Bilingualism Has Advantages, But Also Conditions
From the perspective of psychology that deals with language, it is the case that bilingualism has advantages and is something very positive. However , this has not always been the case. Until the 1960s, people believed that it hindered a child’s intellectual development. It was assumed that at the same time they had to translate everything they heard and read into both languages they used, and that this was a waste of both time and mental resources.
It has now been proven that instead of hindering or harming our learning process, bilingualism actually provides benefits. These benefits of bilingualism are obvious, not only in children but also in adults. In fact, learning a new language has the ability to counteract a deterioration in cognitive functions.
The emergence of bilingualism
Not surprisingly, it is historical and cultural factors that have contributed most to the increase in the prevalence of bilingualism. More specifically, these factors are related to the opening and establishment of new borders between different countries, such as:
- The territorial expansion of specific nations and cultures. This was the case with the Latin language, whose reproduction exponentially increased the number of bilingual individuals.
- The political association by consensus to promote communication through lingua franca (mixed or common language). For example, English was established as a scientific language par excellence (which means above all others).
- Postcolonial situations also contributed to the colonizers imposing their mother tongues on the conquered and colonized lands, whose inhabitants then had to adopt this new foreign language.
- Immigration, or immigration. People who move to another country must learn the language used in the place where they live.
- Cosmopolitanism has led to an increase in bilingual intermediaries, brokers, traders and businessmen.
The importance of mother
The relationship between mother and baby is the prototype of communicative exchange above all else. Over several months, the mother interprets the signals that the baby sends out (crying, screaming, laughing), which she has to translate into words.
Little by little, the mother begins to become a kind of mirror for the baby. When the mother makes a sound, the child will try to recreate it. When she makes a gesture, the child will imitate it. In this way, a playful (related to play) exchange begins to develop. This helps the child to understand and expand his knowledge of the world gradually and infinitely.
Therefore, it is the interaction between mother and baby that determines the child’s language, as well as the level of it. The types of communicative interaction between the two will be continuously modified and develop in parallel with the child’s upbringing.
Different types of bilingualism
There are two key aspects in the development of bilingualism in children: their environment and which of the developmental stages they are in. In line with this, there are two types of bilingualism:
- At the same time : The child learns the two language systems at the same time. As a general rule, this happens when parents speak two languages on a daily basis at home. For example, if the mother speaks Norwegian and the father speaks Spanish to the child.
- Subsequent : The child has access to only one language in childhood. When they master it, they learn another language. For example, through English lessons at school.
Complete bilingualism is very difficult to achieve. There will always be one language that is more developed, and it will then also have greater significance than the other. The more similar the mother tongue and the new foreign language are, the easier and faster the process of learning it.
Bilingualism has factors and conditions
Studies have been performed on children as young as six months old. Filtering techniques are used to prove that bilingualism has an early development. The conclusions these researchers drew were surprising. As early as six months, a baby can distinguish between its mother tongue and a foreign language.
However, this does not mean that they can distinguish between the phonetic details of the languages, but they do know how to differentiate between prosodic information (intonation and rhythm). This may also be evidence that babies have a degree of polyglotism (the ability to speak more than two languages, often used about people who can speak a dozen or more different languages). Remember that this ability decreases with age since it is not considered a skill necessary for survival.
Positive bilingualism
According to researchers, a number of social, cognitive and linguistic circumstances must be present for bilingualism to be positive for a child:
- To achieve a high and sufficient level of knowledge in the two languages.
- A good development of the mother tongue, and learning a different language system through schooling.
- High expectations and positive attitudes from the child’s family and teachers in relation to their integrated development.
- A good social influence in both languages.
Bilingualism has cognitive benefits
According to various studies, the prefrontal and dorsolatral cortex in children who can speak two different languages are fluent, more developed in terms of cognitive control. This allows these children to be fast and efficient in certain tasks, where these cognitive functions are necessary.
In addition, they tend to better excrete stimuli from their environment, which may make it easier for them to ignore interference and noise in a classroom. This makes it easier for them to focus on what they are studying. They also tend to exercise greater control over their cognitive functions in general, which allows them to “soften the effects of old age”, thus slowing down their cognitive deterioration.
As you can see, the benefits of speaking more than one language are not limited to linguistics. Being able to unfold effectively in a multicultural and multilingual environment is the result of knowing how to take advantage of the adaptive opportunities that nature offers us.
