Europe, but true fluency in two languages is less common.
• 📈 Fluency in two languages offers benefits like better job prospects and cognitive advantages, including a delay in Alzheimer's onset.
• 🤔 The struggle to achieve native-like fluency in a second language is a common experience, even after years of use.
• 🧠 The human brain is capable of achieving native fluency in two languages simultaneously without unnecessary struggle.
• 👶 Babies are linguistic geniuses, learning languages naturally without being explicitly taught, and can become native speakers of two languages if exposed to both.
• 🧐 The speaker is a researcher at the University of Washington's I-LABS, studying brain processing of language in bilingual babies aged zero to three.
• 🌌 MEG (Magnetoencephalography), a safe and non-invasive method, is used to study the brains of babies to understand how they process language sounds.
• 📡 Bilingual babies' brains are specialized to process the sounds of both languages they are exposed to, unlike monolingual babies' brains that specialize in one language.
• 💡 Bilingual babies show stronger brain activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is linked to cognitive flexibility and attention switching.
• 👶🏻 At 11 months, bilingual babies already exhibit brain differences related to flexible thinking, even before they start speaking.
• 🚫 Contrary to common concerns, bilingualism does not slow language learning or cause confusion; it may actually provide cognitive benefits.
• 🌐 The demand for bilingual education is increasing globally, and starting language learning from a young age is seen as beneficial.
• 🏫 Public education could potentially provide environments for all babies to learn foreign languages from an early age through play and social interaction.
• 🔬 Six principles of language growth in children have been identified, which could be used to create effective bilingual education programs.
• 🌐 A European capital is testing the idea of promoting foreign language learning for all babies from birth, with promising initial results.

Q & A

What is the primary advantage of being fluent in two languages according to the speaker?

The speaker suggests that being fluent in two languages is advantageous as it creates additional job prospects, allows for communication with more people, and has been linked to cognitive and social benefits, including a delay in the onset of Alzheimer's disease.

Why does the speaker believe that achieving native-like fluency in a foreign language is challenging for most people?

The speaker believes that achieving native-like fluency is challenging because of the difficulty and effort involved in learning a foreign language, and the struggle to overcome the foreign accent even after years of use.

What is the speaker's profession and area of research?

The speaker is a researcher at the University of Washington's Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS), focusing on the brain processing of language in babies between zero and three years of age, particularly in bilingual babies.

What method does the speaker use to study the brain of babies learning languages?

The speaker uses Magnetoencephalography (MEG), a method that is safe, non-invasive, and silent, to study the brain activity of babies as they process language.

What did the speaker's research find about the brains of bilingual babies compared to monolingual babies?

The research found that the brains of bilingual babies are specialized to process the sounds of both languages they are exposed to, unlike monolingual babies whose brains specialize in processing only one language.

What role does the prefrontal cortex play in the brain, according to the speaker?

The prefrontal cortex, highlighted in green in the speaker's schematic, is used to direct attention, switch between tasks, and think flexibly, which are important cognitive functions.

Why does the speaker believe that bilingual babies have stronger brain activity in the prefrontal cortex?

The speaker suggests that the constant switching between two languages provides exercise for the brain, strengthening the networks involved in attention switching and offering a cognitive boost to bilinguals.

What misconception does the speaker address regarding bilingualism and language learning speed?

The speaker addresses the misconception that bilingualism slows down language learning. Research shows that bilingual and monolingual babies start producing first sounds and words at the same age, and bilingual children may have vocabularies of the same size or larger.

How does the speaker refute the idea that bilingualism causes confusion?

The speaker refutes this by explaining that code-switching or code-mixing in bilinguals is not a sign of confusion but rather a sign of linguistic sophistication, as it follows grammatical rules and is used appropriately based on context.

What are the six principles or ingredients mentioned by the speaker that can help grow children's language?

The speaker does not explicitly list the six principles or ingredients in the provided transcript. However, the overall message is that a science-based approach combining the right ingredients can help create educational programs for language learning.

What is the speaker's vision for the future of bilingual education based on the research findings?

The speaker's vision is to scale up the approach of using science-based educational programs to allow all babies to reach their full potential and start learning two languages from a very young age, potentially changing the game for bilingual education.