BilingualBenefits in Education and Health

Publication date: Available online 22 July 2016 Source:Trends in Neuroscience and Education Author(s): Manfred Spitzer Bilingualism is defined as the everyday use of more than one language. Globally, more than half of the population is bilingual, but there are huge regional differences, with only one fifth of the population speaking two languages in the USA and Canada, whereas in some countries, bilingualism or even multilingualism being more or less the norm. The benefits of bilingualism in terms of communicative skills are obvious in the modern society and globalized economy. Additional benefits exist in terms of the extra brain training that comes with mastering two languages. This extra training appears to translate into health benefits at old age, when brain deterioration sets in and its impact on brain functioning, i.e., higher level cognitive functions, depends upon how well the brain had been trained up in childhood and adolescence. The term cognitive reserve is used to denominate this result of brain training early in life, and speaking two languages appears to be a relevant part of it.
Source: Trends in Neuroscience and Education - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research